Securing Aircraft Cockpits Against Lasers Act of 2011

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside any pending amendment and call up amendment No. 8.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to waive further reading of the amendment.

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of this amendment I have offered with Senators Kirk, Boxer, Durbin, Casey, Menendez, and Schumer to secure aircraft cockpits against lasers. This commonsense and bipartisan amendment would protect passengers and pilots by making it a Federal criminal offense to knowingly aim the beam of a laser at an aircraft.

As explained in a recent article in the New York Times, ``a beam that is \1/25\ of an inch wide at its origin can be 2 to 3 feet wide by the time it reaches an airliner approaching or departing an airport.'' As a result, when targeted at aircraft, laser stripes can instantly flash across the cockpit, temporarily blinding the pilot and the crew. One pilot described the feeling of being hit by a laser like this:

It immediately lit up the whole cockpit and it hit both of

my eyes and burned both of my corneas. Instantly, I was

blinded. It felt like I was hit in the face with a baseball

bat--just an intense burning pain.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt similarly recently warned that lasers can ``damage a pilot's eyes or cause temporary blindness.'' Indeed, pilots have described the need to hand control of their aircraft to a copilot as a result of one of these incidents.

It goes without saying that such a threat to a pilot's sight, particularly during the critical phases of takeoff and landing, poses an unacceptable risk to the traveling public, to our pilots, and to citizens on the ground. For this reason, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood recently described laser incidents as ``a serious safety issue.''

The problem is growing. According to a recent report by the Federal Aviation Administration, 2,836 pilots reported that they were targeted with lasers in 2010, nearly double the number in 2009. In other words, every day, eight pilots and the passengers they fly are put at risk in the manner I described. The problem affects airports of all sizes across the country.

At T.F. Green Airport, for instance, in my home State of Rhode Island, there were 12 such reported incidents just in the last year. The problem also is worsening as new and more powerful lasers become commercially available. These new lasers emit an increasingly bright beam that can reach aircraft miles away from the airport.

Current Federal law does not provide prosecutors with ready tools to prosecute and thus deter this dangerous conduct. Ill-fitting existing statutes occasionally can be used, but only in limited cases, leaving even identified perpetrators to go unpunished. My amendment would solve this problem by creating a criminal offense that clearly and distinctly covers this harmful conduct. It would explicitly criminalize knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft. Violations would lead to punishment of imprisonment for up to 5 years or fines of up to $250,000.

The legislation would exempt valid uses of lasers in the aviation context, such as designated research and development activities, flight test operations, training, and emergency signaling. Prosecutors would gain a new, valuable tool to protect air safety without any burden being imposed on the legitimate use of lasers.

Comparable bipartisan legislation has previously passed the House of Representatives and was reported favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee this year. It is widely supported. For example, this amendment is supported by the Airline Pilots Association and the National Association of Police Organizations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters from those organizations.

Mr. President, I thank Senators Kirk, Boxer, Durbin,

Casey, Menendez, and Schumer for their leadership on this issue. I also thank our partners in the House for their work, and let me thank Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Hutchison for considering this amendment.

I hope Senators on both sides of the aisle will join me in voting for this amendment that will protect our public safety against this new hazard.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I thank the distinguished chairman for his very kind words. Let me thank him for his efforts to support this amendment. His cosponsorship is extremely important. I look forward to working with whatever I can bring to get this amendment successfully adopted into the bill and to get the bill successfully passed. I very much appreciate the chairman's distinguished leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 386) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for aiming laser pointers at airplanes, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 386, the bill currently under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the danger of shining a laser beam into someone's eyes is not news. What is news is the ever-increasing number of incidents of laser pointers being directed at the pilots of commercial and law enforcement aircraft.

In 2005, when a similar measure was passed by this body, this emerging threat was estimated at 400 reported incidents over the previous 15 years. By contrast, in 2009, there were almost 1,600 episodes reported. In 2010, there were over 2,800 incidents reported.

As the Airline Pilots Association has stated in its letter of support for this legislation, ``The inappropriate use of widely available laser pointers against airborne flight crews represents a genuine and growing safety and security concern. At a minimum, the laser illumination of a cockpit creates a flight crew distraction, and in more serious cases, can result in eye damage and temporary incapacitation.''

Mr. Speaker, the danger from shining a laser into the cockpit of any aircraft is truly a tragedy waiting to happen. The ominous prospect of a catastrophe is particularly high during the takeoff and landing stages. Emergency maneuvers to prevent the misperception of midair collisions have also occurred. In one instance, the pilot thought he was about to strike the warning light on a tower. In another case, the laser beam was thought to be the lights of an approaching aircraft.

Law enforcement pilots, unfortunately, are frequently targeted and have to consider the possibility that they are being illuminated by a laser scope attached to a rifle. Law enforcement pilots have, on occasion, been required to discontinue a response to a crime in progress due to being hit by a laser.

