FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for their hard work, and also Mr. Larsen as well.

I have to confess that mentally in my mind I have a list of Republicans I wish wouldn't run for office again, but I am proud and happy to say that, Mr. Shuster, you are not on that list. I just want to congratulate you on your good work not only on this bill, but in the past on a lot of issues that affect not only the constituents in your district, but also people across this country. Thank you for your service.

I was hoping that I might come to the floor today to talk about ways that we might prevent terrorists and criminal organizations from registering aircraft in the United States. There is a Department of Transportation Inspector General report that is well known to Members here that basically lays out the case for more closely scrutinizing the registration of U.S. aircraft. They came up with a few glaring examples that I will mention here.

Recently, it was discovered that Hezbollah, through a front person, also from Lebanon, registered an aircraft here in the United States with no landing permit. In addition, we had another aircraft registered through the FAA through Wells Fargo Bank, which we understand was located in Tripoli International Airport in Libya, with no landing permit, just hours before the U.N. Security Council met to approve a no-fly zone over that country.

Similarly, we had an aircraft owned by the brother of Ghana's president but registered by the Bank of Utah, which mysteriously appeared in Tehran, Iran, in 2014, bearing an American flag emblem. This occurred, obviously, in the midst of U.S. and international sanctions. Prohibiting the travel of U.S. aircraft to Iran was the law at that point. The FAA could not explain who was operating the plane or who owned it, and the lack of transparency and accountability in the FAA's registration system is a serious national security threat.

Now, there was a time when Democrats and Republicans could work on amendments like that and they would be accepted. I am still mystified as to where the opposition came from.

Also, public health and safety demands that the FAA take immediate steps to mitigate the impact of concentrated flight paths which come in and out of major airports around the country. They have got a new system called a NextGen RNAV system that concentrates the flights over very narrow strips of neighborhoods and in the areas adjacent to those airports. And we can do a lot, Mr. Chairman, to mitigate that damage. But that is not in this bill.

What I am here to talk about is retrofitting aircraft with noise mitigation devices known as vortex generators. These devices are lightweight and divert wind from the vents on the underside of an aircraft's wing to significantly reduce noise during descent. European carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France have already adapted their older Airbus aircraft with these devices, and new models now come equipped with them. My amendment, which is cosponsored by several of my colleagues on the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, would ensure that American air carriers are following suit.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment.

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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