In July of 2013, Senator Rockefeller introduced the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2013. The bill was designed to provide the Department of Transportation (DOT) with greater authority to protect consumers and investigate complaints of unsafe conditions and ill-treatment on cruise ships.
The cruise industry opposed the proposed cruise legislation because it was designed to
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On July 23rd, Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller convened a hearing regarding the “Cruise Passenger Protection Act (S.1340): Improving Consumer Protections for Cruise Passengers." We attended the hearing, together with our friend and former client, Laurie Dishman who testified about the way she was treated after being sexually assaulted during a Royal Caribbean cruise.
Senator Rockefeller
At the hearing today before Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller regarding the “Cruise Passenger Protection Act (S.1340): Improving Consumer Protections for Cruise Passengers," three women told the committee their horrific experiences on cruise ships.
All of their accounts involve the common theme of a lack of basic consumer protections. Laurie Dishman was a victim of rape, Amanda
This afternoon, Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced the witness list for its Full Committee hearing this Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at 2:45 p.m. titled “The Cruise Passenger Protection Act (S.1340): Improving Consumer Protections for Cruise Passengers.”
Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Hearing Start Time:
A year ago, following the Costa Concordia disaster, Senator Rockefeller convened a Senate hearing of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to inquire into the safety and security of cruise ship passengers and environmental practices of the cruise ship industry.
I attended the hearing where Senator Rockefeller asked appropriately tough questions to the
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Cruise lines hate U.S. governmental scrutiny of their business operations.
The whole purpose of incorporating their businesses and flagging their cruise ships in foreign countries is to avoid U.S. taxes and the scrutiny of federal regulators. This business model permits the cruise lines to pay virtually no U.S. taxes and to avoid U.S. wage, labor
As I mentioned earlier, Carnival responded to Senator Rockefeller’s letter inquiring into the cruise line’s avoidance of U.S taxes and its refusal to reimburse federal agencies for services rendered with what I characterized the other day as a "screw you!" letter.
Today news sources are reporting that Senator Rockefeller characterized Carnival’s response as "shameful."
Tonight NBC will take a hard look at Carnival CEO Micky Arison who I have written about on this blog.
Micky Arison is well liked here in Miami, mostly for bringing a couple of NBA basketball championships to South Florida – first with Shaq and later with D-Wade and Lebron James who he has spent
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Twitter Smack Down!
A few minutes ago Senator John Rockefeller tweeted to Carnival CEO Mickey Arison:
".@USCoastGuard responded to 90 incidents with Carnival ships in 5yrs- with passengers onboard. This needs to change" http://1.usa.gov/152nF2x "
Senator Rockefeller linked his tweet to a letter he sent to Micky Arison today expressing his deep concerns regarding the