At the same time, it is an unfortunate fact that some Federal prosecutors have declined to pursue cases, believing that the current Destruction of Aircraft statute does not fit the facts of their particular laser cases. Some States have statutes that have been successfully used to address this problem, but many more do not. H.R. 386 specifically addresses shining a laser pointer into an aircraft cockpit and will make aircraft travel safer for pilots and the public.

It is not only the number of laser pointers being aimed at aircraft cockpits that has dramatically increased during the past several years. The power of the current generation of laser-pointer devices has also significantly increased. Their cost, on the other hand, has gone down, making them much more widely available.

The problem of lasers being shown into cockpits is so prevalent that in my area, the Sacramento area, the FBI, the FAA, and the Federal Air Marshal Service have joined with State and local law enforcement in establishing a Laser Strike Working Group. These working groups have also expanded into other areas of the country.

H.R. 386 provides an important tool in our efforts to enhance the safety of air travel. This body passed identical language by a voice vote at the close of the 111th Congress. It is my hope that all Members will join me in supporting this important legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this is a timely matter. There was a press report just this week that police are trying to find the person who, on Friday morning, pointed a green laser beam both at an airplane and at a news helicopter in the Phoenix area. There have been incidents all around the country. This is not just something that is peculiar to my area; it is something that is increasing in terms of severity and in the number of incidents, so we need to pass this legislation as soon as possible.

I urge my fellow Members to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I voted for the Affordable Care Act because the current health care system is simply unsustainable and it will bankrupt our Nation. This law helps lay the groundwork for containing health care costs through leveraging private sector innovation and competition to improve the quality and value of care in this country. I was unable to vote today because of a family emergency, but I wanted to register my strong opposition to Senator McConnell's amendment which would repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act is already helping millions of Virginians and Americans. The law has helped lower prescription costs for seniors, including over 63,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has provided affordable coverage for millions of young adults throughout the country who have been able to stay on their parent's plan and stopped insurers from denying coverage to children due to a preexisting condition. Small businesses are benefiting from tax credits to cover the cost of offering health insurance coverage to their employees.

The Congressional Budget Office has stated that repealing the health care reform law would add $230 billion to the deficit and take away these immediate benefits and many other critical delivery systems reforms which currently are being implemented. Taking us back to the status quo is not an option.

This law is not perfect, nor will it be the final say in efforts to ensure that we have a quality, affordable health care system which works for American families and businesses.I have continued to push for fixes to parts of this law, including repealing the provision which placed a burdensome requirement on small businesses to file a form 1099, and will continue to pursue additional steps to further lower health care costs.

I look forward to working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to provide affordable, quality care to all Americans.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 386.

This bill establishes criminal penalties for knowingly aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft or in its flight path. Incidents involving lasers aimed at aircraft have raised concerns over the potential threat to aviation safety and national security.

Some are concerned that terrorists might use high-powered lasers to, among other things, incapacitate pilots. There is also concern that laser devices can distract or temporarily incapacitate pilots during critical phases of flight.

Lasers pose a safety hazard to flight operations. Even a brief exposure to a relatively low-powered laser beam can cause discomfort and temporary visual impairment. The visual distractions of a laser can cause a pilot to become disoriented or to lose situational awareness while flying. Higher powered laser

devices can incapacitate pilots and inflict eye injuries when viewed at closer ranges.

In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board documented two cases in which pilots sustained eye injuries and were incapacitated during critical phases of flight. In one of these cases, after a laser was pointed at the pilot's plane, he experienced a burning sensation and tearing in his eyes. A subsequent eye examination revealed multiple flash burns in the pilot's cornea.

These types of incidents happen more and more each year. There were over 2,800 reported incidents of this happening last year, more than double the number of reported incidents from the previous year. Because this is a documented and growing problem and because of the Federal interest in maintaining the safety of our airspace, this bill, unfortunately, is necessary.

I commend the gentleman from California, Representative Dan Lungren, for his work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I regret having missed votes to consider amendments to the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. I was celebrating the joyous occasion of my newest grandson's birth with my wife and children.

Had I been present, I would have voted to oppose the motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment to repeal the landmark health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This law provides health care coverage to more than 30 million Americans and also reduces the deficit. The benefits that have already been achieved by this law are substantial. Its repeal would force seniors to pay more for their drug coverage, businesses would lose valuable tax credits that enable them to provide health care coverage to their employees, and millions of Americans would no longer receive vital consumer protections from the health insurance industry. Additionally, this law extends the solvency of Medicare for 12 more years.

I have said before that a law this comprehensive would not be without flaws. I will support efforts to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and reduce the unintended consequences from it. I do not, however, support its repeal, which would not only be risky for our economy, but would have the effect of increasing the number of uninsured and causing vital programs such as Medicare to face insolvency in the very near future.

Had I been present, and consistent with my desire to continue to improve the Affordable Care Act, I would have supported both Senators Levin and Stabenow's amendments to repeal the form 1099 reporting requirement. This provision imposes an onerous compliance obligation on businesses of all sizes, and Congress should act quickly to remove that burden and allow businesses to direct their time, energy, and resources to growing their businesses and creating new jobs.