Bills to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration were introduced in the U.S. Congress about 10 days ago and marked up in the House and Senate Transportation Committees last week. Over the next few months, these bills will be further negotiated, amended, and ultimately voted on. Montgomery County residents need to be engaged in each step of the legislative process so that our legislators know that we have concerns about these bills.
Both Committee Chairs want their respective bills to be voted on by their full chambers in July so that a final package can be sent to the President by the September 30th deadline for reauthorization. It is unclear whether the multi-year reauthorization package will be finalized by September 30 or whether a short-term bill will be necessary because the Congressional calendar is so full with other issues.
MCQSC's policy committee co-chairs sent letters last week to the relevant committee Chairs and Ranking Members. We stated that the FAA reauthorization bill should address the concerns of citizens around the country who are being severely impacted by noise and pollution from airplanes. Our recommendations were derived from similar requests that have been made in recent years by the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus and other activist groups on this issue. Copies of both MCQSC June 28, 2017 letters are available by clicking on the links below and are also available under the "Action letters, Templates" folder on the Downloads and Templates tab. 2017.6.28_MCQSC FAA Reauth Letter Sent to US Senate on 06-28-17.pdf 2017.6.28_MCQSC AIRR Letter Sent to US House of Rep on 06-28-17.pdf
As the bills move forward, we are staying in touch with our Maryland delegation: Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and Sen. Benjamin Cardin. As you know, they have been incredibly supportive of MCQSC and our concerns, and they have assured us that they will do whatever they can to represent our interests as this process moves forward.
A quick note to encourage our Maryland representatives to get these concepts into the final bill, and to thank them for their continued support and engagement during the FAA Reauthorization process, would be wonderful and much appreciated. You can reference our letters (attached below), or state your concerns in your own words. Contact information is below.
Representative Jamie Raskin Attn: Nina Weisbroth, nina.weisbroth@mail.house.gov Kathleen Connor, kathleen.connor2@mail.house.gov
Senator Van Hollen Brent Girard, brent_girard@vanhollen.senate.gov Karen McManus, karen_mcmanus@vanhollen.senate.gov
Senator Cardin Attn: Ann Jacobs, ann_jacobs@cardin.senate.gov Ken Reichard, ken_reichard@cardin.senate.gov |
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