FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I wish to speak to this amendment which makes it a Federal criminal offense to target an aircraft with a laser.

The prevalence of this activity has increased enormously. According to the FAA, there were 2,836 instances of lasers aimed at airplanes in 2010, which is a ninefold increase over the past 5 years.

The consequences of one of these attacks in the cockpit of an aircraft are significant. I am reading from a news report:

Glendale, CA, police Sgt. Steve Robertson remembers the first time he encountered a laser strike. He says his helicopter was hit by a powerful beam of green light one night while he was on patrol. ``It immediately [lit] up the whole cockpit and it hit both of my eyes and burned both of my corneas,'' said the veteran pilot. ``Instantly, I was blinded. It felt like I was hit in the face with a baseball bat--just an intense, burning pain.''

Robertson was momentarily incapacitated and would have crashed if his co-pilot hadn't been able to land the chopper.

Thankfully, he recovered from his injuries.

I express my appreciation to both Senators Boxer and Feinstein who are cosponsors of this amendment. Clearly, it is a major issue in California. I thank Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois who is the lead Republican cosponsor.

O'Hare Airport is one of the busiest airports in the country. It had 98 of these events take place in 2010.

Senator Durbin also of Illinois is a cosponsor as well. I express my appreciation to him.

The House has passed a similar measure. There is every reason to believe that if we take this step we will be able to help defend our airspace from these attacks. Obviously, they are most dangerous near airports when planes are taking off or landing or in low level flight, as police sergeant Steve Robertson was.

It has the support of the National Association of Police Agencies and the Pilots Association.

I hope very much that my colleagues will vote in favor of it and take this simple step to protect our aircraft travel from a new and emerging risk

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