FL Senators Scott, Rubio help introduce legislation to reopen cruise industry

Florida’s leaders are continuing their push to reopen the cruise industry.

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have now helped introduced the Careful Resumption Under Improved Safety Enhancements Act, also known as the CRUISE Act.

Under this legislation, the CDC’s current No Sail Order on cruises would be revoked. It would also require the CDC to release COVID-19 mitigation guidance for cruise lines.

“Florida is a tourism state with thousands of jobs relying on the success of our ports, cruise lines and maritime industries. While many sectors of the economy have been safely operating for months under CDC guidelines, Floridians, and those across the nation that rely on the cruise industry for work, continue to wait for updated guidance from the CDC,” Scott says in a statement.

Rubio echoed those sentiments in a statement of his own.

“The benefits of cruise operations are integral to the economies of Florida’s port cities. Floridians and many other Americans who are employed by ports, cruise operators, or work in hospitality jobs near cruise terminals face an uncertain future because of the CDC’s unresponsiveness to requests for guidance by stakeholder groups,” says Rubio.

This legislation comes less than a week after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the State of Florida was filing a lawsuit against the federal government, demanding cruise ships be allowed to sail again.

Cox Media Group