H.R. 598House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

AIM Act of 2017

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 11:49 AM UTC

The Airplane Impacts Mitigation (AIM) Act of 2017 directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to commission a study on how airplane noise and emissions affect the health of people living under flight paths in certain large cities. The study must look at issues like asthma, sleep problems, stress and blood pressure, and the results are to be reported to Congress.

Key Provisions

Within 180 days of the law’s enactment, the FAA must contract a qualified university or college to conduct the health‑impact study.
The study must focus on residents in up to eight metropolitan areas – specifically Boston, Chicago, New York, the Northern California Metroplex, Phoenix, and up to three other cities with international airports chosen by the FAA.
It must examine health effects from noise and air pollution for people living under the most common flight paths below 10,000 feet, especially during takeoff and landing.
Only health impacts that occur while the FAA’s NextGen RNAV navigation program is being implemented are to be considered.
The chosen institution must have a public‑health school involved with the FAA’s aircraft‑noise center, receive NIH environmental‑health funding, be located in the study area, and meet other FAA‑determined qualifications.
The institution must deliver its findings and source materials to the FAA within two years, and the FAA must send a report of those findings to Congress within 60 days of receipt.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Aviation Subcommittee

January 23, 2017

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 20, 2017

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

January 20, 2017

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Aviation Subcommittee

January 23, 2017

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 598 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Peter A. DeFazioD-OR-4 · Oct 10, 2017

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Curt Haensel, Senior Counsel of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. For the past 30 years, Curt has served as…

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Curt Haensel, Senior Counsel of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.

For the past 30 years, Curt has served as Legislative Counsel to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In that time, Curt has worked to assist the Committee under eight different Committee Chairmen, half a dozen Ranking Members, and hundreds of our Committee colleagues. He formally began working with the Committee in 1989 and one of the first bills he worked on was H.R. 598, which banned smoking on commercial airlines. At the Committee markup, Curt drafted dozens of amendments as the smokers and their advocates worked to fill the amendment tree, as they tried to kill the bill by endless amendment. The back row of the dais filled with cigarette smoke as the Committee slowly worked its will and ultimately banned smoking on airlines.

After this baptism by fire, Curt went on to work on every single surface transportation, aviation, water resources, and environmental law that this Committee has enacted. He took our ideas, and working with our staffs, used his gifted legislative craftsmanship to shape our transportation future. ISTEA, TEA 21, SAFETEA-LU, and the FAST Act; Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Acts; WRDA after WRDA; and dozens of other Acts all bear his stamp.

One of Curt's great achievements was his work, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, on the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which enhanced aviation and surface transportation security and created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). After months of negotiation and as the Thanksgiving break approached, House and Senate Committee staffs and House Legislative Counsel spent 20-hour days drafting the agreement. The Committee Chairmen and Ranking Members finally resolved the remaining critical issues on a Thursday afternoon. House and Senate Leaders wanted the agreement passed the following day, Friday, before the House and Senate adjourned for Thanksgiving. As Committee staffs and Legislative Counsels Curt Haensel and Dave Mendelsohn finished drafting the conference agreement around 4:30 a.m., the Office of Legislative Counsel computers failed and the computer files of the agreement were completely lost. The Committees faced the prospect that Congress may not be able to pass the legislation before the Thanksgiving break There was a genuine fear that, over the break, the hard-fought agreement could fall apart. Instead, Curt and his colleagues, after a walk around the block to clear their heads, recreated the text from memory and, later that day, both the House and Senate passed the agreement. Two days later, President George W. Bush signed the bill into law and the U.S. Department of Transportation began immediately implementing it to make our country safer. This little-known story is but one example of Curt's contributions to the House of Representatives and the American people.

Curt will continue to serve in his new role. He is joining the Office of Legislative Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), where he will help develop DOD's request for the National Defense Authorization Act each year. I am hopeful that this new opportunity provides Curt more time to spend with his wife, Meg, and their two kids, Ada and Peter, and hopefully watching his beloved Wisconsin Badgers and spending longer vacations on Lake Michigan's shores.

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will truly miss his expertise, wise counsel, and friendship. I join all of my colleagues on the Committee in wishing Curt all the best in his new endeavor.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 20, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 598

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 20, 2017

Mr. Lynch (for himself, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Meng, Ms. Speier, Ms. Norton, Mr. Lipinski, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Peters, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Miss Rice of New York, and Mr. Suozzi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to commission a study of the health impacts of airplane flights on affected residents of certain metropolitan areas, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Airplane Impacts Mitigation Act of 2017 or the AIM Act of 2017.

Study of health impacts of overflights

(a)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall enter into an agreement with an eligible institution of higher education to conduct a study of the health impacts of airplane flights on residents exposed to a range of noise and air pollution levels from such flights.

(b)

Scope of study

The study conducted under subsection (a) shall—

(1)

examine the health impacts of airplane flights on residents, including asthma exacerbation, sleep disturbance, stress, and elevated blood pressure;

(2)

focus on residents in not more than eight metropolitan areas, including—

(A)

Boston;

(B)

Chicago;

(C)

New York;

(D)

the Northern California Metroplex;

(E)

Phoenix; and

(F)

not more than three additional metropolitan areas, chosen at the discretion of the Administrator, that each contain at least one international airport;

(3)

consider in particular the health impacts on residents living partly or wholly within the land area underneath the flight paths most frequently used by aircraft flying, including during takeoff or landing, at an altitude lower than 10,000 feet; and

(4)

consider only those health impacts that manifest during the physical implementation of the NextGen RNAV program on flights departing from or arriving at an international airport located in one of the metropolitan areas described in paragraph (2).

(c)

Eligibility

An institution of higher education is eligible to conduct the study if the institution—

(1)

has a school of public health that has participated in the Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence for Aircraft Noise and Aviation Emissions Mitigation (PARTNER);

(2)

has a Center for Environmental Health that receives funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences;

(3)

is located in one of the areas within the scope of the study described in subsection (b);

(4)

applies to the Administrator in a timely fashion;

(5)

demonstrates to the Administrator’s satisfaction that the institution is qualified to conduct such a study;

(6)

agrees to submit to the Administrator, not later than 2 years after entering into an agreement under subsection (a), the findings and conclusions of the study as well as any source materials used; and

(7)

meets such other requirements as the Administrator may determine to be necessary.

(d)

Report

Not later than 60 days after the Administrator receives the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report containing the findings and conclusions of the study.