Steve's View: “The Delta Queen is a living reminder of what life was like before highways and automobiles were used to transport goods and people from one city to another. It's an experience you can't get in a museum or from the history books - you have to live it and it's worth preserving.”
The Delta Queen began operations as a sternwheel river steamboat in 1926 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. For the last 40 years, the Delta Queen has operated under a special congressional exemption due to the boat’s wooden superstructure not meeting certain regulations under the 1966 Safety of Life at Sea Act. Congress has renewed the exemption on a number of occasions to allow the Delta Queen to continue overnight passenger cruises. Without congressional action, the current exemption will expire in November 2008.
On October 26, 2007 at a news conference at the National Steamboat Monument in Cincinnati, Congressman Chabot formally announced the introduction of legislation that will save the Delta Queen. Chabot’s bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3852, would extend the exemption for the Delta Queen until 2018.
Joining Congressman Chabot at the announcement (Pictured Above) were Cincinnati City Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz; Gordon Greene, former Vice President of Greene Line Steamers; Dan Hurley, the Assistant Vice President for History at the Cincinnati Museum Center; Doug Moorman of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Mike Berry, President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival; Mike Jones, Middle Rivers Chapter of the Sons & Daughters of the Pioneer Rivermen; and a number of enthusiastic Delta Queen supporters.
