Volume 165, No. 87 covering the 1st Session of the 116th Congress (2019 - 2020) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“QUIET COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2019” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E659-E660 on May 23, 2019.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
QUIET COMMUNITIES ACT OF 2019
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HON. GRACE MENG
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the millions of Americans who suffer from noise pollution caused by aircrafts. Noise from aircraft is a constant source of torment, even if you don't live right near an airport, but under a regular flight path. Chronic exposure to excessive noise can lead to sleep deprivation, task interruptions, among other negative consequences which result in untold costs on society in diminished work productivity.
That is why today, I introduced the ``Quiet Communities Act of 2019''. This bill would reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Noise abatement programs across the country currently lie dormant. While the EPA retains the authority to study noise effects and make recommendations to mitigate these effects and limit environmental exposure to noise, it is unable to practically do so without a functioning ONAC.
As population growth and air traffic continue to increase, noise pollution is likely to become an even greater problem in the future. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is tasked with air transport-related noise concerns. It is responsible for developing flight paths and regulating the airline industry, but the FAA neither has the resources nor the mission priorities to adequately address intolerable levels of noise.
Madam Speaker, it is time to allow the EPA the resources it requires to resume its role in combating noise pollution and include flight noise in its jurisdiction by re-establishing ONAC. This bill would also require the EPA Administrator to carry out a study of airport noise and examine the FAA's selection of noise measurement methodologies, health impact thresholds, and abatement program effectiveness.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation--so that Congress does its part to help alleviate the aviation noise issues that impacts the health and welfare of Americans across our nation.
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