Last Delta Queen rescue sunk

WASHINGTON _ Supporters of the famed Delta Queen steamboat failed in a last-ditch effort this afternoon to keep the ship cruising the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers on overnight voyages.

The Delta Queen has operated on a Congressional exemption from federal safety standards since 1968, but the exemption expires Nov. 1. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio used a procedural maneuver on the House floor in an attempt to force the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to add the exemption to the Coast Guard reauthorization bill. The effort failed 195-208.

On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee refused to forward the exemption to a full House vote.

“I don’t understand why continuing the Delta Queen’s current exemption for an additional ten years has generated such opposition,” Chabot said.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., the powerful chair the transportation panel, has blocked efforts by Chabot, Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and others to continue the Delta Queen exemption.

Oberstar argues that the Delta Queen is unsafe for overnight passengers because it is made primarily of wood.

“We should stop this risk to safety here,” Oberstar said, “Fire at night is terrifying. Oppose the amendment.”

In good humor, Oberstar thanked Chabot for a sheetcake emblazoned with an image of the Delta Queen that was sent to his hospital room as he recovered from surgery earlier this year. He said the hospital staff had never heard of the Delta Queen but enjoyed the cake nonetheless.

After Oberstar’s speech, someone in the chamber shouted, “God save the Queen!”

Oberstar chuckled and responded, “God save its passengers.”

This YouTube video describes history of the Delta Queen and the controversy.