Congressman Cohen Welcomes Senator Schumer’s Announcement to Offer Seat-Size Amendment to FAA Reauthorization

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today welcomed Senator Charles Schumer’s (D-NY) announcement that he plans to offer an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill to require the FAA to establish seat-size standards for commercial airlines. Congressman Cohen, a member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, is the author of bipartisan legislation in the House, the Seat Egress in Air Travel Act (H.R. 4490), that would require the FAA to establish minimum seat size and minimum distances between rows of seats to protect the safety and health of airline passengers.

“I commend Senator Schumer for his commitment to protecting the safety and health of the flying public,” said Congressman Cohen. “Higher profits must never come at the expense of safety. Planes need to be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency, yet appropriate testing has not been done on all of today’s smaller seats. In addition, doctors have warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who don’t move their legs during longer flights. The time to examine the safety implications of smaller seats is now, not after some future tragedy.”

On February 11, 2016, the Congressman offered the SEAT Act as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill while the latter was being considered by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Despite bipartisan support for the Cohen amendment, it failed by a vote of 26-33. Upon its defeat, the Congressman announced that he would try to offer it again as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill when the bill comes to the House floor.

Congress is working to renew authorization for the FAA with the current authority set to expire on March 31, 2016.

Recent press coverage of the SEAT Act can be found at: Chicago Tribune; CBS Evening News, CBS Morning News: USA Today; Washington Post; CNN; Memphis Commercial Appeal;Waterloo-Cedear Falls Courier

Congressman Cohen’s Op-Ed on this issue was recently published in USA Today. You can read his Op-Ed here.