There is nothing quiet about this number: $772,943
That's the total dollar amount 84% of Quiet Skies Caucus members reported from air-transport PACs from 2019 - 2020, based on data provided by OpenSecrets.org (an organization that tracks money in politics) and analyzed solely by NextGenNoise.Org. The remaining 16% reported no Air Transport PAC money. View the two lists below and feel free to link to this page. These numbers are based on research conducted in September, 2021.
Well, surprise surprise the Quiet Skies Caucus is awash with air transport PAC money. One could think the money required to maintain a seat in Congress trumps any allegiance to basic values. Quoting from the banner on the Quiet Skies Caucus' webpage:
"The Quiet Skies Caucus in the United States Congress seeks to raise awareness on the issue of aircraft air and noise pollution and find meaningful solutions to the problem. The caucus consists of congressional representatives from across the country whose constituents have been impacted by the FAA's NextGen program."
It seems that the only solutions caucus members found, though, were ways to enrich their war chest at the expense of the misery inflicted upon their constituents by the very industry they strive to "find meaningful solutions" for.
All of which explains why my inbox is filling up with cries for help. They usually start something like this: "My representative is on the Quiet Skies Caucus and does nothing about aircraft noise". Or, "My representative is on the Quiet Skies Caucus and does not return messages."
The real question, of course, is what is telegraphed to our legislators through these dollars - are they given with an entreaty to stall legislation detrimental to the airlines? Or, is it to put the breaks on investigations into what appears to be industries regulatory capture of the FAA? What players within congress cannot rise to the occasion and reign in the unabridged authority of this agency that has morphed into a self-regulating juggernaut? Is the money to blunt investigations by the Committee of Oversight and Reform, a body well-suited to carry out hearings, which also has Quiet Skies Caucus members in its ranks that do not accept airline industry PAC dollars. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
The time is now. The FAA and airlines and aerospace need to be regulated. If Congress fails to take action against the obscene manifest destiny that aviation and space interests exhibit then imagine this: sometime in the not too distant future your children could gaze up at the night sky to see the most hideous assault on our democracy ever concocted by industry - a string of Geo-stationary satellite platforms the likes of Amazon, Coca-Cola and Jet Blue, forever illuminated, twinkling down at us with their outlandish logos, redefining for our species what the phrase to be free really means. And if you think "oh that could never happen" then look at the number of aero-space-related companies specifically lobbying the FAA, and the total number of clients lobbying on aero-space in general. Take a look at the ever-increasing dollars showered upon our lawmakers from companies like SpaceX, and Blue Origin. I’m all for space exploration and the certain scientific knowledge and benefits it can bring to us. But I’d also have to be very naive to trust business interests not to monetize and commercialize it in ways that threaten the future of our planet and contribute to its destruction.
And if none of the above makes any sense then there's always this Saturday Night Live satire about billionaires' conquest of space to help fill in the missing pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD66suMp3J4
-- by Jeffrey Starin, President and Principal NextGenNoise.Org, Brooklyn, NY
The links below each member gives you all the data for that legislator. For those who really want to see what is going on behind the scenes with campaign money, spend some time on the OpenSecrets.Org website. Poke around and explore. You'll be surprised by what you discover about our legislators' source of funds.
The following Quiet Skies Caucus lawmakers did receive air-transport PAC money:
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger: $48,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: $55,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Tom Suozzi: $30,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Gregory W Meeks: $42,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Adam Smith: $30,750
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi: $40,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Mike Quigley: $45,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Grace Napolitano: $25,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick: $46,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Kathleen Rice: $19,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Ted Lieu: $17,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Jimmy Panetta: $21,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Karen Bass: $23,143
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Alan Lowenthal: $28,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Stephen F Lynch: $18,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Yvette D Clarke: $12,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Katherine Clark: $19,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Jan Schakowsky: $2,750
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Grace Meng: $12,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Carolyn B Maloney: $8,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Ruben Gallego: $12,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Darren Soto: $15,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Frederica Wilson: $11,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Anna Eshoo: $1,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Jackie Speier: $10,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Maxine Waters: $10,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Brad Sherman: $4,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Raul Ruiz: $3,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Barbara Lee: $8,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Judy Chu: $11,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Ed Case: $19,800
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Jim Himes: $23,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. David Scott: $16,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Don Beyer: $24,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Joseph Neguse: $6,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Adam Schiff: $19,000
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton: $15,500
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
The following Quiet Skies Caucus lawmakers reported no air-transport PAC money and that's why their link will show no "Air Transport" category:
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Pramila Jayapal
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Rep. Ro Khanna
Source: OpenSecrets.Org
Source: OpenSecrets.Org