Florida’s Republican politicians continue to push for the resumption of cruises.
Following repeated calls from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to repeal a CDC order keeping ships from sailing without passing rigorous tests, US senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have launched a bill that would do just that.
The Careful Resumption Under Improved Safety Enhancements (CRUISE) Act would end the CDC’s conditional order, which requires that cruises demonstrate the ability to test employees rapidly, sail test case cruises to demonstrate that they are implementing COVID-19 mitigation and go through a certification process overseen by the CDC before they can return to passenger cruises.
The act calls for the CDC to issue recommendations to cruise lines outlining what they are looking for when it comes to COVID-19-mitigating practices. It would end the order, which currently runs into October, on July 4.
“Florida is a tourism state with thousands of jobs relying on the success of our ports, cruise lines and maritime industries,” Scott said in a press release. “While many sectors of the economy have been safely operating for months under CDC guidelines, Floridians, and those across the nation that rely on the cruise industry for work, continue to wait for updated guidance from the CDC.”
A similar measure is being pushed in the US House of Representatives by Miami Republican María Elvira Salazar.
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This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2021.