[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10534-H10540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AVIATION DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1996
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3923) to amend title 49, United States Code, to require the
National Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to
take actions to address the needs of families of passengers involved in
aircraft accidents, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3923
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 ``Aviation Disaster Family
Assistance Act of 1996''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO
FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT
ACCIDENTS.
(a) Authority To Provide Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in
aircraft accidents
``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being
notified of an aircraft accident within the United States
involving an air carrier or foreign air carrier and resulting
in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board shall--
``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of
a director of family support services who shall be an
employee of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as
a point of contact within the Federal Government for the
families of passengers involved in the accident and a liaison
between the air carrier or foreign air carrier and the
families; and
``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with
experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with
families, which shall have primary responsibility for
coordinating the emotional care and support of the families
of passengers involved in the accident.
``(b) Responsibilities of the Board.--The Board shall have
primary Federal responsibility for facilitating the recovery
and identification of fatally-injured passengers involved in
an accident described in subsection (a).
``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities with respect
to the families of passengers involved in the accident:
``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in
coordination with the disaster response team of the air
carrier or foreign air carrier involved.
``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide
an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the
location of the accident, to contact the families unable to
travel to such location, and to contact all affected families
periodically thereafter until such time as the organization,
in consultation with the director of family support services
designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1),
determines that further assistance is no longer needed.
``(4) To communicate with the families as to the roles of
the organization, government agencies, and the air carrier or
foreign air carrier involved with respect to the accident and
the post-accident activities.
``(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
``(d) Passenger Lists.--
``(1) Requests for passenger lists.--
``(A) Requests by director of family support services.--It
shall be the responsibility of the director of family support
services designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)
to request, as soon as practicable, from the air carrier or
foreign air carrier involved in the accident a list, which is
based on the best available information at the time of the
request, of the names of the passengers that were aboard the
aircraft involved in the accident.
``(B) Requests by designated organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2) may request from the air carrier or foreign air
carrier involved in the accident a list described in
subparagraph (A).
[[Page H10535]]
``(2) Use of information.--The director of family support
services and the organization may not release to any person
information on a list obtained under paragraph (1) but may
provide information on the list about a passenger to the
family of the passenger to the extent that the director of
family support services or the organization considers
appropriate.
``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the
course of its investigation of an accident described in
subsection (a), the Board shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, ensure that the families of passengers involved
in the accident--
``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the
accident, its causes, and any other findings from the
investigation; and
``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend
any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the
accident.
``(f) Use of Air Carrier Resources.--To the extent
practicable, the organization designated for an accident
under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities with
the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the
accident so that the resources of the carrier can be used to
the greatest extent possible to carry out the organization's
responsibilities under this section.
``(g) Prohibited Actions.--
``(1) Actions to impede the board.--No person (including a
State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of the
Board (including the director of family support services
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section
or the ability of the families of passengers involved in the
accident to have contact with one another.
``(2) Unsolicited communications.--In the event of an
accident involving an air carrier providing interstate or
foreign air transportation, no unsolicited communication
concerning a potential action for personal injury or wrongful
death may be made by an attorney, representative of an
attorney, insurance company, or air carrier litigation
representative to an individual injured in the accident, or
to a relative of an individual involved in the accident,
before the 30th day following the date of the accident.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following
definitions apply:
``(1) Aircraft accident.--The term `aircraft accident'
means any aviation disaster regardless of its cause or
suspected cause.
``(2) Passenger.--The term `passenger' includes an employee
of an air carrier aboard an aircraft.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 11 of such title is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 1135 the following:
``1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents.''.
(b) Penalties.--Section 1155(a)(1) of such title is
amended--
(1) by striking ``or 1134(b) or (f)(1)'' and inserting ``,
section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or section 1136(g)'';
and
(2) by striking ``either of'' and inserting ``any of''.
SEC. 3. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF
PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 411 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 41113. Plans to address needs of families of
passengers involved in aircraft accidents
``(a) Submission of Plans.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this section, each air carrier
holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity
under section 41102 of this title shall submit to the
Secretary and the Chairman of the National Transportation
Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of the families
of passengers involved in any aircraft accident involving an
aircraft of the air carrier and resulting in a major loss of
life.
``(b) Contents of Plans.--A plan to be submitted by an air
carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the
following:
``(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle calls
from the families of the passengers.
``(2) A process for notifying the families of the
passengers, before providing any public notice of the names
of the passengers, either by utilizing the services of the
organization designated for the accident under section
1136(a)(2) of this title or the services of other suitably
trained individuals.
``(3) An assurance that the notice described in paragraph
(2) will be provided to the family of a passenger as soon as
the air carrier has verified that the passenger was aboard
the aircraft (whether or not the names of all of the
passengers have been verified) and, to the extent
practicable, in person.
