President Bush, please save the Delta Queen!
As many of you know, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Representatives Steve Chabot (R-OH), Geoff Davis (R-KY), and Jean Schmidt (R-OH) have sent the attached letter to President Bush, asking him to issue an Executive Order continuing the Delta Queen’s exemption from the 1966 Safety of Life at Sea Act. As many of you also know, I have gone on record numerous times as saying that the President does not have the power to overturn an Act of Congress.
That is true, but Congressman Boehner thinks that in this case we may be able to squeak by on a technicality. He is operating on the theory that, although the Constitution does not grant the President the power to overturn the law itself, there is a chance that he can order the continuation of an exemption that has been routinely granted for the past 42 years.
As of the close of business yesterday, the White House had not responded directly to the letter, but they have asked for more information about the issue.
Please contact President Bush and ask him to act on our behalf. He will be under extreme pressure from the Coast Guard bureaucracy to turn thumbs down on Congressman Boehner’s request, so please stress the Queen’s impeccable safety record (see this Delta Queen Safety fact sheet) and the fact that the Coast Guard inspectors who examine the boat six or more times each season say she is in fine shape to keep plying our waterways for many years to come. This season, the Coast Guard’s top-ranking traveling inspector, Marc Kruger, made a five-day trip on the Delta Queen and issued a positive report that is posted on the Coast Guard’s web site.
Please also contact Mrs. Bush and remind her that keeping this irreplaceable historic treasure alive would be a truly significant part of her husband’s legacy.
You can mail letters and petitions to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. But because time is of the essence, faxes, email, or phone calls are better. Email messages should go to comments@whitehouse.gov. And here are the fax and phone numbers:
Fax: (202) 456-2461
Phone: (202) 456-1111 (comment line)
(202) 456-1414 (main switchboard)
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