House Passes Bill Requiring Stricter Reporting of Cruise Crimes

The House has passed a bill that includes a provision requiring the U.S. Coast Guard to make cruise lines’ shipboard crime statistics available to the public. The amendment passed by a vote of 395 to 7.

The proposed legislation, part of the $8.4 billion Coast Guard Authorization Act, would require the Coast Guard to maintain statistics on missing persons and alleged crimes committed on cruise ships, and to make them available online. The amendment would also require cruise lines to include a link to this database on their Web sites.

President Bush on April 25 threatened to veto the Coast Guard Authorization Act because it includes a provision that would require the Coast Guard to provide security around liquefied natural gas terminals and vessels, which the White House Office of Management and Budget said would prevent the Coast Guard from protecting national security interests.