[House Report 113-466]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-466
======================================================================
PROHIBITING IN-FLIGHT VOICE COMMUNICATIONS ON MOBILE WIRELESS DEVICES
ACT OF 2013
_______
May 30, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3676]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 3676) to establish a prohibition on
certain cell phone voice communications during passenger
flights, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory of Earmarks............................................. 4
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 4
Disclosure of Directed Rulemakings............................... 5
Federal Mandate Statement........................................ 5
Preemption Clarification......................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability of Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation....................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, As Reported............ 6
Purpose of Legislation
H.R. 3676 ``Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on
Mobile Wireless Devices Act of 2013,'' directs the Secretary of
Transportation to issue regulations that prohibit the use of
cell phones for voice communications during the in-flight
portion of any scheduled domestic commercial flight. The bill
provides an exemption for on-duty members of flight and cabin
crews, as well as federal law enforcement personnel acting in
an official capacity.
Background and Need for Legislation
In December 2013, the Chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) announced his intention to have
the FCC vote whether or not to consider a rule change that
would give airlines the ability to allow passengers to use
their mobile devices to make voice calls in-flight. On December
12, 2013, the FCC voted in favor to consider the proposed
change in FCC rules and on December 13, 2013 it issued a notice
of proposed rulemaking on this issue. On February 14, 2014, the
Department of Transportation issued an advanced notice of
proposed rulemaking to solicit comments from the public on
banning cell phone communications on aircraft. The FCC is
responsible for addressing the technical aspect of using cell
phones to make voice calls in-flight, whereas it is the
responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and
the Department of Transportation (DOT) to address any safety
impacts that may occur from using cell phones to make voice
calls during flight. Neither the DOT nor the FCC has taken any
additional further actions regarding this matter.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted
December 2013, 59 percent of Americans opposed allowing cell
phone calls during flights, while only 30 percent supported
allowing them. In addition, a December 2013 Associated Press
poll found that 78 percent of frequent fliers oppose allowing
in-flight phone calls. The potential safety concerns from
allowing voice communications via cell phones on passenger
aircraft have been raised by a variety of stakeholders, such as
the DOT and flight attendants.
Hearings
On December 12, 2013 the Subcommittee on Aviation held a
hearing titled the ``State of American Aviation,'' in which the
topic of using cell phones for voice communications on
scheduled domestic flights was discussed. No hearings were
specifically held on H.R. 3676.
Legislative History and Consideration
On December 9, 2013, Representative Bill Shuster introduced
H.R. 3676.
On February 11, 2014, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure met in open session and ordered the bill
reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a quorum
present.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to include the
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for
and against. There were no record votes taken in connection
with consideration of H.R. 3676 or ordering the measure
reported. A motion to order H.R. 3676 reported favorably to the
House was agreed to by voice vote with a quorum present.
Committee Oversight Findings
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in the report.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3676 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 6, 2014.
Hon. Bill Shuster,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3676, the
Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on Mobile Wireless
Devices Act of 2013.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll (for federal costs), and Amy Petz (for the private-
sector impact).
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 3676--Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on Mobile
Wireless Devices Act of 2013
H.R. 3676 would direct the Secretary of Transportation to
issue regulations that prohibit air passengers from talking on
cellular phones during domestic flights. The prohibition would
not apply to members of the flight crew, flight attendants, or
federal law enforcement agents who are on duty.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3676 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information
from the Department of Transportation, we expect that
promulgating the proposed regulations would cost less than
$500,000, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. H.R.
3676 would not affect direct spending or revenues; pay-as-you-
go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 3676 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), by prohibiting
airline passengers from talking on cellular phones during a
domestic flight. Under current law, airlines may choose to
allow passengers to make voice calls over an in-flight Internet
service (for example Skype), but in-flight voice calls on
cellular phones are prohibited by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). The FCC recently issued a proposed rule that
would allow airlines to permit passengers to use cellular
phones during a flight. If the FCC adopts the rule, the bill
would impose a mandate by prohibiting passengers from engaging
in all voice calls during a flight; if the FCC does not adopt
the rule, only the prohibition on voice calls over an in-flight
Internet service would constitute a mandate. In either case,
CBO expects that the cost of the mandate would be small and
fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for
private-sector mandates ($152 million in 2014, adjusted
annually for inflation).
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a notice
that it is also considering a ban on all in-flight voice calls
by passengers as an unfair practice to consumers. If DOT, in
the absence of the bill, determines to ban such calls, the bill
would impose no private-sector mandates.
H.R. 3676 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in UMRA and would impose no cost on state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll
(for federal costs) and Amy Petz (for the private-sector
impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to direct
the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a rulemaking to ban
the use of cell phones for in-flight voice communications with
certain exemptions.
Advisory of Earmarks
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit,
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of
rule XXI.
Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to section 3(j) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013),
the Committee finds that no provision of H.R. 3676 establishes
or reauthorizes a program of the federal government known to be
duplicative of another federal program, a program that was
included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-
139, or a program related to a program identified in the most
recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rulemakings
Pursuant to section 3(k) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013),
the Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 3676 directs the
Secretary of Transportation to complete a rulemaking banning
the use of in-flight voice communications on cell phones.
Federal Mandate Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (Public Law 104-4).
Preemption Clarification
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 3676 does not
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this
legislation.
Applicability of Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation
Section 1. Short title
This section provides that the short title of the bill is
the ``Prohibiting In-Flight Voice Communications on Mobile
Wireless Devices Act of 2013.''
Section 2. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications
Creates a new section 41725, in Title 49 United States Code
which--
a. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue
regulations prohibiting an individual on an aircraft from using
a cell phone during a domestic scheduled passenger flight, with
exemptions applying to any member of the flight crew or flight
attendant on duty on an aircraft, as well as federal law
enforcement acting in an official capacity.
b. Defines the terms ``flight'' and ``mobile communications
devices.''
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
* * * * * * *
PART A--AIR COMMERCE AND SAFETY
* * * * * * *
SUBPART II--ECONOMIC REGULATION
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 417--OPERATIONS OF CARRIERS
SUBCHAPTER I--REQUIREMENTS
Sec.
41701. Classification of air carriers.
* * * * * * *
41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications.
* * * * * * *
SUBCHAPTER I--REQUIREMENTS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications
(a) Prohibition.--The Secretary of Transportation shall issue
regulations--
(1) to prohibit an individual on an aircraft from
engaging in voice communications using a mobile
communications device during a flight of that aircraft
in scheduled passenger interstate or intrastate air
transportation; and
(2) that exempt from the prohibition described in
paragraph (1) any--
(A) member of the flight crew on duty on an
aircraft;
(B) flight attendant on duty on an aircraft;
and
(C) Federal law enforcement officer acting in
an official capacity.
(b) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Flight.--The term ``flight'' means, with respect
to an aircraft, the period beginning when the aircraft
takes off and ending when the aircraft lands.
(2) Mobile communications device.--
(A) In general.--The term ``mobile
communications device'' means any portable
wireless telecommunications equipment utilized
for the transmission or reception of voice
data.
(B) Limitation.--The term ``mobile
communications device'' does not include a
phone installed on an aircraft.
* * * * * * *