H.R. 5049

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5049 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5049

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
conduct a study on the operation of helicopters within a 20-mile radius 
of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 26, 2025

Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Goldman of 
New York, and Mrs. McIver) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
conduct a study on the operation of helicopters within a 20-mile radius 
of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Communities from 
Helicopter Noise Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON HELICOPTER OPERATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration shall conduct a study on helicopter operations within a 
20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the 
Administrator shall focus on the following items:
(1) The effect of persistent helicopter noise on 
residential and recreational areas, including--
(A) an analysis of the volume of helicopter 
traffic, including the time helicopters are flying and 
the frequency of helicopters traversing the airspace;
(B) an analysis of noise levels related to 
helicopter operations;
(C) an analysis of safety, health, environmental, 
and economic issues related to helicopter operations;
(D) an analysis of whether helicopters are 
following the terms and conditions of voluntary 
agreements, including the Statue of Liberty National 
Monument and Governors Island National Monument 
Voluntary Agreement;
(E) an analysis of the origination of helicopters 
traversing the airspace within a 20-mile radius of the 
Statue of Liberty National Monument;
(F) an analysis of the necessity of helicopter 
traffic within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of 
Liberty National Monument;
(G) an analysis of how helicopters contribute to 
the congestion of the airspace within a 20-mile radius 
of the Statue of Liberty;
(H) an projection of how electric vertical take off 
and landing aircraft or other advanced air mobility 
technologies will contribute to the congestion, noise, 
and safety of the airspace within a 20-mile radius of 
the Statue of Liberty;
(I) an analysis of the quality of life of residents 
living in areas with high volumes of helicopter noise; 
and
(J) an analysis of any other issue related to 
helicopter traffic on residential and recreational 
areas.
(2) Solutions to abate or eliminate helicopter noise on 
residential and recreational areas, including--
(A) the feasibility of diverting helicopters from 
residential and recreational areas;
(B) the feasibility of creating new flight paths 
for helicopters, with attention to the presence of 
airports within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of 
Liberty National Monument;
(C) an analysis of whether banning nonessential 
helicopters within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of 
Liberty will increase the overall safety, health, and 
environment of the community;
(D) the feasibility of establishing altitude limits 
for helicopter operations in and around within a 20-
mile radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument; 
and
(E) other options for abating helicopter noise.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 
study under subsection (a).
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