[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SECURING AIRCRAFT COCKPITS

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, this February I joined with 
colleagues from both sides of the aisle to offer an amendment to the 
FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Act to secure aircraft 
cockpits by making it a Federal criminal offense to knowingly aim the 
beam of a laser at an aircraft. Our commonsense and bipartisan 
amendment to protect passengers and pilots received overwhelming 
support in this body, and was agreed to by a vote of 96 to 1. A similar 
measure subsequently passed the House, without controversy, by voice 
vote under the suspension rules. Unfortunately, the larger bill to 
which my amendment was attached has been held up because of unrelated 
issues. As a result, today I am joining with Senators Kirk, Boxer, and 
Feinstein to re-introduce this provision as a stand-alone bill.
  When targeted at aircraft, laser pointer strikes can instantly flash 
throughout the cockpit, temporarily blinding the pilot and crew. One 
pilot described the feeling of being hit by a laser like this: ``It 
immediately [lit] up the whole cockpit and it hit both of my eyes and 
burned both of my corneas. Instantly, I was blinded. It felt like I was 
hit in the face with a baseball bat--just an intense, burning pain.'' 
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt warned that lasers can ``damage a 
pilot's eyes or cause temporary blindness.'' In an event on this topic 
held last year at T.F. Green Airport in my home state of Rhode Island, 
a pilot explained that the temporary blindness from a laser hit can 
last several seconds or longer, and when a plane is rapidly approaching 
the ground for landing, ``one second can make a big difference.''
  This kind of threat to a pilot's sight--particularly during the 
critical phases of takeoff and landing--poses an unacceptable risk to 
the travelling public, our pilots and crew, and citizens on the ground. 
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has thus described laser 
incidents as ``a serious safety issue.''
  The problem has grown in recent years. According to a report earlier 
this year by the Federal Aviation Administration, 2,836 pilots reported 
they were targeted with lasers in 2010, nearly double the number in 
2009. These strikes occur at airports all across the country. At T.F. 
Green Airport, for example, there were 12 such reported incidents last 
year. The threat, which puts interstate commerce and travel at risk, 
requires attention at the national level.
  Current Federal law does not provide prosecutors with sufficient 
tools to prosecute and deter this dangerous conduct. Ill-fitting 
existing statutes can only be used in limited cases, leaving even 
identified perpetrators to go unpunished. My legislation would solve 
this problem by creating a criminal offense that clearly covers this 
harmful conduct. It would explicitly criminalize knowingly aiming the 
beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft. Violations would lead to 
punishment of imprisonment for up to 5 years or fines up to $250,000. 
The bill would exempt valid uses of laser pointers in the aviation 
context, such as designated research and development activities, flight 
test operations, training, and emergency signaling. Prosecutors thus 
would have a new valuable tool to protect air safety without any burden 
being imposed on legitimate use of lasers.
  I thank Senators Kirk, Boxer, and Feinstein for their leadership on 
this issue, and our partners in the House for their work. I hope 
Senators from both sides of the aisle will join me in enacting this 
legislation to protect American aviation.

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