Congress takes the wind out of boating
Written by Michael Vass
Why does Congress have such low approval ratings? Well if you own a boat there may be one more reason now. It’s the Clean Boating Act of 2008 and it’s currently sitting around and potentially dying on the shelf as Congress enjoys its July 4th vacation before taking a month long vacation in August.
Why is it important? Well because in September new EPA regulations will increase costs to recreational boaters due to deck runoff, engine cooling, water and other non-polluting emission. And why would boaters be angry with Congress? Because the Act was prevented from passing the Senate by one vote.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the vote that stopped everything in its tracks. She tried to slip in an amendment that targets commercial vessels, which obviously has nothing to do with the boaters the Act was meant to affect.
So again Congress has shown why it has the lowest approval rating ever. Inaction, long delays, and bickering among political parties leading to higher costs to the average American. So get your boat on the water and enjoy the 4th of July, because you very soon may not be able to afford to take it out again.
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July 30th, 2008 at 11:06 am
[...] So there is good news out among all boaters today. Something which most did not think was going to happen if you asked them on July 2nd. In fact I was among those with a bleak outlook on the future of recreational boating in the U.S. “So again Congress has shown why it has the lowest approval rating ever. Inaction, long delays, an… [...]
July 30th, 2008 at 11:10 am
[...] So there is good news out among all boaters today. Something which most did not think was going to happen if you asked them on July 2nd. In fact I was among those with a bleak outlook on the future of recreational boating in the U.S. “So again Congress has shown why it has the lowest approval rating ever. Inaction, long delays, an… [...]