Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the chairman from Texas for adding my amendment to this en bloc. Mr. Chairman, my amendment today would require the Defense Department and FAA to study the impact of military helicopter noise in the national capital region and to develop recommendations to reduce the effect of noise on people and property. The airspace around Washington, D.C., is more restricted and more highly congested than in any other part of the country. On average, 144 helicopter operations take place here every day, 75 percent of which are military, encompassing all types of military aircraft. One recent addition to our airspace is the V-22 Osprey, a hybrid helicopter and airplane with the width of an 8-story building. It has been deployed to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, rescue missions in Haiti and the San Juan Mountains, and now the peaceful communities of northern Virginia. As most of my colleagues probably know, the Osprey can transition from a turboprop plane to a conventional helicopter, all while hovering at a low altitude. This noisy transition takes place directly over the Fairlington neighborhood in my district in Arlington, Virginia. Mr. Chairman, the communities in my district are realistic about the noise helicopters generate and are sensitive to the operational needs of the military, but the routes and altitude caps dictated by the FAA follow best practices for public and private aircraft, not military aircraft designed for a conflict zone.…”