Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is calling on the federal government to end the lockdown on cruise ships so that they can begin sailing again by summer.
"I want to see these ships sailing," he said during a meeting at Port Canaveral, "It would be a great comeback for a lot of people who work in this industry."
Newsmax reports:
The industry officials claim inaction by the federal government is keeping thousands of workers unemployed and hurting Florida’s economy.
The Sentinel noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had lifted a "no-sail" order back in October. However, cruise lines are still waiting for technical guidance so they can start the test voyage needed to completely resume operations.
"We’re the most crippled by what they are doing with this national cruise lockdown," DeSantis continued. "If we get liberated from that, you are going to be able see maybe tens of thousands — maybe even a hundred thousand more people — going back to work."
The Sentinel noted cruise lines are already restarting cruises in Israel, Europe, and Singapore.
Florida is planning to fund about $260 million to aid ports in the state that have suffered losses during the pandemic. However, DeSantis said that won’t be enough if ships can’t sail.
Florida Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio and numerous other lawmaker are pushing the Biden administration to get the shops sailing again.
They wrote a letter to the White House COVID coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, on Thursday that reads:
"We appreciate the efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to keep Americans healthy and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. However, we write with concern about the CDC’s continued restrictions on the cruise industry, and the economic toll it is taking on so many in our states that rely on this important industry.
"In October 2020, the CDC issued a Framework for Conditional Sailing as a phased approach to the safe resumption of cruise operations. In doing so, the CDC assured the cruise industry it would release detailed phases in order to resume full cruise operations. To-date, however, the CDC has still not issued Phase II requirements.
"We are disappointed that the CDC has been neither transparent nor forthright with the cruise industry, leaving a sector that is a significant economic driver for our states at a standstill, and affecting jobs in all major ports and surrounding cities."
Trending Political News
Photos of Border Crisis Leaked
James O'Keefe of Project Veritas has struck again. Leaked photos of the border crisis show hundreds of migrants sleeping on the floor in closed quarters during the pandemic.
“These photos were taken within the last few days,” a source said to Project Veritas. “There are eight pods with eight cells each in the facility. At any given moment there are an average of 3,000 people in custody here.”
Trump Reveals He Left Letter in Oval Office for Biden - ‘Was From the Heart Because I Want to See Him Do Well’
Former President Donald Trump revealed that he left a “couple page” letter in the Oval Office for Joe Biden. He says he wrote the letter “from the heart” because he wants to see Joe do a good job.
“Basically, I wish him luck,” Trump told Lisa Boothe during an interview for her podcast. He said the letter was a “couple of pages long and it was from the heart because I want to see him do well.”
New Children’s Book Praises Dr. Fraud as a Hero, ‘America’s Doctor’
As Dr. Seuss is cancelled, Dr. Anthony Fauci is hailed a hero...what alternate reality am I living in??
Simon & Schuster is set to publish a new children’s book that takes a look at Fauci’s life and how he grew up to become a doctor. The book praises him and his medical career, dubbing him “America’s doctor.”
Trump: Biden Agenda is ‘Bernia Sanders on Steroids’
On Monday, former President Donald Trump told Newsmax’s Greg Kelly that President Joe Biden’s agenda is like Bernie Sanders on steroids....in other words, not good.
We know Bernie is a socialist and Biden is already flirting pretty heavily with that thin, thin line.
Feminist Naomi Wolf Concerned Biden is National Security Risk: He’s ‘Struggling Physically’
During an interview with Steve Malzberg on Eat the Press, progressive feminist author and former Democrat adviser Dr. Naomi Wolf noted that she is concerned about Joe Biden’s state of health and is concerned that he is a national security threat.
Wolf stated on Sunday that “as Americans, we would be remiss not to notice that this is a man who is struggling physically, and our national security kind of depends on our being grown-ups.”
Report: Trump Launching His Own Social Media Platform Soon
According to Donald Trump’s senior advisor Jason Miller, the former president will be launching a new social media platform in the next few months.
Fox News Channel host Howard Kurtz asked Miller during an interview on Sunday, “Donald Trump obviously has been booted off Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, which were a great megaphone for him. Does he plan to get back on social media perhaps with some new outfit?”
Rep. Steele Reveals She’s Faced Racism: I’ve Been Called ‘Chairman Mao’
Conservative Representative Michelle Steel appeared on Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union” and revealed that she has had her fair share of racism as one of the first three Korean American members of Congress.
Steel said that she has been called “Chairman Mao.”
Sleepy Uncle Joe: ‘At Some Point’ I Will Visit the Border
On Sunday, President Joe Biden told reporters that he will visit the Southern border “at some point.”
At some point, Joe? Will that “point” be anytime during your presidency?
“At some point, I will, yes,” he responded when a reporter asked if he planned to visit. When a reporter asked if he was going to visit any of the detention facilities for migrants, all he said was, “I know what’s going on in those facilities.”
Trump Knocks Biden: He Turned ‘National Triumph into National Disaster’
On Sunday, former President Donald Trump knocked President Joe Biden’s “easy-migration strategy,” stating that he turned a “national triumph into a national disaster.”
Trump said, “We proudly handed the Biden Administration the most secure border in history. All they had to do was keep this smooth-running system on autopilot. Instead, in the span of just a few weeks, the Biden Administration has turned a national triumph into a national disaster. They are in way over their heads and taking on water fast.”