``(4) An assurance that the air carrier will provide to the
director of family support services designated for the
accident under section 1136(a)(1) of this title, and to the
organization designated for the accident under section
1136(a)(2) of this title, immediately upon request, a list
(which is based on the best available information at the time
of the request) of the names of the passengers aboard the
aircraft (whether or not such names have been verified), and
will periodically update the list.
``(5) An assurance that the family of each passenger will
be consulted about the disposition of all remains and
personal effects of the passenger.
``(6) An assurance that if requested by the family of a
passenger, any possession of the passenger within the control
of the air carrier (regardless of its condition) will be
returned to the family unless the possession is needed for
the accident investigation or any criminal investigation.
``(7) An assurance that any unclaimed possession of a
passenger within the control of the air carrier will be
retained by the air carrier for at least 18 months.
``(8) An assurance that the family of each passenger will
be consulted about construction by the air carrier of any
monument to the passengers, including any inscription on the
monument.
``(9) An assurance that the treatment of the families of
nonrevenue passengers (and any other victim of the accident)
will be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue
passengers.
``(10) An assurance that the air carrier will work with any
organization designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this
title on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of
passengers receive an appropriate level of services and
assistance following each accident.
``(11) An assurance that the air carrier will provide
reasonable compensation to any organization designated under
section 1136(a)(2) of this title for services provided by the
organization.
``(12) An assurance that the air carrier will assist the
family of a passenger in traveling to the location of the
accident and provide for the physical care of the family
while the family is staying at such location.
``(13) An assurance that the air carrier will commit
sufficient resources to carry out the plan.
``(c) Certificate Requirement.--After the date that is 6
months after the date of the enactment of this section, the
Secretary may not approve an application for a certificate of
public convenience and necessity under section 41102 of this
title unless the applicant has included as part of such
application a plan that meets the requirements of subsection
(b).
``(d) Limitation on Liability.--An air carrier shall not be
liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or
State court arising out of the performance of the air carrier
in preparing or providing a passenger list pursuant to a plan
submitted by the air carrier under subsection (b), unless
such liability was caused by conduct of the air carrier which
was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional
misconduct.
``(e) Aircraft Accident and Passenger Defined.--In this
section, the terms `aircraft accident' and `passenger' have
the meanings such terms have in section 1136 of this
title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for such
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:
``41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in
aircraft accidents.''.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation, in
cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red
Cross, air carriers, and families which have been involved in
aircraft accidents shall establish a task force consisting of
representatives of such entities and families,
representatives of air carrier employees, and representatives
of such other entities as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(b) Model Plan and Recommendations.--The task force
established pursuant to subsection (a) shall develop--
(1) a model plan to assist air carriers in responding to
aircraft accidents;
(2) recommendations on methods to ensure that attorneys and
representatives of media organizations do not intrude on the
privacy of families of passengers involved in an aircraft
accident;
(3) recommendations on methods to ensure that the families
of passengers involved in an aircraft accident who are not
citizens of the United States receive appropriate assistance;
(4) recommendations on methods to ensure that State mental
health licensing laws do not act to prevent out-of-state
mental health workers from working at the site of an aircraft
accident or other related sites;
(5) recommendations on the extent to which military experts
and facilities can be used to aid in the identification of
the remains of passengers involved in an aircraft accident;
and
(6) recommendations on methods to improve the timeliness of
the notification provided by air carriers to the families of
passengers involved in an aircraft accident, including--
(A) an analysis of the steps that air carriers would have
to take to ensure that an accurate list of passengers on
board the aircraft would be available within 1 hour of the
accident and an analysis of such steps to ensure that such
list would be available within 3 hours of the accident;
(B) an analysis of the added costs to air carriers and
travel agents that would result if air carriers were required
to take the steps described in subparagraph (A); and
(C) an analysis of any inconvenience to passengers,
including flight delays, that would result if air carriers
were required to take the steps described in subparagraph
(A).
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the
[[Page H10536]]
Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report containing the
model plan and recommendations developed by the task force
under subsection (b).
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act may
be construed as limiting the actions that an air carrier may
take, or the obligations that an air carrier may have, in
providing assistance to the families of passengers involved
in an aircraft accident.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr.
Lipinski] each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster].
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation. I made a promise to
the families of the victims of aviation disasters when they were before
our committee in June that I would bring forward such legislation, and
today we are fulfilling that promise.
Airline travel is remarkably safe. Indeed, since commercial aviation
began over 80 years ago, less than 13,000 people have been killed in
airplane crashes. That many die every 4 months on our Nation's
highways.
However, when accidents do occur, it is important that the families
of the victims be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion.
The airlines usually do the best they can.
