A new bill passed by Congress on out-of-the-water safety equipment will only put passengers on boats and other vessels in danger, experts say.
Titled the Coast Guard reauthorization bill, it requires that all new ferries and passenger boats used in cold water come equipped with safety materials, such as life rafts, in case the ship needs to be abandoned, USA Today reported.
But opponents are upset because the new bill, which the House passed April 1, changes a 2010 measure that requires all boats come with out-of-the-water survival equipment by 2015, USA Today reported. The 2010 measure would have applied to all boats, instead of only to new ones that operate in cold water.
"Those seeking to repeal this requirement are not looking out for the best interest and the lives of the public, particularly children, the elderly and the disabled," John Cullather, former staff director of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, told USA Today.
Though passenger boats come with floats in case of emergencies, they do not have to be the kind that keeps passengers out of water, nor do they protect against hypothermia, the newspaper reported.
But others say requiring all boats carry out-of-the-water survival equipment will not automatically save lives.
Staying with the 2010 law "will lead to substantial costs on small businesses- many of which will need to have their vessels rebuilt to accommodate the space and loads necessary to carry such survival craft," said Joe Kasper, spokesman for Representative Hunter Duncan, who chairs the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee, according to USA Today.
Boats would have to spend $154.3 million to replace life floats with ones that keep passengers out of the water, according to a Coast Guard report from August 2013. That amount would increase to $350.2 million in maintenance fees over the next ten years.
The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, USA Today reported.
