[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9511-9512]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               ALL-ABOARD

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, when most people think about taking 
a cruise, they imagine dream destinations, sunny days, and boatloads of 
fun. What people don't imagine is that

[[Page 9512]]

these so-called fun ships are not free from crime. Sometimes American 
passengers disappear on the high seas or become victims of sexual or 
physical assault.
  You see, American passengers board these ships in U.S. ports and do 
not realize the ship is likely registered in a foreign country. That 
means these luxury ships are not required to report crimes to our 
government unless the crime occurs within U.S. territorial waters. This 
creates a serious problem for protecting the rights of Americans.
  As founder of the Victims Rights Caucus and a former judge, it seems 
to me Americans should be concerned by the absence of law enforcement 
on cruise ships, concerned by the lack of duty to report crime and 
concerned with the sometimes careless way that crime scenes are handled 
or not handled at all.
  Americans should be protected on U.S. soil or on the high seas. 
Representative Matsui's Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act will help 
protect Americans on cruise ships. It's high time we take back the high 
seas.
  And that's just the way it is.

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