However, when we held a hearing on June 19, we heard some real horror
stories from the families, including such things as impersonal
notification, such as leaving messages about the death of a loved one
on an answering machine, mass burials of unidentified body parts
without informing the families, discarding the belongings of the
victims without notifying the families, harassment by lawyers looking
for clients and journalists looking for stories, and painful delays in
notification of the death of a loved one. Sometimes the airline would
refuse to tell them anything for hours and hours.
As that June 19 hearing I promised the families that we would move
legislation to deal with these problems, and today we bring this bill
to the floor to keep that commitment. The purpose of this bill is to
address many of the complaints we heard and clarify the role of the
Government and the Red Cross in helping the families of future airline
disasters.
Key features of this bill include: It establishes a position within
the NTSB to act as a liaison between the Government and the families
and between the airline and the families.
It directs the NTSB to designate an independent organization, such as
the Red Cross, to take primary responsibility for the care and support
of the families.
It imposes a $1,000 fine on anyone impeding the work of the NTSB or
the Red Cross.
It requires airlines to return passengers' possessions to the
families, if they request it, and retain all unclaimed articles for 18
months.
It establishes a task force involving the Department of
Transportation, NTSB, FEMA, the Red Cross, family representatives, and
the airlines to develop a model family assistance plan, and to
recommend ways to speed up the next-of-kin notification process and get
the military resources more involved in the identification of passenger
remains.
It requires a rule prohibiting lawyers from contacting families
within 30 days of an accident, similar to the rule that now applies to
the members of the Florida bar.
It makes clear that airlines can go beyond the minimum requirements
in this act and do more than is required to help the families as many
airlines say they do now.
It is important to emphasize that the responsibility for notifying
families in the death of a loved one remains with the airline. They are
the only ones in a position to verify the accuracy of the passenger
manifest. However, the bill gives families another option if the
airline is slow in providing notification. They could now go to the
NTSB or the Red Cross for information. The airline will have to turn
over its best available passenter list to the NTSB or the Red Cross
immediately upon request. The NTSB or the Red Cross could then tell the
family whether or not their loved one was on the list and explain the
limitations on the accuracy of the list.
At our hearing 2 weeks ago the families enthusiastically supported
this bill, and the airline witnesses testified that they could live
with it.
This legislation will help to minimize the suffering of those who
lose loved ones in airline tragedies, and I certainly want to thank the
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan], the gentleman from Minnesota
[Mr. Oberstar], the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], and others:
The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. LaHood] and the gentlewoman from
Missouri [Ms. Danner] for their help in crafting this legislation.
I also want to thank the following family representatives who played
important and very constructive roles in the formulation of this
legislation:
Doug Smith, president of the National Air Disaster Alliance, Victoria
Cummock of the Pam Am 103 Families, Richard Kessler, who lost his wife
in the ValuJet crash, and Cynthia Cox from Montoursville, PA, who lost
her daughter in the TWA tragedy.
I would urge strong support for this legislation.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2923, the Aviation Disaster
Family Assistance Act of 1996. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this
important legislation.
As a result of hearings the Subcommittee on Aviation held on the
treatment of families after aviation accidents, it was generally
recognized that there are improvements that must be made to ensure that
families' interests are better addressed. The legislation introduced by
Chairman Shuster takes significant steps in that direction by requiring
the National Transportation Safety Board to designate a director of
family support services as well as designating an independent
organization, such as the Red Cross, to provide critical support to the
families.
As this bill has moved through the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, I have consistently expressed my concern with the burden we
are placing on the NTSB's already thin resources. This is something we
must keep a close eye on as we consider NTSB funding in the future.
I have also expressed concern with the notification aspects of this
bill. I have advocated notifying families in person, and am pleased
that the legislation encourages in person notification to the extent
practicable. But I also understand that in many cases, families are
learning of accidents on television, and that in person notification
can never be accomplished with the speed that the media reports a plane
crash. While I am pleased with the steps that this measure takes toward
improving the notification system, I will continue to explore ideas to
enhance the system.
There is no perfect way to handle aviation disasters. Our task is to
make the process both efficient and compassionate. This bill is a big
step toward both those goals.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Chairman Duncan for his leadership on
this legislation and for the manner in which he has handled the
subcommittee the entire 104th Congress. Since I became ranking member
of the Aviation Subcommittee last October, I have been impressed with
your commitment to this position and the manner in which you have
treated me and the other members of the subcommittee.
I also want to recognize Chairman Shuster, the sponsor of this
legislation, and of course the distinguished gentleman from Minnesota,
the ranking member of the full Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, Mr. Oberstar.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. duncan], the distinguished chairman of
the subcommittee.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time
to me, and, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3923, the
Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act.
Let me first congratulate the chairman of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr.
