Table Rock Lake Archives

UPDATE: Missouri’s Hawley praises bipartisan movement on duck boat legislation

November 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

After being stuck in committee on Capitol Hill for 19 months, bipartisan duck boat legislation from U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) is expected to be voted on Wednesday morning by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

It’s the first bill the committee is scheduled to take up Wednesday, and it comes a little more than a month after Senator Hawley told Missourinet that he was prepared to go straight to the Senate floor, if there wasn’t movement on the bill.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

The other new development is that Hawley’s bill now has a powerful Democratic co-sponsor, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois). Senator Duckworth serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and is the ranking Democrat on its subcommittee on transportation and safety.

Hawley and Duckworth also serve together on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) are the other co-sponsors.

“For decades now, Congress has failed to take action to help stop these tragedies from happening again,” Hawley says. “The (2018) disaster on Table Rock Lake was sadly not an isolated incident. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle share my concerns and have come together to implement basic safety standards in every state in which these rides are available.”

17 people were killed in the 2018 duck boat tragedy on southwest Missouri’s Table Rock Lake.

Senator Hawley’s legislation would require the U.S. Coast Guard to implement recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), including requiring duck boats to remove canopies. The bill would require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat, in the event of flooding. It also requires new reporting efforts.

During an October 2 interview with Missourinet, a frustrated Hawley said that the time had come for him to go to the U.S. Senate floor and try to pass the duck boat legislation himself. He had planned to seek what’s known as unanimous consent.

That won’t be necessary, now that the Commerce Committee has scheduled a vote.

The duck boat legislation was one of the first filed by Senator Hawley, after he was sworn-in in 2019. It’s very similar to the bill filed by Hawley’s predecessor, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Her bill was also stuck in committee.

17 of the 31 people aboard the boat called Stretch Duck 7 died, after a storm with 70-mile-per-hour winds came through Table Rock Lake. The NTSB says the Coast Guard’s failure to require sufficient design of amphibious vessels contributed to the boat’s sinking.

Missouri’s Hawley is ready to go to Senate floor to seek unanimous consent on duck boat bill (AUDIO/VIDEO)

October 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri senator who serves on the Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill is frustrated that his duck boat legislation remains stuck in the Commerce Committee.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) says the bill is bottled up in committee. The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is chaired by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi.

“I think the time has probably come to try and force it out of committee and for me to go to the (U.S. Senate) floor and to try and pass it myself,” Hawley says.

His legislation, called the Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act, would require the U.S. Coast Guard to implement recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), including requiring duck boats to remove canopies. 17 people were killed in the July 2018 duck boat tragedy on southwest Missouri’s Table Rock Lake.

During a Thursday interview with Missourinet, Senator Hawley says he’s trying to prevent a repeat of the deadly 2018 tragedy. He also indicates his patience is wearing thin, saying he’s ready to go to the floor.

“And if there’s not movement in coming days on the bill, that’s exactly what I will do. I will go to the floor of the United States Senate and I will seek unanimous consent to have this bill passed, and then we’ll have to see who objects to it,” says Hawley.

Hawley’s legislation would also require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat, in the event of flooding. It would also impose new security requirements on every single duck boat, in Missouri and nationally. It would also require new reporting efforts.

The bill was one of the first filed by Senator Hawley, after he was sworn-in. It’s very similar to legislation filed by Hawley’s predecessor, former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Her bill also was stuck in committee.

17 of the 31 people aboard the boat called Stretch Duck 7 died, after a storm with 70 mile-per-hour winds came through. The NTSB says the Coast Guard’s failure to require sufficient design of amphibious vessels contributed to the boat’s sinking.

Missouri receives $15 million in CARES Act funding to help rebuild tourism industry

July 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor announced $15 million in grant funding on Thursday to help rebuild Missouri’s tourism industry, which has been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri Tourism Director Stephen Foutes briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 16, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says Missouri has seen 30,422 confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 1,113 deaths.

State Department of Economic Development (DED) Director Rob Dixon tells Capitol reporters in Jefferson City that the grant funding will help the tourism industry make attractions safer.

“So many Missouri destinations and businesses are working hard to stay open, to support the countless jobs that depend on this industry, while protecting the safety of their workers and their customers,” Dixon says.

Under the program announced Thursday by Governor Mike Parson, $15 million in CARES Act funding will be designated for destination marketing organizations, which are entities that promote Missouri as a place to visit. The money can be used for things such as payroll relief and reimbursement for safety equipment.

State Tourism Director Stephen Foutes says the funding will also provide enhanced safety efforts for events.

“Qualified DMOs can apply to have costs associated with things such as temperature screenings at events or event facilities offset through this program,” says Foutes.

Foutes says conventions are non-existent now in many Missouri communities, because of COVID. Dixon says about 58,000 Missouri food service workers lost their jobs between March and June, because of the pandemic.

Missouri’s tourism industry generated about $14 billion in 2019.

During the media briefing, Missourinet asked Director Dixon about the pandemic’s impact on the vacation town of Branson, which is in southwest Missouri. Dixon says tourism in the Branson area has dropped significantly from COVID-19, in both Stone and Taney counties.

“We’ve seen early on that in particular higher unemployment rates and things like that than the rest of the state, and that kind of follows trends around the world, around the country in particular, of where those effects are seen,” Dixon says.

Before COVID, millions of people visited Branson annually. The town has about 57,000 theater seats, and anglers from across the Midwest fish for bass and crappie on Table Rock Lake.

As for Governor Parson, he praises the grant funding and says this is a great time to support local communities through tourism. DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams agrees and emphasizes the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask and washing your hands.

Missouri’s Hawley: It’s time for the Coast Guard to act on duck boats (AUDIO/VIDEO)

May 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s junior senator says the deadly 2018 duck boat tragedy which killed 17 victims on southwest Missouri’s Table Rock Lake should never have occurred.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) tells Missourinet that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made several recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard after a similar 1999 tragedy in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“If the Coast Guard had implemented the NTSB’s recommendations from the late 1990’s, almost 20 years ago now, 20 years from the time of the accident, then this (Table Rock Lake incident) would not have happened,” Hawley says.

The 1999 Arkansas incident killed 13 of the 21 passengers on board.

Senator Hawley has filed legislation that would require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat, in the event of flooding. His bill would also require additional life preservers, and would require duck boats to remove canopies. It also requires additional ways to pump water out.

Hawley, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says it’s time for the Coast Guard to act on the issue of duck boats. He says it’s critical to keeping Missourians and others safe.

“Over a year ago, I introduced legislation that would write these requirements and these protections into law,” says Hawley. “It is time for the Senate to act on that legislation, and I hope that they will.”

Hawley’s legislation is similar to one filed by former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Hawley unseated McCaskill in Missouri’s 2018 Senate election.

Hawley’s letter to Coast Guard Admiral Karl Schultz reads, in part: “It is in your power to ensure ‘duck boat’ is not synonymous with ‘floating metal death trap.’

17 victims died in the Table Rock Lake incident, including nine from one family. The victims drowned when the vessel sank quickly, during a storm.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, which was recorded on May 21, 2020: