Congressman Cohen Questions FAA Administrator Whitaker

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, today expressed a need for additional oversight and accountability over Boeing and pushed for the passage of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill at a hearing on “The State of American Aviation and the Federal Aviation Administration” with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker. In his questions to Whitaker, Congressman Cohen focused on the safety issues involved in aircraft evacuations in emergencies and noted the Japan Airlines Flight 516 collision in which it reportedly took 18 minutes to evacuate the airliner’s passengers.

In his opening statement, Congressman Cohen commended the FAA’s prompt response to the January 5^th Boeing 737 MAX 9 accident, urged the FAA to continue to hold Boeing accountable, ensured the Subcommittee’s continued leadership to enact any legislative changes deemed necessary to resolve quality control problems, strengthen the oversight of aircraft manufacturers and suppliers and prevent further safety issues from arising, and urged the immediate passage of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill.

See the entire opening statement here.

See Congressman Cohen’s questions to Administrator Whitaker here.

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