Shuster], for his strong leadership on this
[[Page H10537]]
very important issue, and let me say not just on this issue, but I
think that Chairman Shuster has led our committee through two of the
most active years in the history of that committee and probably in the
history of all of the committees in the Congress. He has been a really
outstanding chairman, and I think the people need to know that.
The Subcommittee on Aviation, which I have the privilege of chairing,
held a hearing on this matter on June 19 concerning the treatment of
families of passengers killed in airline accidents. We held a second
hearing 2 weeks ago, and from those hearings I think we have developed
some outstanding legislation. Certainly interest in this issue has been
heightened by the TWA 800 tragedy, the ValuJet crash, and certain other
terrible accidents that have happened.
From our hearing in June we worked to develop H.R. 3923, and we did
it, I am proud to say, on a bipartisan basis with strong support from
our friends, the ranking members of the full committee and the
subcommittee, the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar] and the
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski]. And let me say that I really
deeply appreciate those kind words from Mr. Lipinski, and I think that
I certainly can echo those words back to him because I do not think any
subcommittee in the Congress has a chairman and ranking member who have
a closer relationship than he and I do, and we have worked so well
together, along with the leadership provided by Mr. Oberstar, who has
developed such an expertise in the field of aviation and who has done
so much in this area.
In our hearings on this legislation we heard some very terrible and
troubling stories, such as mass burials of unidentified body parts
without informing family members, something that was very hurtful to
these families; the throwing away of personal belongings of victims
without notifying the families; constant harassment by lawyers and the
media; and leaving messages about the death of a family member on an
answering machine. Several recommendations to correct those problems
were brought to our attention by witnesses at the subcommittee's
hearing in June and also again a couple of weeks ago.
H.R. 3923 would establish a reliable 1-800 telephone number assigned
exclusively to handle accident-related calls from family members.
It establishes a director of family support services position within
the National Transportation Safety Board. It provides the NTSB with the
authority to designate a third party, such as the American Red Cross,
the Salvation Army, or some other outstanding organization, to be
responsible for post-trauma communication and work with families.
The bill requires that personal items be returned to family members
and to any survivors of an accident.
Under the bill, each airline is required to submit its family
assistance plan to the Department of Transportation and to the National
Transportation Safety Board for approval.
Finally, among many other provisions, H.R. 3923 would prohibit
unsolicited contact of the families by lawyers, both plaintiff lawyers
and insurance company lawyers, for 30 days. And I am proud to say that
I think the bar has adopted a very responsible position in regard to
this, and we have a very strong letter of endorsement for this
provision from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America which I will
include for the Record.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3923 will help improve the tremendous
coordination that must take place at the accident site. It will help
improve communication between the family members and those assisting
family members.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3923 so that we can get this
legislation over to the Senate and to the President before the 104th
Congress adjourns. I think this is outstanding legislation that can be
proudly supported by all Members of this body.
The letter referred to follows:
Association of Trial Lawyers of America,
Washington, DC, September 10, 1996.
Hon. Bud Shuster,
Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Shuster: As President of the
Association of Trial Lawyers of America, I wish to commend
you on your consideration of H.R. 3923, which the Aviation
Subcommittee will mark-up on Wednesday, September 11, and the
full Transportation Committee will mark-up on Thursday,
September 12. This legislation will lend much-needed support
to the families of victims of airline disasters.
In particular, the Association strongly supports sec. 5.
This provision states the sense of Congress that state bar
associations should adopt rules prohibiting unsolicited
contact concerning a legal action with victims or aggrieved
families within 30 days of an accident. ATLA's longstanding
Code of Contact goes even further, and entirely prohibits
unsolicited contact, regardless of when the accident
occurred. We believe that the 30-day time period you provide
in the bill is a reasonable minimum period during which
victims and their families should not be bothered against
their will with the sometimes painful question of
compensation.
However, we urge the committee to go further, by
strengthening this bill to also prohibiting unsolicited
contact by anyone concerning potential claims they or their
loved ones may have. Until a family decides to consider its
options with regard to compensation, no party should take
advantage of them during this delicate emotional time. This
prohibition should not extend to preventing airlines of other
parties from providing for the needs of the families, such as
transportation to the accident site, lodging and meals--only
to communications relating to the family's right to bring an
action.
The shock and grief the families of aviation disasters are
experiencing should be respected by all and this is not a
time for outsiders to be soliciting serious discussions from
the victims or their families. This rule will ensure that
families, not businesses or lawyers, make the decision of
when to seek compensation, and the proper mechanism for it.
Further, the Association would be pleased to participate in
the task force established in sec. 4 to help assure that
families' privacy is not intruded upon by any party. We
believe that the families must be protected, and our position
in the legal community and our strong Code of Conduct gives
us a unique ability and standing to contribute to such a task
force.
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America strongly
supports efforts to help families of victims of
transportation disasters. Without taking a position with
regard to any of the other issues in the bill, we believe
that this legislation is a valuable step toward sheltering
families in the midst of a personal crisis. Again, we commend
your action supporting these families.
Sincerely,
Howard Twiggs,
ATLA President.
{time} 1100
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], the ranking member of the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and former chairman of
the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding time
to me, and I would like to say a few words on this measure.
To the very great credit of our chairman, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster], in the aftermath of the ValuJet crash, when
we in the committee heard some of the tragedies that have already been
related by the chairman of the committee, by the chairman of the
subcommittee, the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan], and the
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], about treatment of the
families, the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster], made a commitment to seize on this issue,
to deal with it, to bring justice, and to build upon the legislation
enacted in the aftermath of PanAm 103. We are here today because of
that commitment. I salute our chairman for moving decisively, and
bringing this issue to closure in the House and I hope closure in the
other body rapidly.
Already the commission, headed by Vice President Gore, has taken a
central element of this legislation and incorporated it into the Vice
President's recommendations without waiting for legislation to be
enacted. Of course, enactment of the legislation will only reinforce
and strengthen what the Gore commission has initiated.
There is plenty of praise and commendation to go around, beginning
with the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania
[Mr. Shuster], for the leadership he has demonstrated, for the genuine
caring and sensitivity that he has shown on this issue; the gentleman
from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan], also a man of great compassion and
sensitivity, who has devoted a great amount of time and effort to the
issue; to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], our
[[Page H10538]]
ranking member, who again spent a great deal of time with family
members hearing their concerns, addressing those issues, working
together with Chairman Duncan to resolve some of the sticker questions,
and to come up with a piece of legislation that will vastly enhance the
treatment of families in the aftermath of an air tragedy.
Obviously, we all hope we will never have to exercise the provisions
of this legislation, but we also know that tragedies happen in
aviation, for one or another cause. We need to be prepared. The FAA
needs to be prepared, the DOT, the airlines have to be prepared. This
legislation will put a framework around preparedness, to deal with
these tragedies in the future, so never again will a family member have
to agonize, waiting for information, not know where to call, be given
abrupt treatment or no information whatever, worst of all.
Outside the confines of the committee, Vicki Cummock, who lost her
husband in PanAm 103, has proven to be a champion on behalf of family
members. She has counseled in the case of many subsequent air tragedies
and helped us formulate this legislation; George Williams, a leader of
another group of families of the victims of PanAm 103, has provided
great insight; Bill Kessler, with his tragic experience losing his wife
in the ValuJet tragedy, provided great, compassionate insight.
I also would like to mention a woman from my district, Lorelei
Valerie, who lost her father in a tragic crash 6 minutes from my home
in Chisholm, MN, when a commuter aircraft crashed into a hillside for
want to a ground proximity warning system, and who experienced many of
these similar problems: notification, treatment of the families in the
aftermath of a tragedy.
This legislation takes a big step forward. The bill specifies that
its provisions do not prohibit airlines from providing families,
victims' families, with additional support beyond what is provided in
the framework of this legislation. It does require that all airlines,
regardless of the size of their fleet, have disaster response plans on
file with the Department of Transportation.
The bill does not require that the plan be approved as part of the
carrier's operations specifications. That would be my preference. I
believe, however, that if we included such a requirement,
notwithstanding that it would improve the bill, it might also impede
its chances for action.
There will be an effort to develop a model plan. When such a model
plan is developed, I believe the DOT should give strong consideration
to promulgating regulations to require that at least the contents of
the model plan be included in each carrier's own individual airline
response plan. That is an issue that I am going to be watching very
closely. There may come a time when we need to take a tougher approach
on these response plans than we are taking in this bill. This bill is a
good step in the right direction.
I just simply put the airlines on notice and the DOT on notice that
we mean business in this committee on this issue. We will not tolerate
inaction or lack of compliance with the spirit of this legislation. I
urge strong support and a wholehearted unanimous vote in favor of this
legislation.
In 1990, Congress passed legislation that required carriers to
confirm a passenger manifest in a maximum of 3 hours on international
flights. The airlines have been successful in forestalling the
implementation of this requirement through a rider in the early
appropriations legislation. Each time I learn of an aviation accident
and hear and families waiting for hours without definite word of
whether their loved ones have been involved, I cannot help but blame
the airlines for working so hard to find a legislative fix to allow
them to keep families in a state of uncertainty longer than necessary.
The recently released recommendations of the Gore Commission include a
proposal that the requirement in the 1990 legislation be implemented.
In fact, many of the provisions included in H.R. 3923 are also Gore
Commission recommendations.
The purpose of this legislation is to help create a process that, at
a minimum, does not make an already very emotional situation even more
traumatic for family members. It requires that all airlines, even the
smallest, have, as a prerequisite for their operation, a disaster plan
submitted to the Department of Transportation. The plan must address a
number of key areas, including the notification of family members, and
the ongoing obligations the carrier has with respect to the information
and services to be provided to the family members throughout the
duration of the disaster. The bill charges the National Transportation
Safety Board with designating an individual to work with the family
members and provide them with periodic briefings on the status of the
recovery of victims' remains and the accident investigation, as well as
coordinating and disseminating to family members other pertinent
information from various government entities. We have learned that it
is very important that family members not feel they have to contact
several different Federal State, and local entities to be fully
informed about matters of importance to them.
Also in response to the testimony received at our June hearing, this
bill requires that the NTSB designate an independent nonprofit
organization with experience in disaster response to work with the
families to provide information and counseling as required. In the
hearing, the Red Cross was mentioned specifically as an organization
that would be well suited to the role envisioned, and we have worked
with that organization in developing this legislation.
This legislation does not improve the safety of commercial aviation
or the adequacy of the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of
airlines, yet it address something that, in its own way, is just as
important; the need for compassionate treatment of people who have
suffered the unexpected loss of a loved one. The legislation is
intended to help people who are desperate for information about their
father, husband, son. It is intended to protect people who are hounded
by the media as they seek news about the safety of their mother, wife,
daughter. It is intended to assist people who are subjected to lawyers
eager to take advantage of their vulnerability and great personal loss
to gain a percentage of a potential financial award.
This legislation is about providing compassion and respect for
individuals experiencing deep grief. I think the fact that we need
legislation to mandate compassion is a dad statement about our society,
but I am gratified that, having seen a need, our committee has been
able to respond in a timely manner.
The victims' families have known deep loss and shared similar
experiences at the hands of Government agencies and the media. Some of
these individuals have gone on to use their painful experiences to help
others deal with their grief under similar circumstances, and we have
worked with these individuals to develop this legislation, and will
hear from some of them again today. Their shared experience has helped
us in the legislative process. They understand the need to ensure that
the dignity of the families will be preserved to the extent possible
under extremely adverse conditions.
It is important to understand that there are services that an airline
can provide that no government or independent agency can. As private
companies, airlines can authorize immediate expenditures to provide
transportation and lodging to family members, as well as accommodate
other requirements they may have. Most large airlines have established
disaster plans in place and trained individuals at the ready in the
event of an accident. In fact, some airlines have worked with the
family members groups who have testified before our committee to
develop or modify their disaster response plans. Many airlines provide
each family with the name and telephone number of an airplane employee
who will work with them to provide them with the information and
services needed. The airline representatives can help provide family
members with assistance that is tailored to the needs of an individual
family. For example, airlines have accommodated a family's need for
money to make a mortgage payment or school tuition that comes due
during the tragedy. This bill recognizes the need to preserve the
airline's ability to provide financial support and other assistance to
family members during emotionally stressful times. The role that many
airlines have played in response to an accident cannot be duplicated by
any Federal, State, or independent agency, and the services they
provide must not be sacrificed in a naive attempt to eliminate contact
between airlines and families.
However, while this bill specifies that its provisions do not
prohibit airlines from providing the victims' families with additional
support, it does require that all airlines, regardless of the size of
their fleet, have disaster response plans on file with the Department
of Transportation. The bill does not require that the plan be approved
as part of the carrier's operations specifications. I believe that if
we included such a requirement, it would improve the bill. But I
recognize that there will be an effort to develop a model plan. After
such a plan is developed, I believe the DOT should give very strong
consideration to promulgating regulations to require that at least the
contents of the model plan be in each carrier's own
[[Page H10539]]
plan. I will be watching this issue closely. There may come a time when
we need to take a more firm approach on these plans than we are taking
today in this bill.
I urge my colleagues to pass this important legislation.
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I anticipate the overwhelming passage of this
legislation today, and with its passage, it will mark the eighth piece
of aviation legislation which this body has overwhelmingly passed and
sent to our colleagues in the other body.
Unfortunately, they have not acted yet on any of those pieces of
legislation. Of the seven that we have sent over, the one that had the
poorest vote showing was a vote of 389 to 22, so I think that
demonstrates the extraordinary, overwhelming bipartisan support for the
aviation measures which this body has passed and sent to the other
side.
So it is my hope that in the waning days of this Congress, our
colleagues on the other side of the Capitol will indeed move these
very, very important pieces of aviation legislation, not the least of
which is this very important family bill that is before us today.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Weller], the distinguished vice chairman of the
Subcommittee on Aviation.
Mr. WELLER. In a spirit of bipartisanship, I rise in strong support
of this bipartisan bill, Mr. Speaker. This legislation responds to the
pleas we all heard from families at the Subcommittee on Aviation
hearings in June and then again on September 5. At our subcommittee
markup the bill, as revised, reflects some of the concerns raised by
the families, the airlines, and the Red Cross.
