WASHINGTON, DC – Republican lawmakers today sent a letter to President Bush asking that he issue an executive order to protect the Delta Queen against special-interest politics that could put the historic paddlewheel ship in dry-dock. Reps. John Boehner (R-West Chester), Steve Chabot (R-Westwood), Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) and Geoff Davis (R-Hebron) requested the President issue an executive order extending an exemption to the 1966 Safety at Sea Act to allow the Delta Queen to continue operating.120308 Delta Queen Letter
Boehner issued the following statement. Text of the letter appears below and is available here.
“For more than 60 years, the Delta Queen has been part of Cincinnati’s culture, recreating historic steamboat races during Tall Stacks and providing a unique hands-on opportunity to learn how the Ohio River has shaped this area. But politics now threatens to trump even history, as an exemption to maritime law that has been maintained by the federal government for 40 years to allow the historic steamboat to continue operating was killed this year by Congress in an effort to appease narrow special-interests. I am joining with my colleagues in the Cincinnati-area congressional delegation – Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt and Geoff Davis – in urging President Bush to take action to restore the exemption and save the Delta Queen. Presidential action could be the last hope for saving this historic vessel, which has been a proud part of the Queen City’s culture for generations.”
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