In March the well was actually perforated and flowing when the U.S. DOE made the operator shut it in and move the rig away from the platform, an atypical safetyrequirement imposed in the wake of the Macondo disaster.
Holding muster drills before leaving port goes beyond the existing legal requirement that passengers participate in the safety drills within 24 hours of embarking.
"There are various means of delivering passenger safety instructions and abandon ship instructions, but we believe ... the existing international requirement that we provide this instruction within 24 hours can be bettered by doing it immediately upon (passenger) boarding, " said Michael Crye, executive vice president of Cruise Lines International Association.
The same Senate committee has already approved expanding the requirement for background checks on gun buyers, increasing penalties for gun traffickers and boosting aid for school safety.
There is no conceivable public-safety benefit: Insurance policies cover accidents, not intentional crimes, and criminals with illegal guns will just evade the requirement.