Specifically, the bill requires the NTSB to designate an employee to
act as a point of contact with the families within the Federal
Government and as a liaison between the airline and the families. The
NTSB is also directed to designate an independent, nonprofit
organization; for example, the Red Cross, to address some of the
emotional needs called upon by the families.
H.R. 3923 sets out in some detail the responsibilities of the NTSB,
the Red Cross, and the airlines. It is very important to note that the
airlines will continue to be responsible for notifying the families of
the death of a loved one. However, the bill also requires that the
passenger list be turned over to the National Transportation Safety
Board, the NTSB, and the Red Cross, if requested, so families will have
someone else to turn to if the airline notification process is too
slow.
As we all know, Mr. Speaker, there were too many complaints from
families about the ValuJet and TWA crashes, but these complaints did
not originate with these accidents. Similar problems have been brewing
for many years, going back to KAL 007 flight and PanAm 103. At our
hearing in June, Chairman Shuster committed to the families that we
would develop legislation in response to their concerns. This bill, a
bipartisan bill, fulfills that commitment.
But we never could have done it without the bipartisan cooperation
and input of the ranking members, the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr.
Oberstar] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], whose
experience and viewpoint made them invaluable partners in this process.
I also would like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan],
the chairman, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. LaHood], the gentlewoman
from Missouri [Ms. Danner], who made significant contributions to this
bill.
This bill has broad-based sponsor support. We have over 40
cosponsors. So in short, Mr. Speaker, I think we have a good, well-
balanced, thoughtful piece of legislation. I urge bipartisan support.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, given the recent crashes of a
ValuJet flight in Florida and a TWA flight off the coast of Long
Island, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act is both timely and
necessary. This bill will provide the National Transportation Safety
Board to designate an employee as a family advocate. The family
advocate would serve as a point of contact within the Federal
Government for the families of victims, act as liaison between the
families and the airline, and obtain the passenger list and use it to
provide information to the families.
The measure also prohibits making unsolicited contacts with any
individual injured in an airline crash or with the family of any victim
of an airline crash for 30 days after the crash.
This measure will provide some protection and comfort to families who
experience the painful uncertainty of not knowing the fate of a family
member or the horror of losing a loved one. Hopefully, no one will have
to suffer the terrible uncertainty and apprehension that Pam Lynchner's
family in my hometown of Houston, TX, had to go through after the crash
of that fateful TWA flight, without some comfort and counseling.
Mr. McDADE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3923, the
Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act, a measure which will reform
the National Transportation Safety Board's procedures for assisting
families of aviation accident victims. As a cosponsor of this vital
bill, I want to thank Chairman Bud Shuster of the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee for his timely efforts in bringing this very
necessary legislation to the floor.
This measure will address many of the problems confronting families
of air disaster victims such as those who lost loved ones in the
ValuJet and TWA flight 800 aviation disasters. The need for this bill
became apparent after these air disasters, where family members of
victims complained about the bureaucratic friction which they had to
fight through to determine the status of their loved ones. After the
TWA flight 800 disaster, I became personally involved in this process
when families from Montoursville, PA, in my district, faced the loss of
sons, daughters, parents, friends, and neighbors. Regrettably, the
current mission of the National Transportation Safety Board does not
include any requirements for coordinating care and support for the
victim's families. H.R. 3923 will empower the NTSB, the logical
organization to fulfill this mission, to advocate, support, and care
for these families in their moment of need.
During the recent TWA 800 disaster, many families complained of poor
handling of the situation by airline personnel, lawyers, and the press.
The families and I were constantly confronted with bureaucratic
friction in obtaining a list of passengers, securing for the victim's
families a dedicated liaison officer between TWA, the U.S. Coast Guard,
the NTSB, and the Suffolk County coroner's office. Many had to wait
days for airline confirmation of their loved ones' deaths. They also
waited weeks for identification of recovered bodies because the local
authorities refused to accept outside assistance. These experiences are
the motivation behind this bill, designed to establish guidelines for
informing the families of victims and to spare families of future
victims needless frustration during such trying circumstances.
The day after the TWA 800 crash, my office directly contacted the
chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, the vice
president of operations for TWA and the Suffolk County coroner. Through
this effort, I was able to obtain a U.S. Coast Guard liaison officer
detailed to the Montoursville families, the passenger manifest for the
families, and private briefings from the Suffolk County coroner's
office. This measure will establish the National Transportation Safety
Board as the lead organization to fulfill similar liaison functions in
the future.
