[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 41 (Thursday, March 9, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF SEAT EGRESS IN AIR TRAVEL (SEAT) ACT

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced, along with my colleague 
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act, which 
would direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish 
minimum seat size standards necessary to ensure the safety and health 
of airplane passengers. The bill would also require each airline to 
display the space available (size, width, and distance between rows) 
for each passenger on the airline website. The bill was introduced in 
the Senate today by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Minority Leader Chuck 
Schumer and Senators Ed Markey and Bob Menendez.
  Consumers are tired of being squeezed. The average seat distance 
between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches before airline 
deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width 
of an airline seat has also shrunk from 18 inches to about 16\1/2\.
  This isn't just a matter of comfort. It is about safety and health. 
The FAA requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of 
emergency. Furthermore, doctors warn of deep vein thrombosis which can 
afflict passengers who don't move their legs enough on longer flights.
  Moreover, average seat sizes have been shrinking while the average 
size of Americans has been growing. According to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, the average man in 1960 weighed 166 
pounds, and the average woman weighed 140 pounds. Now the average man 
is 196 pounds and the average woman is 166 pounds, and both are about 
an inch taller.
  This just doesn't make any sense.
  I hope that Congress will quickly act on this bill to direct the FAA 
to establish minimum seat size standards to protect the safety and 
health of airline passengers.

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