Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008

Floor Speech

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AMENDMENT NO. 3 OFFERED BY MS. MATSUI

The CHAIRMAN. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 3 printed in House Report 110-604.

Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.

The text of the amendment is as follows:

Part B amendment No. 3 offered by Ms. Matsui:

At the end of section 711 add the following new subsection:

(d) Availability of Incident Data Via Internet.--

(1) WEBSITE.--The Secretary shall maintain, on an Internet site of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, a numerical accounting of the missing persons and alleged crimes in covered security incidents for which the Secretary receives notification under subsection (a). The data shall be updated no less frequently than quarterly, aggregated by cruise line, and each cruise line shall be identified by name.

(2) ACCESS TO WEBSITE.--Each cruise line taking on or discharging passengers in the United States shall include on its Internet site a link to the Internet site referred to in paragraph (1), that is available to the public.

The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 1126, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.

Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Over 10 million Americans travel on cruise lines each year. Unfortunately, many are unaware that they are at risk of being victims of crime while on their vacations. And, it concerns me even more that these victims have inadequate access to assistance or law enforcement in the aftermath of a crime.

In recent years, the media has reported on a number of high-profile cases of passengers falling overboard, passengers going missing, and passengers being raped and sexually assaulted. Sadly, many of these cases remain unresolved, and the perpetrators of sexual violence and other violent crimes on cruise ships are rarely brought to justice.

I became personally involved after a constituent of mine, Laurie Dishman, came to me for assistance after she had been a victim of a violent crime on a cruise ship.

As a result of continued cases of crimes on the high seas, and with the leadership of Chairman Cummings, this Congress has held two hearings on safety on cruise ships. We learned that we must take action to inform people of exposure to risk while on cruise vacations. Mr. Chairman, sometimes even cruise ships need sunshine.

Our amendment seeks to do just that by requiring the Coast Guard to post on-line the number of deaths, missing persons, and reported crimes committed on cruise ships. The amendment also requires cruise lines to include a link to this data base on their public web sites. Our amendment would create transparency and promote a culture of accountability by allowing the public access to the number of crimes reported.

Prevention can be just as powerful as enforcement, and we all know that prevention starts with making people aware of the potential for a crime to occur. With prevention and enforcement, it is our hope that the tragic events that so many passengers have endured will not be repeated. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I don't intend to oppose it.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the gentleman from Minnesota is recognized for 5 minutes.

There was no objection.

Mr. OBERSTAR. The amendment of the gentlewoman arises out of a very tragic case on which the committee held an extensive hearing, and attempted to address the issue in language within the pending bill.

Her amendment would go to the heart of this issue, establishing a Web site, updated quarterly, aggregated by cruise line, and providing a link to the site on their own Web site. These requirements will allow passengers to review the safety record of a cruise line before booking their cruise. I think that is a very important protection, especially for women who are often alone and can be subjected to violence, as we have seen in the course of these hearings. I support the amendment.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. OBERSTAR. I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. LaTOURETTE. I thank the gentleman. I had intended to claim the time in opposition, even though I am not opposed to the amendment. I would indicate to the chairman and the sponsors of the amendment that we are prepared to accept the amendment.

I do have some concerns about the scope of the alleged incidents that will be reported via the Web site and the manner in which it will be presented, but I pledge to work with the amendment's sponsors as we move this bill to conference to facilitate those.

Ms. MATSUI. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. POE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentlelady from California for yielding, and I want to thank Ms. Matsui and her brave constituent, Laurie Dishman, for bringing this very important issue before Congress.

Every year 10 million American citizens board cruise ships and sail from American ports. These cruise ships are floating cities. But unlike cities, there are no peace officers or properly trained security personnel to protect passengers on board these ships. There is really no oversight or accountability for the cruise industry to properly or timely report secret crimes that occur on ships.

Our amendment just requires the Coast Guard to publicly maintain and regularly update a numerical accounting of crimes and number of missing persons on each ship. This is commonsense. We value information on college campuses, and this Congress under the Cleary Act requires reporting of crimes on college campuses. But when there is a crime on the high sea, it is a public relations cover-up because of the travel industry.

