[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 195 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1642-E1643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO IMPLEMENT SAFETY REGULATIONS RELATED TO 
          AMPHIBIOUS PASSENGER VESSELS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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                           HON. ANDRE CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2018

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a bill to 
implement safety regulations for amphibious passenger vessels, 
including those known as duck boats. These safety recommendations were 
made by federal agencies to address known problems associated with duck 
boats that have resulted in far too many injuries and fatalities.
  I became aware of these problems when my constituents, the Coleman 
family, were involved in a horrible duck boat accident on July

[[Page E1643]]

19, 2018 in Branson, Missouri. Tia Coleman was one of only two 
survivors from her family of 11, losing her husband Glenn and her 
children Reece (nine years old), Evan (seven years old), and Arya (one 
year old). Tia's 13 year old nephew, Donovan Coleman, was the other 
surviving family member, losing his mother Angela, his younger brother 
Maxwell (two years old), his uncles Ervin (76 years old) and Butch (70 
years old), and his aunt Belinda (69 years old). Boarding a duck boat 
on Table Rock Lake started out as a fun outing for family members but 
turned into an unspeakable tragedy when the boat capsized and sank. 
Seventeen of the 31 passengers on board were killed.
  Investigations by state and federal authorities are still underway 
and lawsuits are pending over the specifics of this incident. But there 
is a long record of problems associated with duck boat operations that 
can be addressed now. Since 1999 more than 40 people have died in duck 
boats accidents, the vast majority of them from drowning when the 
vessel sinks. In 2002, the Natonal Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 
issued recommendations to improve the safety of the vessels in cases of 
flooding or sinking, but little has been done to implement those 
measures. We know from these past incidents that more can be done to 
make these vessels safe. Congress does not need to wait to act.
  While we wait to learn more about the specific circumstances and 
causes that led to the tragedy on Table Rock Lake, this legislation 
would implement the NTSB's past recommendations to improve the ability 
of duck boats (officially referred to as ``amphibious passenger 
vessels'') to stay afloat in a flooding or sinking situation.
  Specifically, this bill would direct the Coast Guard to issue 
regulations within 180 days to require operators of amphibious 
passenger vessels to retrofit their vessels to provide reserve 
buoyancy. Vessel operators would have no longer than two years to 
comply with the requirements.
  While vessel operators work to comply with the reserve buoyancy 
requirements, this bill directs them to implement interim measures to 
improve vessel safety, including:
  a. Remove canopies from vessels for waterborne operations, or 
replacing canopies with structures that do not restrict escape in the 
event of flooding or sinking;
  b. If canopies are removed, require that all passengers wear a 
personal flotation device while the vessel is on the water;
  c. Permanently close all unnecessary access plugs and reduce through-
hull penetrations to the minimum number and size necessary;
  d. Install independently-powered electric bilge pumps;
  e. Install not fewer than four independently-powered bilge alarms;
  f. Mandate inspection of vessels in water after each through-hull 
penetration;
  g. Verify watertight integrity of vessels in the water at the outset 
of each waterborne departure; and
  h. Otherwise comply with existing Coast Guard regulations related to 
the inspection, configuration, and operation of such vessels.
  Those vessels that do not meet the 180-day deadline to implement 
interim safety measures, as well as those that do not meet the two-year 
deadline to install reserve buoyancy systems, would be prohibited from 
operating on U.S. waterways until they are in compliance.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this 
bill to make common-sense corrections to the persistent safety problems 
facing duck boats so that no other family must face the kind of tragedy 
faced by my constituents on Table Rock Lake. I want to thank my 
colleague, Senator McCaskill, for introducing the companion measure, S. 
3301, and I urge the House to support this bill.

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