REMARKS OF U.S. REP. NICK J. RAHALL, II
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Mark Up of H.R. 3676
February 11, 2014
Last December when the Federal Communications Commission voted to consider lifting the ban on the use of cell phones to make voice calls in flight, a chill went through the flying public and flight attendants nationwide.
The prospect of sitting among dozens of people all talking on their cell phones in a confined space raises serious safety, if not comfort, considerations especially at a time when passengers face less legroom, higher fees and pricey flights.
Adding a Quiet Car, as Amtrak does on many corridor trains, would not be an option.
Conversely, in the close confines of the airplane, members of the flying public may as well be unwilling agents of the National Security Agency, forced to eavesdrop on the cell calls of other passengers, regardless of how annoying that may be to them.
So I commend the Chairman for introducing this measure and bringing it before the Committee.
Our colleague Peter DeFazio first started championing this issue as far back as 2008. Today, I am pleased to see that the concerns he raised then are finally being addressed.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that we can keep airline cabins quiet and air travel safe.