Scott Garrett: “I want to stand and say I am pleased today that the rule will provide one amendment that Chris Shays from Connecticut…”

“I want to stand and say I am pleased today that the rule will provide one amendment that Chris Shays from Connecticut and myself also brought to the committee yesterday, but I also want to take this 1 minute to say that I had been hopeful that we could have had a vote on another amendment which would have delayed the FAA's New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia airspace redesign until a further study could have concluded. You see, Mr. Chairman, the air routes, in an attempt to cut delays, means that thousands of residents will be exposed to new levels of aircraft noise and pollution. There is great concern in townships throughout my district that these new routes will negatively impact upon the quality of life. The FAA claims to have looked into alternative options to decrease airline delays, but all those options dealt with changing the design of the airspace and reroutes over quiet neighborhoods; yet the FAA has admitted that many of the frustrating delays are caused not by airplane congestion but by airline overscheduling. The amendment that unfortunately did not come out of Rules would have required that the FAA look into those matters before proceeding. But, again, I am appreciative of the fact that what did come out of Rules, an amendment that we will be discussing a little later on to allow for further studies by the GAO.”