Congress Takes a Stand against Cell Phones on Planes

A report by the Associated Press reveals that members of Congress are grumbling about the danger and annoyance of cell phone usage on airplanes. In fact, they think cell phones should be banned on airplanes permanently.

The Associated Press goes on to say that part of their “stand” against cell phones on flights involved telling stories about their most “horrific” experiences. Once congressman’s wife was forced to listen to another woman talking about her life in the bedroom during a flight.

Another congressman complained about a man who had evidently just been left by his partner or spouse just before the plane left the airport. He described the man’s attempts to reconcile with his loved one over a cell phone was “terrible to listen to,” which was apparently true, as the heartbroken gentleman had to be threatened before he stopped.

Yet another member of the House maintained that using cell phones on an airplace might be an issue of national security, citing the time that she had once seen a man take pictures of “sensitive parts of the airplane,” as per the Associated Press, using the camera on his cell phone.

At that point, the committee – the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – approved the bill to permanently ban the use of cell phones on airplanes. They did so via a voice vote.

Certainly coincidentally, Congress approved the bill at the same time the European Union is putting plans to allow people on planes to use their phones during their flights into play. Of course, airlines in the United States are making plans to implement Internet access on their planes. This worries lawmakers, who worry that domestic lines may attempt to get the ban removed in order to charge extra. Theoretically, they could charge more money to passengers who want seats in the no cell phone sections of the plane.

Within the government, there is a bipartisan battle going on, with the Democratic Representative from Oregon in favor of – and sponsoring – what is called the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace, or HANG UP, Act. The Republican Representative from Florida, however, is paraphrased in the Associated Press as saying that there are many obnoxious and annoying things on flights, such as “children with dirty diapers and noisy MP3 players, but that doesn’t mean they should be banned.”

The article also mentioned that members of Congress spend a lot of time in the air.

(August 1, 2008)