Florida sues Biden Administration over Shutdown of Cruise Industry

Florida is suing the Biden Administration in federal district court to overturn the unlawful “Conditional Sailing Order” enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Image/State of Florida

“We must allow our cruise liners and their employees to get back to work and safely set sail again,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “To be clear, no federal law authorizes the CDC to indefinitely impose a nationwide shutdown of an entire industry. This lawsuit is necessary to protect Floridians from the federal government’s overreach and resulting economic harm to our state.”

“Cruises are a vital part of Florida’s tourism industry—employing thousands and boosting our state’s economy. Every day the federal government unfairly keeps this economic giant docked, our economy suffers. The ripple effect of this misguided federal lockdown has far-reaching implications for the cruise industry, international tourism, businesses that would benefit from the influx of visitors, our state’s economy and the thousands of Floridians who work in the industry,”  said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “But what is even worse than the economic damage caused by this heavy-handed federal overreach is the precedent being set by an eager-to-regulate Biden administration that is unfairly singling out and keeping docked our cruise industry on the basis of outdated data. Our litigation seeks to end this federal overreach and allow Floridians to safely get back to work and travel.”

The unprecedented year-long lockdown of an entire industry by the federal government has directly harmed the State of Florida, its citizens, and their families, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in economic activity.

The CDC’s Conditional Sailing Order harms the State and its citizens in at least 4 ways:

  • Preventing numerous businesses and employees from earning a living;
  • Contributing to our State’s unemployment;
  • Exacerbating the massive shortfalls in revenues experienced by our State’s seaports; and
  • Reducing state and local taxes associated with the cruise industry.

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