-- FEBRUARY 2, 2017: REP. BASS REJOINS QUIET SKIES CAUCUS IN 115th CONGRESS WASHINGTON - Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) released the following statement about rejoining the Quiet Skies Caucus in the 115th Congress. “I remain deeply concerned about the health effects of airplane noise and emissions due to the Southern California Metroplex project. I have been a member of the bipartisan Quiet Skies Caucus since 2013, and I have re-joined the caucus in the 115th Congress. I look forward to working with caucus members and my constituents to address these important issues as soon as possible. “Since the announcement of the Southern California Metroplex project in June of 2015, I and my staff have been working hard to make sure that the FAA takes into account the concerns of my constituents. “For two years now, I have heard frequent complaints about airplane noise, and increasing worries about possible health effects from particulates and other pollutants in jet emissions. Congress directed the FAA to implement the massive NextGen project in order to update the safety of air traffic across the nation by using satellite and GPS technology instead of old radar-based systems put in place half a century ago. That project, however, should also include consideration of the effect those changes will have on people living in the flight paths, and it should make sure that more efficiency for airlines and the flying public does not mean more misery for those living on the ground.” ********** APRIL 7, 2017 PRESS RELEASE: REP. BASS, QUIET SKIES CAUCUS PUSH FOR ACTION ON AIRPLANE NOISE IN FY’18 SPENDING BILL WASHINGTON, D.C.— In light of increasing constituent concerns over the effect of airplane noise on their health and their lives, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus are seeking expedited review of FAA noise standards and urging funding for health studies. Rep. Bass is also looking at legislation, regulations, and funding options to lessen the noise, whether that be through changing flight paths or any other methods of mitigation. The Quiet Skies Caucus, led by co-chairs Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and vice chairs Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), wrote to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development requesting they include in the subcommittee’s fiscal year 2018 appropriations bill two important provisions to help mitigate airplane noise. The Caucus requested that the Subcommittee “provide funding for health studies on the impact of airplane and helicopter noise on communities and that you include report language directing the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct an expedited review of their noise standards.” “The continual barrage of airplane noise at all hours is absolutely unacceptable,” Rep. Bass said. “My office has received increasing complaints over the past two years, which have escalated to a flood in recent weeks. I encourage constituents to help build the official record of the problem by reporting the noise events to LAX noise management, and to stay in touch with my office. The concentration of noise over particular neighborhoods in the wake of the FAA Metroplex implementation here is particularly harmful.” The Quiet Skies Caucus is an organization in Congress dedicated to reducing the impact of aircraft noise in the communities across the nation. The full text of the letter can be found here: https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-quiet-skies-caucus-push-action-airplane-noise-fy-18-spending ********** MAY 2, 2017 PRESS RELEASE: REP. BASS HOSTS TOWN HALL WITH LAX AND FAA LOS ANGELES – More than 120 constituents attended a town hall about problems with airplane noise held last Sunday by Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.). The meeting featured representatives from LAX and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The goal of this meeting was to put affected people in the same room with representatives of the organizations that can help mitigate and eliminate these problems,” Rep. Bass said after the meeting, which was held at Sixth Avenue Elementary School in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The town hall provided constituents with information about recent changes in air traffic due to two different causes: airport construction; and changes to flight paths due to the massive FAA NextGen project, which aims to increase the safety and efficiency of the nation’s airspace. The Southern California Metroplex, stretching from San Diego to Ojai, is the latest metropolitan region to undergo these changes. “My offices have been inundated with calls about airplane noise for over two years now and the calls increased dramatically after the implementation of Metroplex Phase II on March 2nd. A continual barrage of noise is absolutely unacceptable,” said Rep. Bass. “I commend the community for their activism and advocacy in defense of their families and their neighborhoods.” Rep. Bass encouraged constituents to report noise events to LAX noise management in a statement released in April urging expedited review of FAA noise standards and funding for health studies. The meeting featured Dennis Roberts, newly-appointed Regional Administrator for the FAA Western-Pacific; and Scott Tatro, Airport Environmental Manager at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) which includes LAX. They made brief presentations about the changes that have taken place as a result of Metroplex, and because of ongoing runway construction. The meeting, scheduled for 90 minutes, ran for nearly three hours in order to assure that all attendees had a chance to ask their questions and recount the ways that the airplanes affect them, including disrupted sleep, health effects, and loss of income from location filming because of the frequency of overhead flights. “Of course we want air travel to be safe and efficient, but the agency and the airport have got to pay greater attention to the effects on the ground. This conversation will continue as long as airplane noise and pollution diminish our quality of life,” Rep. Bass said, “as it should.” Photos from the event can be viewed here: https://bass.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-bass-hosts-town-hall-lax-and-faa