This amendment will create a better-informed passenger and, of course, safer cruise ships.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguish Chair of the Rail Subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown).

Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. I want to start out by thanking Chairmen OBERSTAR and CUMMINGS and Ranking Members MICA and LATOURETTE for all of their hard work on this bill.

We have given the Coast Guard so much responsibility, and they have been up to the challenge.

I have great respect for my colleague from California, but I rise to express my serious concern with her pending amendment. As a Member from the State of Florida, which has 14 ports and numerous cruise lines, I have a particular interest in the cruise industry. The cruise industry is one of the most important economic engines in the State of Florida. Over 5 million passengers embarked from Florida in 2005 and the industry contributed more than $6 billion in direct spending. In addition, the cruise industry is the second largest employer for Florida, generating more than 125,000 jobs.

Before coming to Congress I owned a travel agency, and I can tell you that a cruise is one of the most cost-effective, safe and enjoyable vacations one can take. In fact, I recently sent my mother on a cruise.

The cruise industry is highly regulated by State, Federal and international laws. They ensure that passengers are safe and have a sound safety and security record. It is apparent from the FBI statistics that crime against U.S. passengers on cruise ships are very rare.

The proposed amendment would unfairly penalize the cruise industry and require the public posting of crime allegations, organized by the name of the cruise line. No other private industry is required to provide such information on an Internet site.

The bill unfairly penalizes the cruise industry without any evidence or justification for this measure.

Requiring the reporting of allegations of crimes onboard ships would be misleading to the public as there is no distinction between an allegation and an actual crime committed. That is why if a local government requires the reporting of allegations of crime, no specific business is identified since in many instances these allegations are unfounded.

In closing, I will continue to work to make sure that the cruise industry is one of the safest industries in this country.

Ms. MATSUI. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mrs. MALONEY of New York. I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her very strong support and thoughtful work on this legislation, and I am proud to join Congresswoman Matsui and Congressmen SHAYS and POE on this amendment which would require the Coast Guard to maintain an online database about missing persons and alleged crimes committed on cruise ships and to require cruise lines to include a link to this database on their public Web sites.

Like my good friend from Florida, I also represent many fine ports and many fine cruise lines that have taken steps to improve their procedures. But certainly individuals going on trips should know the track records of cruise lines, and know the steps they have taken to improve safety. The absolute most important part of a vacation is to make sure you have a safe, enjoyable time.

This is a commonsense amendment, and it will provide the public with valuable information before booking their trips, as well as give an indication of where there are challenges in the industry and improvements that have taken place. I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).

Mr. SHAYS. Madam Chairman, before beginning, Ms. Matsui, do you have 30 seconds you could yield me?

Ms. MATSUI. And I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Connecticut.

Mr. SHAYS. I thank both Members for their courtesy in yielding me this time.

I have a different view than some of my colleagues. This industry may be highly regulated by State, Federal and international governments, but because all are involved, no one takes ownership.

I had an experience with a constituent, George Smith, who was lost at sea on his honeymoon on board a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. We had hearings on this tragedy, and had people contact us with unbelievable stories of someone missing, the family never being notified, the cruise line taking the person's possessions and putting them in a lost-and-found and then selling them, of sexual assaults and thefts, and no information being provided about the crimes to the proper authorities.

What this language does, the Matsui amendment, requires the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to maintain a numerical account of missing persons and alleged crimes committed on cruise ships. The database will be updated quarterly and aggregated by the cruise line industry.

It requires cruise lines to include a link to this database on their public Web site. The public has a right to know about the exact circumstances that take place on board cruise ships.

This is a sensible amendment. It needs to pass. And I thank her for introducing it.

Ms. MATSUI. In closing, Madam Chairman, providing public access and crime statistics is an important part of crime prevention. I thank my cosponsors and supporters of this amendment, and urge my colleagues to support transparency in the cruise industries.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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