[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 757 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 757

To amend title 49, United States Code, to temporarily limit the number 
    of airline flights at LaGuardia Airport, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2001

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Crowley, Mr. King, Mrs. 
Lowey, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Towns, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. 
   Grucci, and Mr. Weiner) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to temporarily limit the number 
    of airline flights at LaGuardia Airport, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Airport Congestion Relief Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) a sudden increase in flights at LaGuardia Airport 
        presents concerns for aviation consumers and the community 
        surrounding LaGuardia Airport;
            (2) there were more than 10,000 flight delays at LaGuardia 
        Airport in September 2000, an increase from 3,108 in September 
        1999;
            (3) in September 2000, 24 percent of flight delays in the 
        United States were at LaGuardia Airport, an increase from 12 
        percent in September 1999;
            (4) in September 2000, average delays for many afternoon 
        flights at LaGuardia Airport exceeded 46 minutes;
            (5) in response to the increased air traffic at LaGuardia 
        Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which 
        operates LaGuardia Airport, announced a moratorium on 
        additional flights at LaGuardia Airport, citing its authority 
        under section 41713(b)(3) of title 49, United States Code;
            (6) the Federal Aviation Administration administered a plan 
        to recind slots at LaGuardia Airport made available under the 
        Wendell H. Ford Airport Investment and Reform Act for the 21st 
        Century (114 Stat. 61 et seq.) for additional flight operations 
        to small and nonhub airports using regional jet aircraft and to 
        temporarily redistribute the slots by a lottery held on 
        December 4, 2000, citing the Federal Aviation Administration's 
        authority under section 41715(b) of title 49, United States 
        Code;
            (7) under the Federal Aviation Administration's plan, 
        beginning on January 31, 2000, slots for not more than 75 
        scheduled commercial air carrier flights per hour are allowed 
        at LaGuardia Airport; and
            (8) the Federal Aviation Administration's plan is scheduled 
        to terminate on September 15, 2001.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF FLIGHT LIMITATIONS AT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT.

    Section 41716 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Flight Limitations at Laguardia Airport.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this section, in the period beginning on the date of enactment 
        of this subsection and ending on September 15, 2001, the number 
        of slots (including slot exemptions) for scheduled commercial 
        air carrier flights at Laguardia Airport shall be limited to 75 
        per hour and the number of slots for general aviation flights 
        at Laguardia Airport shall be limited to 6 per hour.
            ``(2) Publication of comprehensive plan.--If the Secretary, 
        acting through the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration, has not published, on or before September 15, 
        2001, a comprehensive plan for slots at Laguardia Airport, the 
        period in which paragraph (1) applies shall be extended until 
        September 30, 2002. The Secretary shall develop any such plan 
        in consultation with the Port Authority of New York and New 
        Jersey and other appropriate public and private entities.''.

SEC. 4. REMEDIES FOR INCREASED FLIGHTS AT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, shall continue to 
conduct a comprehensive study on remedies needed to alleviate the 
concerns of aviation consumers and the community surrounding LaGuardia 
Airport associated with increasing the number of flights at LaGuardia 
Airport.
    (b) Report.--Not later than September 1, 2002, the Secretary shall 
transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted 
under subsection (a).
                                 <all>