{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://carson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-carsons-duck-boat-bill-other-legislative-wins-headed-to-bidens-desk", "Rep. Carson's Duck Boat Bill, Other Legislative Wins Headed to Biden's Desk", "2022-12-08", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Andr\u00e9 Carson", "C001072", "carson.house.gov", "carson", "https://carson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023, sending Representative Andr\u00e9 Carson's (IN-07) Duck Boat Safety Improvement Act to President Joe Biden for signature.\n\nThe NDAA is a sweeping bill that each year authorizes our nation's policies for America's armed forces. The FY' 23 NDAA includes a number of legislative accomplishments for Congressman Carson:\n\nDuck Boat Safety Act\n\nRep. Carson's Duck Boat Safety Act is a culmination of a nearly five-year effort to improve safety regulations for duck boats, which took the life of 17 passengers in an accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri in 2018. Among those on board were nine members of the Coleman family, who were residents of Indianapolis, IN.\n\nThe Duck Boat Safety Improvement Act will require vessel operators to implement common-sense boating safety measures when waterborne, including:\n\nImproving reserve buoyancy and watertight compartmentalization to prevent sinking,\n\nRequiring more monitoring and adherence to severe weather alerts and warnings,\n\nRequiring release of road safety seatbelts when Duck Boats become waterborne,\n\nRequiring stronger crew safety training and certification,\n\nRemoving or reconfigure canopies and window coverings for waterborne operations,\n\nRequiring personal flotation devices for waterborne operations,\n\nRequiring installation of better bilge pumps and alarms,\n\nInstalling underwater LED lights that activate automatically in emergencies, and\n\nComplying with other Coast Guard boating safety requirements.\n\nRep. Carson made the following statement:\n\n\"More than four years ago, during what was supposed to be a fun family outing, nine members of the Coleman family from Indianapolis were killed in a duck boat accident. Today, my Duck Boat Safety Improvement Act will be sent to President Biden for signature.\n\nThe National Transportation Safety Board made recommendations 20 years ago for safety measures that could have prevented an incident like this from occurring. Sadly, those recommendations were not implemented \u2013 until now. Thanks to the advocacy of Tia Coleman, who survived the 2018 incident, countless lives will be saved. I want to thank Tia for her tireless advocacy. This multi-year work is dedicated to the Coleman family and all whose lives have been tragically lost in duck boat accidents.\"\n\nFederal Firefighters Fairness Act\n\nThe Federal Firefighters Fairness Act will amend the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to improve firefighters' access to injury and illness benefits through an automatic presumption that an illness on a science-based list, such as mesothelioma, was work-related. Rep. Carson's amendment increases the time federal employees have to provide supporting documentation for illness, traumatic injury, or a death claim from 30 to 60 days.\n\nIncreased Funding for Pancreatic Cancer Research\n\nRep. Carson succeeded in increasing the authorization for funding of pancreatic cancer research in the Defense Health Program. This increase of $5 million brings the total to $20 million. Pancreatic cancer research has long been a priority of Rep. Carson, as it took the lives of his colleagues such as Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Alcee Hastings. Black Americans are at increased risk for pancreatic cancer and are more likely to get pancreatic cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. Increased awareness, research, and early detection have been shown to dramatically improve outcomes.\n\nIntelligence Authorization Act\n\nThis bill includes Rep. Carson's requirement for the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report on threats from hypersonic weapons to the appropriate committees in Congress, including the House Intelligence Committee, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Counterterrorism Subcommittee. In light of the use of such weapons by Russia in Ukraine, the report will contain an assessment of the threat of hypersonic weapons to the U.S. and our allies and partners. The bill's major themes include supporting the Intelligence Community workforce to improve recruitment and retention; countering hard target adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran; ensuring successful adoption of emerging technologies; and protecting the U.S. from foreign commercial spyware and other counterintelligence threats.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://carson.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-carsons-duck-boat-bill-other-legislative-wins-headed-to-bidens-desk"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6891439445316792, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}