U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is refusing to turn off and stow her effort to
reevaluate rules restricting in-flight use of portable electronic devices
[PEDs], telling the nation’s air travel chief today that she will begin drafting
legislation to loosen the restrictions.
In December, McCaskill wrote to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Administrator Michael Huerta, telling him that she would look at legislative
solutions if his agency delayed a reconsideration of restrictions. Today, after
a response from the agency that McCaskill deemed “concerning,” she criticized
Huerta for his “lack of direct engagement” on the issue.
“…[G]iven my concerns with the agency’s lack of
commitment to adopt changes to the current PED rules, I am beginning to draft
legislation,” McCaskill wrote in her response. “In the coming weeks, I will be
meeting with various stakeholders to receive input on the issue, and I will be
working with my colleagues to build bipartisan support for action in
Congress.”
McCaskill’s previous letter to Huerta
highlighted the flaws in the existing rules by pointing out that
the FAA already allows airlines to replace their paper flight manuals in the
cockpit with tablet computers. Current rules do not allow
passengers to use PEDs for the full duration of a flight. Other government
officials, including Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski, have also urged the FAA to change the current rules regarding PED
use.
Last week, McCaskill met directly with Genachowski to discuss a
variety of issues, including expanded use of PEDs.
McCaskill has served on the Senate Committee on
Commerce since joining the Senate in 2007, which has jurisdiction over aviation
and communications policy, and this year was named Chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer
Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance.
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