Norton Amendment Directing FAA to Prioritize Combating Airplane, Helicopter Noise Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the co-chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus and a senior member of the Aviation Subcommittee, announced that the House today passed her amendment to direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prioritize combating airplane and helicopter noise. Norton has been leading the effort in the House to combat airplane and helicopter noise in the District of Columbia and across the country. Most recently, she successfully led National Capital Region (NCR) members in getting the Government Accountability Office to agree to conduct a study of helicopter noise in the NCR.

"Our amendment to direct the FAA to prioritize airplane and helicopter noise is critical to the work we have already done in the District and the region on airplane and helicopter noise," Norton said. "It is our latest effort to provide much-needed relief to our neighborhoods and families affected by such noise."

Norton was able to get several provisions included in the enacted FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 to combat airplane noise, including requiring the FAA to study ways to phase out noisier, older aircraft, review the relationship between aircraft noise exposure and its effects on communities around airports, update airport noise exposure maps, and ensure community involvement in FAA NextGen projects located in metroplexes. Norton also got funding for institutions of higher education to conduct studies on the health impacts of prolonged exposure to airplane noise and emissions, and she had the District added to a list of cities where the health studies are to be conducted.

Norton's community meetings on airplane and helicopter noise and residents' stories of interrupted sleep patterns, homes shaking, and difficulty having conservations have guided Norton's bills and amendments.

The amendment was added to the fiscal year 2020 transportation appropriations bill. The amendment was cosponsored by Representatives Don Beyer (D-MD), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY).