The Alaska House of Representatives passed a joint resolution urging Congress and President Biden to take action that would allow large cruise ships to return to the state. Senate Joint Resolution 9 would ask Congress to temporarily waive certain provisions of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which would allow cruise ships to sail from Seattle to Alaska without needing to make a stop in Canada.
House District 29 Rep. Ben Carpenter on the House Floor, “It is very important that we address this situation and we are not addressing it with a law. We’re not even addressing, this amendment doesn’t change the law and the resolution is not a law. It isn’t changing the law. What is it doing is communicating to another legislative branch of our country and asking them to take action to solve a problem that’s affecting us. I believe that it is incumbent upon us to do everything that we can in this current legislature to return trust and respect of the people to the legislature and if we’re going to request another body or an executive branch to just ignore a law, than we are not doing the right thing. I am asking, as a member of the minority, to do something simple to an official request that will go out on behalf of all members of the legislature to not ask the President or Congress or any other legislative body to ignore or not enforce a law. I think that would bring discredit upon us to do so.”
More than 2.2 million visitors traveled to Alaska in 2019. Of that, 1.3 million visited by cruise ship, accounting for 90% of the visitors to Southeast Alaska. Each year, the tourism industry generates more than $214 million in state and municipal revenue, more than $1.4 billion in payroll and $2.2 billion of visitor spending. On average, the tourism industry creates nearly 8,400 jobs annually, generating more than $271 million in wages and earnings for Southeast Alaska.
COVID-19 diminished those numbers. Several major cruise lines have canceled their 2021 travel season to the state, citing the prohibition from Canadian officials on cruise ships. After several days of deliberation, the final vote passed with 38 yeas and 2 nays.
(transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV)