releases: https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-praises-passage-seat-act
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| https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-praises-passage-seat-act | Congressman Cohen Praises Passage of SEAT Act | 2018-09-26 | 2018 | 2018-09 | Democrat | House | TN | Steve Cohen | C001068 | cohen.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, praised passage of his Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act he introduced that was made a part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that passed the House today. The vote was 398 to 23. See his floor remarks here. The SEAT Act provision requires the FAA to establish minimum seat size anddistance between rows of seats to meet the 90-second emergency airplane evacuation time currently mandated by federal regulation. Congressman Cohenintroducedthe bipartisan SEAT Act,H.R. 1467, with Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois). Congressman Cohen offered the legislation asan amendmentduring the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's consideration of FAA reauthorization legislation last year. The amendment was adopted by voice vote, prior to fullHouse passagein April. Congressman Cohen made the following statement: Safety should not take a back seat, especially a shrunken seat, to airline profits. Tightly cramped seating on aircraft is a safety issue, and will now be taken seriously.The SEAT Act will ensure that shrinking seats on airplanes are evaluated in the interest of the safety of the flying public. I commend my colleagues for including this important safety measure in the FAA bill. The five-year reauthorization of FAA programs came after five extensions prior to Sunday's September 30 deadline. Key Houseand Senate negotiators reached an agreement lastFriday eveningand released the text of H.R. 302, a consensus bill that includes nearly $1.7 billion in federal disaster relief for Hurricane Florence victims. SEAT Act Legislative Timeline February 2016 SEAT Act Introduced (Cohen-Kinzinger). March 2017 -- SEAT Act reintroduced (Cohen-Kinzinger) joined by Senators Blumenthal, Schumer, Markey, Menendez and Feinstein. 2017 Markup: H.R. 2997 (First FAA Reauth Bill) June 27, 2017 SEAT Act offered as an amendment (safety and health) to House FAA reauthorization (H.R. 2997) during T&I markup. The committee approved the amendment by voice vote as part of an en bloc agreement. Video of Cohen here. On the eve of the markup, we reached out to airlines individually: American Airlines Delta Airlines Southwest Airlines The message was simple -- will you oppose a strictly safety-based measure? The markup was very closely preceded by the incident on a United flight where a passenger was dragged off the plane. Airlines were on the PR defensive. It was always about safety, NOT comfort. Each of the above carriers engaged in staff level negotiations on technical changes. The main change being a switch from a reference to the DOT Secretary to the FAA Administrator. Those conversations continued late into the night and continued during the markup, including a direct conversation with representatives from Airlines for America. Ultimately, a decision from each to not actively oppose the amendment was reached. Right as the amendment was called up to be offered, the Counsel on each side with the Chairman's consent, agreed to include the amendment in a voiced en-bloc vote. 2017 2018 Uncertain Floor Action July 2016 to March 2018 - On at least 2 occasions, HR 2997 was rumored to be pending floor consideration and a notice for solicitations for floor amendments was issued twice by the Rules Committee. The ongoing issue with both the House bill and Senate bill were the ATC Privatization title (Shuster) in the House and the 1500-hour pilot training rule in the Senate (Thune). February 27, 2018 Rep. Cohen directly questioned Acting FAA Administrator Behrami at a House Subcommittee on Aviation hearing on airline safety. You raised pointed questions about the following: Danger of shrinking seat size for evacuations. Failure of evacuation tests to account for baggage, varying fitness of real-life passengers, and the behavioral difference between rehearsed tests and life-threatening situations. U.S. Court of Appeals order requiring the FAA review its decision and justification to dismiss a successful public petition submitted by FlyersRights ordering the review of seat size. FAA argument characterized as vaporous by judge. American Airlines flight 383, October 2016 fire at O'Hare. Evacuation took 2 minutes and 21 seconds. Federal mandates require 90 second evacuation with half of the exist inoperable. Acting Administrator Behrami said they would respond soon. H.R. 4 (Second Version of FAA Reauth) April 4, 2018 - Shuster introduces a newly written FAA bill for floor consideration. The ATC privatization title was dropped. 1500 Hour rule from Thune was also dropped. SEAT Act was written into the base text. April 27, 2018 The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4 with the SEAT Act included (393-13). June 19, 2018 DOT Inspector General announces audit of FAA oversight of evacuation procedures with specific regard to seat size, baggage, and issues raised by Rep. Cohen in the February hearing and a letter from Ranking Member DeFazio and Subcommittee Ranking Member Larsen. H.R. 302 (3rd and Final Conference FAA Reauth) September 23, 2018 House and Senate negotiators announce new bipartisan, bicameral FAA reauthorization package that includes the SEAT Act as passed by the House. In the days and weeks leading up to the new bill, H.R. 302, the following actions were taken to influence the conference negotiators: The seven major consumer groups including National Consumer League, Travelers United, Consumers Union, and Flyers Rights included in their FAA position letter strong support for the SEAT Act's inclusion. Senators Whitehouse (D-RI) and Warner (D-VA) were engaged and weighed in with Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL). Rep. Kinzinger weighed in with Chairman Shuster. Rep. Cohen discussed with Ranking Member DeFazio and Chairman Shuster. Leader Pelosi's transportation staff were engaged and the professional staff of the Aviation Subcommittee (minority) to fight to maintain House language. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |