Dive Industry Trade Group Keeps Up Pressure on Congress Over Insurance Law

Why It Matters

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) has a singular, persistent problem: a provision buried in a defense bill is, according to the group, breaking the commercial insurance market for small dive boat operators across the United States. Section 11503 of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act — known as the Small Passenger Vessel Act — removed liability caps for small passenger vessels and extended the claims lookback period to two years. DEMA has characterized this as a legislative drafting error, not an intentional policy choice, and has been pushing Congress to fix it ever since. The legislative solution they're seeking would amend that provision to restore a more workable liability framework — one that doesn't, in their telling, price small dive businesses out of the insurance market entirely.

By the Numbers

DEMA's first quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure filing shows $30,000 paid to E2C Strategies LLC — consistent with every quarter going back to second quarter 2024. The group first registered with E2C Strategies in early 2024, and has not changed firms since. Prior to that, DEMA had a separate arrangement with Modern Fortis LLC, under which a termination filing was filed in early 2024.

The sole lobbyist identified across all prior quarterly filings is Emily Elaine Coyle of E2C Strategies, though the current first quarter 2026 filing lists no lobbyists by name — a gap that may reflect timing of data entry rather than a change in personnel.

Over the past two years, DEMA has paid E2C Strategies approximately $255,000 across nine substantive filings, making it the firm's largest client. This is not a first-time entrant into federal lobbying; DEMA has maintained a consistent congressional lobbying presence for years, and the current engagement reflects a sustained, single-issue campaign rather than a broad policy agenda.

The E2C Strategies team draws on a bipartisan pool of former congressional staffers. Associated staff include individuals with backgrounds in offices ranging from Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) on the Republican side, to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) on the Democratic side. Christopher Michael Tuttle, who served as a policy director on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is among those with committee-level experience.

The Agenda

Every lobbying disclosure filing DEMA has submitted through E2C Strategies has pointed to the same target: Section 11503 of the 2023 NDAA. The fourth quarter 2025 filing offered the clearest articulation of the goal — to "correct a mistake in the US code that broke the insurance market for the American small business dive community, their employees, customers, and related stakeholders."

DEMA's public materials describe the fix they're seeking as the DIVE BOAT Act, which would amend the Small Passenger Vessel Act. One proposed change would reduce the claims lookback period from two years to one year for liveaboard vessels — aligning it more closely with how insurance premiums are calculated. DEMA has publicly stated it is also exploring other legislative vehicles to advance the provision.

The first quarter 2026 filing lists no specific issues lobbied and no legislation — a blank that may reflect the filing being submitted before full details were entered. Prior filings have been consistent in their focus.

Broader Context

While DEMA's lobbying has centered on the NDAA insurance fix, there is related congressional activity that touches the broader recreational marine sector. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 4275), moving through the 119th Congress, has been identified as a potential legislative vehicle for DEMA's priorities, after earlier efforts to attach the DIVE BOAT Act to the 2024 Coast Guard Reauthorization did not advance.

Separately, Congress held a legislative hearing in June 2025 on H.R. 3858 — the Sport Fish Restoration, Recreational Boating Safety, and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2025 — which would reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund through 2031. That fund, supported by excise taxes on recreational equipment manufacturers, has provided roughly $40 billion for aquatic recreation infrastructure since 1950. The bill advanced out of the House Natural Resources Committee in July 2025. While DEMA has not publicly cited this legislation in its lobbying disclosures, the trust fund directly affects the marine access infrastructure that dive operators depend on.

Competitive Landscape

No other organizations were identified in the available data as lobbying specifically on Section 11503 of the 2023 NDAA or the DIVE BOAT Act. The issue appears to be largely DEMA's advocacy effort, which is consistent with the narrow, industry-specific nature of the legislative fix they are seeking. Broader maritime liability and small vessel legislation has other stakeholders, but DEMA's campaign on this particular provision appears to be largely its own.

The Bottom Line

DEMA's first quarter 2026 federal lobbying activity reflects an organization that has been running the same play for more than two years: a focused, well-funded effort through a single lobbying firm to fix one provision in one law. The $30,000 quarterly retainer has held steady, the firm hasn't changed, and the issue hasn't shifted.

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