May 2, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 913

HONORING MS. BARBARA SEAMAN

HON. JERROLD NADLER

OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

pay tribute to a woman who has saved lives

and changed lives—Barbara Seaman.

Best known for her ground-breaking expose ́

of the health risks associated with the pill,

‘‘The Doctors’ Case Against the Pill,’’ Barbara

Seaman changed the way women view medicine, and forced the medical establishment to

begin changing the way many medical professionals view women who are their patients.

When thousands of women taking the thennewly available pill began to experience serious side effects—some deadly—it was Barbara Seaman who told them why. A 1970 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of women taking

the pill had not been warned of related risks

by their physicians. Barbara Seaman changed

that. Her book spurred the now-famous Gaylord Nelson Senate hearings which led to the

requirement that inserts warning of potential

side effects must be included in each pill

package.

At last, women could begin to make informed decisions as to their method of birth

control. We cannot quantify how many lives

Barbara Seaman saved through her activism,

or how many lives she changed.

Barbara Seaman exposed the risks associated with the pill at great personal expense.

Although prior to the publication of ‘‘The Doctors’ Case Against the Pill,’’ Barbara Seaman

had already become a well-respected columnist, Ms. Seaman was effectively

blacklisted. Advertisers displeased with Ms.

Seaman’s activism used their influence to convince publishers not to print anything she had

written.

But Barbara Seaman continued to be an advocate for women’s health concerns, and went

on to write additional books and to become

one of the founders of the National Women’s

Health Network. Barbara Seaman remains a

strong voice for women’s health.

April 27 marked the 25th anniversary of the

drafting of the historic letter sent to Ms. Seaman from then-Secretary of Health, Education,

and Welfare Robert Finch, which cited Ms.

Seaman’s book as: ‘‘a major factor in our

strengthening the language in the final warning published in the Federal Register to be included in each package of the pill.’’

Today, I salute Barbara Seaman as a national role model. Her work has saved the

lives of countless women—not only those who

were taking the pill without being informed of

the risks, but all women whose health care

professionals have been held to a higher

standard because of Ms. Seaman’s work. She

began a movement that is still growing, and,

today, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Barbara Seaman’s extraordinary accomplishments.

INTRODUCTION OF COMMUTER

AIRPORT SAFETY BILL

HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR OF MINNESOTA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, today I am

introducing legislation, submitted by the administration, to give authority to the Federal

Aviation Administration to regulate airports

served by commuter airlines.

The legislation is part of the FAA’s program

to ensure that passengers traveling on commuter airlines—operating with aircraft of 30

seats or less—receive the same safety protection as passengers traveling on airlines operating large aircraft. The administration began

this program after hearings by the House

Aviation Subcommittee in February 1994, the

need for a uniform standard for commuter airlines and large aircraft operators. I strongly

support a uniform standard and have introduced legislation in the 103d and 104th Congresses to require FAA to establish this standard. I am pleased that FAA has responded by

issuing a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to

raise the commuter standards to the large aircraft level. We will monitor FAA’s progress on

the rulemaking and ensure that they do everything possible to meet their target of issuing

final regulations by December of this year.

As commuter airlines have grown in importance the traveling public has come to expect

that these airlines will be governed by the

same safety standards as large aircraft operators. Approximately 10 percent of all passengers traveling on a scheduled airline now

travel on a commuter. Since many commuters

operate under the name and colors of major

airlines—for example, as United Express—the

public has the right to assume that the same

standards will govern the commuter and its

parent.

While FAA can act without legislative authority to raise most of the standards governing commuters, FAA has no authority under

existing law to raise the standards governing

safety at airports served only by commuters.

Under 49 U.S.C. section 44706, FAA has

authority to issue operating certificates to airports served by air carriers using aircraft designed to carry 31 or more passengers. Under

this authority FAA requires these airports to

comply with a number of safety requirements,

including requirements for aircraft rescue and

firefighting equipment, airport guidance signs,

airfield inspection procedures, airfield pavement maintenance standards, emergency

plans, snow and ice control plans, and runway

and taxiway standards. However, under existing law, FAA has no authority to impose these

regulatory requirements on airports served

only by aircraft of 30 or fewer seats.

The National Transportation Safety Board

has recommended that legislation be enacted

to give FAA authority to regulate airports

served by commuter airlines. In making this

recommendation NTSB stated that it was:

* * * concerned that many community airports served by commuter airlines are not

certificated in accordance with Part 139 because of the seating capacity of the aircraft

serving those airports. Consequently, passengers flying into and out of those airports

may not be provided adequate airport safety

or emergency response resources.

The administration bill which I have introduced implements the NTSB recommendation.

I have introduced this bill because I strongly

believe that passengers traveling on commuter

airlines are entitled to the same level of safety

as passengers traveling on major airlines.

However, I emphasize that the legislation does

not require FAA to impose exactly the same

standards for all types of airports. There may

well be cases in which small aircraft do not

present the same safety hazard as large aircraft, and the law gives FAA discretion to tailor

its regulatory requirements to the hazard. FAA

has similar discretionary authority under existing law, and has used this authority to impose

requirements which vary with the size of aircraft and the number of aircraft serving an airport. FAA has stated that if it is given the authority over commuter airports, it will consider

fully whether different requirements are appropriate for these airports. FAA has asked its

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee to

study the problem and to make recommendations on the appropriate standards for commuter airports. I urge ARAC to complete its

assignment promptly, so that FAA will be in a

position to issue new regulations soon after it

receives the necessary legislative authority.

IN HONOR OF WILLIAM R. DYSON

fHON. ROSA L. DeLAURO OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Ms. DELAURO. Mr. Speaker, in New Haven,

CT, on April 27, 1995, the Amistad Committee

will honor my good friend, and long-time Connecticut State Representative, William Riley

Dyson. I am pleased to have this opportunity

to join the Amistad Committee in honoring this

extraordinary legislator and community activist.

The Amistad Committee is devoted to commemorating the remarkable events surrounding the Amistad Revolt and furthering the

struggle for social justice and equality. The

Amistad Revolt began in 1839 when captives

from Sierra Leone seized the merchant ship

La Amistad and ordered their kidnappers to

return to Africa. When the slavers instead

sailed toward the United States, the Amistad

was taken into custody in the Long Island

Sound. The rebels were held in the New

Haven jail while they defended their civil rights

in court. Anti-slavery advocates across the

country rallied to the Africans’ cause, and after

2 years, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a decision that freed them and allowed them to return home.

The Amistad controversy galvanized opposition to the injustices of slavery. The incident

deeply affected countless Americans, both

black and white, who hailed the captives’ courageous assertion of their human rights. This

important event in American history has inspired generations of people in New Haven,

and throughout our Nation, to follow the example of these Africans. State Representative

William Riley Dyson is a person who exemplifies this commitment to the cause for peace

and social justice.

Bill Dyson symbolizes the strength, vitality,

and tremendous activism of the African-American community. From the time he was Director of the Newhallville Neighborhood Corporation and a New Haven Alderman, to his efforts