H.R. 3923 will require the NTSB to designate an NTSB employee as a
family advocate who will coordinate care and support for the families
through the Red Cross, the airline, and pertinent disaster response
agencies. Specifically, the NTSB will coordinate the recovery and
identification of accident victims, obtain the passenger manifest,
brief families before press conferences, and inform families of any
scheduled public hearings on the accident. The bill additionally tasks
agencies such as the Red Cross to provide counseling to the families,
ensure the privacy of the families from the media and lawyers, arrange
a suitable memorial service, and to use the airline's resources as
suitable.
The airlines will be required to submit a plan within 6 months for
addressing the needs of families, publicize a reliable, toll-free
number for handling calls from family members, immediately provide the
passenger list to the family advocate and the Red Cross, even if all
names have not been verified. The airlines must additionally consult
the families before disposing of all remains and return the passenger's
possessions to the families and retain all unclaimed possessions for 2
years. The bill will establish a task force involving the Department of
Transportation, NTSB, Federal Emergency Management Association, the Red
Cross, family representatives, and the airlines to develop a model
family assistance plan and recommend ways to prevent lawyers and the
media from violating family privacy.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear, after our experiences with the recent
ValuJet and TWA 800 disasters, that there is a need for a dedicated
Federal agency to address the Nation's air disaster response problems.
I therefore urge
[[Page H10540]]
passage of this vital legislation and thank Chairman Shuster for his
excellent efforts in bringing this bill to the floor in a timely
fashion.
Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor of H.R.
3923, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act, I rise to express my
strong support for this important bill designed to ensure that families
of aviation accident victims receive timely emotional care and support
when they most need it.
Those whose loved ones perish or are injured in airline crashes are
particularly vulnerable as illustrated by the recent experiences of
families of the victims of the TWA flight 800 tragedy near my district
on Long Island, and the ValuJet crash in the Everglades. The surviving
families require immediate attention by personnel who are adequately
trained and experienced in handling these disasters.
H.R. 3923 makes the National Transportation Safety Board the lead
Federal agency in dealing with the needs of victims' families. An NTSB
employee would serve as a family advocate to act as a point of contact
between the Federal Government and family members, as well as a liaison
between the families and the airline.
In addition, the NTSB would designate an organization experienced in
dealing with families in times of crisis--such as the Red Cross--to
coordinate the care and support of families; meet with families who
come to the scene of the accident; provide counseling to the families;
ensure the privacy of the families; inform the families of the role of
government agencies and the airline; arrange a proper memorial service;
obtain a passenger list to provide information to families; and, use
the airline's personnel and resources as needed.
Other important features of H.R. 3923 require the airline to submit a
plan within 6 months for addressing the needs of the families of
passengers involved in an airline crash; publicize a reliable toll-free
number for handling calls from family members; notify families as soon
as possible of the fate of their loved ones using trained personnel;
and, provide the passenger list to the family advocate and the Red
Cross immediately, even if all names have not been verified.
Finally, the bill creates a task force to develop a model family
assistance plan, which would be completed and sent to Congress within a
year. The task force would involve the NTSB, the Department of
Transportation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross,
family representatives, as well as the airlines.
Families and friends, and often whole communities, are affected by
these tragedies. The role of the Federal Government must be to support
victims' families in any way possible, to help ease their pain after
losing a loved one. They deserve no less, and I urge my colleagues to
support this bill before us today.
Mr. BLUTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Aviation
Disaster Family Assistance Act. I learned first hand of the horrible
experience that families of victims of air disasters go through.
A woman from my district in Swansea, MA lost her parents in the
tragic incident that brought down TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996. She
learned by reading the plane's manifest in the newspaper that her
parents did, in fact, perish in this horrific aviation incident. Days
after the plane crash this woman continued to receive unacceptable
treatment from the airline. She found herself caught in a bureaucratic
nightmare when trying to get her daughter home from overseas to attend
a memorial service. She was forced through hoop after hoop to simply
confirm her daughter's relationship to the deceased. This is not the
kind of experience one should be expected to go through during this
period of enormous grief.
Therefore, I cosponsored this legislation and I commend Chairman
Shuster and Chairman Duncan for moving this bill on a fast track. The
legislation before us today reforms procedures for dealing with
families of aviation accident victims. This bill establishes a family
advocate within the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] to act
as a liaison between the Government and the families, and it directs
the NTSB to designate an independent organization, such as the Red
Cross, to take primary responsibility for the emotional care and
support of families. The bill also directs the airline to release the
passenger list to the family advocate and Red Cross immediately so that
families will have another option in their quest for information about
the fate of loved ones.
To lose a loved one in an aviation disaster is a sudden and
emotionally devastating experience. I am pleased to be a part of
legislation that will help to ease this burden on families in the
future.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3923, as amended.
The question was taken.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, on that, I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bereuter). Pursuant to clause 5 of rule
I and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this
motion will be postponed.
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