Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2011, which is cosponsored by Senator Boxer. This legislation is very simple. It directs the Federal Aviation Administration to develop and enforce regulations to control helicopter noise and improve helicopter safety above Los Angeles. FAA must complete the regulations within three years, in consultation with the local community, and it must include an exemption for public safety aircraft. The bill is a companion to legislation with the same name introduced by Representative Berman. This legislation is long overdue. Under current law, helicopter pilots can and do fly practically wherever they want above Los Angeles, and no agency limits their activity. The Federal Aviation Administration controls our Nation's airspace exclusively, but it imposes no restrictions on helicopter flight paths, elevation, or hovering. If a helicopter wants to hover over a home in Los Angeles for an hour, it can. One neighborhood leader told the New York Times this summer that he was afraid of complaining too loudly about the noise helicopters create because he feared helicopter operators would retaliate, legally, by parking over his house. City officials and State agencies permit the location of helicopter landing pads, but they have absolutely no power to govern what the chopper does once it takes off.…”