Thank you for all your support; the little guy won the first round! Now on to the House, with HR 619, an identical bill--if it passes, then just need president's signature.
So, Now we’ll have a major battle on in the House for HR 619, as American Cruise Lines will be spending more bucks to get the Lobbyist, Blank Rome, to try to defeat it there. So, please contact your Congressional House Representative to support the HR 619 bill, PLEASE. How to find out who your rep is? http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

I have to wait until after the special election to find out who my representative will be. After that's over, the new guy will hear from me.

What argument is being made to not allow the Delta Queen to operate ???

Why would anyone NOT want this running ???

Burger, The lobbyist brings up the Sultan disaster where hundreds of returning Civil war prisoners were killed because the boat was overloaded and the fire tube boilers were over pressurized.None of this fits with today's conditions nor the Delta Queen's design (water tube boilers for one thing).
Why American Cruise Lines is against it, is beyond me, as "competition" isn't really a valid argument, their boats and the DQ are totally different experiences and marketplaces, on the same river.
I suspect it's something personal, and ACL has big bucks to toss around.

Steve, Your not running for representative?

Are you waiting to run for Governor?...Governor Jelf...It's got a nice ring to it!


Dave I'm glad it made one hurdle I hope everything goes well

Good news Dewey! Long live the Delta Queen!

I'm too busy to run for governor, but a ham sandwich would do a better job than what we've got now.

Steve, you have work to do to catch up to Illinois, they have a prison wing dedicated just to house ex-governors!

I think that the Missouri reps are probably already voting in favor, but I added my voice anyway.

There should be no problems now, it is in New Orleans being completely refitted to take care of the prior concerns, I grew up with the Queen on the Ohio river and have many pictures and movies of it.

Rick

I thought it was a fire hazard issue. Isn't she mostly wood in the superstructure ?

http://hushmoney.org/Davy_Crockett_Farmer_Bunce.htm

just sayin...

he lived here where I live for a good long while.

Bill, that's what the opponents would like you to believe! Yes, she has a wooden superstructure and a modern sprinkler system in every space, as well as a very sophisticated heat rise and smoke detection system. Every passenger cabin has immediate access to an outside deck. She is 5 minutes from beaching herself on the shore--which is the way steamboats "dock" so she's designed to do this. With her large stage (large enough to drive a car on) -- think of "gangplank" on other boats, the passengers can walk right off and not even get their feet wet. She is also taller than the rivers she runs in. The concerns for safety for a ship at sea do not apply to a riverboat such as the Delta Queen. But because the rivers are considered "navigable waters" the sea regulations apply. This was and is a flaw in the law, which is why, under normal circumstances, congress passed the exemptions from 1966 to 2008. In 2008 the head of the transportation committee refused to let the bill pass out of "his" committee, so congress was denied a chance to vote on it. That man is no longer in congress!