Political Quotes

“I rise today not in opposition to this legislation, but simply to talk for a moment about the problems of the FAA. Early last year, we were informed by the FAA of their plan to implement a redesign of the airspace in the northeast, which would negatively affect Rockland County, which I represent. I wanted to know more about the redesign, so I investigated the maps and other materials on their website, and my staff did the necessary research. After looking at the information, I could not determine how many more planes would be flying over my District if the FAA changed the airspace to their preferred alternative. The maps were extremely vague, with no landmarks or cities identified. Only through persistent inquiries to the FAA, most of which yielded little new information, did I finally learn that their plan would send up to 400 additional flights every day over Rockland County, at altitudes as low as 5,000 feet. This translates to one flight every 2 to 3 minutes over a previously quiet suburban area. Although I strongly disagreed with their decision to send hundreds of new planes over Rockland every day, the plan itself wasn't the FAA's only problem. The bigger issue was how they tried to implement this plan without telling the very people who would be most affected by the redesign.”