[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE REDUCING HELICOPTER NOISE IN THE DISTRICT OF 
                              COLUMBIA ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2022

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Reducing Helicopter 
Noise in the District of Columbia Act, which would require all 
helicopters and rotocraft in the District of Columbia to fly at the 
maximum altitude permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
in D.C., with limited exceptions. The exceptions would include active 
law enforcement and rescue operations, transporting the president and 
vice president and safety.
  I hear from D.C. residents almost daily about helicopter noise. 
Helicopter noise can harm health, quality of life and the structural 
integrity of homes. In 2019, I led members of the National Capital 
Region (NCR) in requesting that the Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) study helicopter noise in the NCR. Last year, GAO issued its 
report. GAO found that there had been nearly 90,000 helicopter flights 
in the NCR from 2017 to 2019. GAO recommended that the FAA develop a 
mechanism to exchange helicopter noise information with operators in 
the NCR. The FAA indicated that it would implement such a mechanism, 
and I also introduced the Washington, DC Area Helicopter Noise 
Information Exchange Act of 2021 to require the FAA to implement such a 
mechanism.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Reducing Helicopter Noise in the 
District of Columbia Act.

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