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Delta Queen gains steam in Congress
The Delta Queen may soon be rollin’ down the Mississippi again, with a little push from Congress.
The paddelwheeler, built in 1927, has been drydocked since 2008 under a law prohibiting wooden vessels from commercial operation because of fire-safety concerns.
But on Wednesday the House of Representatives — or rather, the Republicans in the House —passed a bill granting the Queen a 15-year exemption from the requirement.
The historic ship has been docked in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it operates as a floating hotel.
Almost all the House Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while the Democrats voted 82 to 84 against it.
The bill still has to pass the Senate, where a Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-Ohio], leads the effort, and then be signed by President Barack Obama.
"With the American Queen having returned to the Mississippi last year, and the most famous of all the steamboats, the Delta Queen, now enjoying a resurgence of support, steamboating on the Mighty Mississippi is making a big comeback," says Lee Powell, director of the Delta Grassroots Caucus, which is backing the effort.
"This vessel is a representation of the Mid-South’s rich heritage revolving around the Mississippi River and I fully support its ability to operate on the river as it has for generations," says Rep. Rick Crawford, another supporter.
The paddlewheel steamship, built in 1927, plied the Sacramento River in California until 1940, when it was put into service by the US Navy; it served as a hospital transport ship following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
It resumed regular passenger service along the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in 1948.
Powell said the Delta Queen has an exemplary safety record and modern fire-safety techniques.
The wood structure of the upper deck has been replaced with steel, and there’s a smoke detection system, sprinklers and a 24-hour fire watchman.
Still, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) called the bill "irresponsible," citing a 2008 Coast Guard inspection report that said the ship "presents an unnecessary and unacceptable accumulation of combustible fire load."
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