Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller dropped a bombshell at the closing of today’s cruise industry hearing in Washington DC, saying that he will introduce legislation later this week to close what he called the “tax loophole” for the cruise companies.

He said that over the past several years, the largest U.S. cruise companies had paid corporate income taxes equal to a 1.5 percent tax rate, despite posting billions in net income.

Sen. Rockefeller is chairman of the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science and Transportation.