[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation, today introduced a the Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act to direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish minimum seat size standards for the safety and health of airline passengers. 
 
 “Consumers are tired of being squeezed both physically and fiscally by airlines,” said Congressman Cohen. “Shrinking seat sizes isn’t just a matter of comfort but safety and health as well. The Federal Aviation Administration requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency, yet they haven’t conducted emergency evacuation tests on all of today’s smaller seats. Doctors have also warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who can’t move their legs during longer flights.” 
 
 The average distance between rows of seats has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has also shrunk from 18 inches to about 16 ½. ||||| Congressman: It's time to regulate the size of airline seats 
 
 Southwest Airlines aircraft technicians install newer, skinnier seats on a 737 at the carrier's headquarters in Dallas on Sept. 23, 2013. (Photo: John Mone, AP) 
 
 Is it time for Congress to get involved in regulating the size of airline seats? 
 
 That’s what one member of the House of Representatives is proposing. Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen – who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation – plans to introduce legislation that would institute minimum seat sizes for passenger airlines. 
 
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 Cohen plans to offer his “Seat Egress in Air Travel Act” – or SEAT Act – as an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill, which the committee is scheduled to vote on this Thursday. 
 
 Cohen’s move comes as some airlines have introduced new slimmer seat designs during the past decade that have allowed them to squeeze more seats onto planes. The slimmer seats are also lighter, helping carriers save fuel. And beyond the so-called "slimline' seats, certain carriers -- led in particular by a new breed of ultra low-cost carriers -- have also become more aggressive in reducing leg room as part of their efforts to increase capacity on their aircraft. 
 
 CLOSE It's not your imagination. There really is a tighter squeeze on many planes these days. That's because the major carriers are using thinner seats to pack in more passengers. (Oct. 15) AP 
 
 As for Cohen’s SEAT Act, it likely faces long odds about ultimately being passed into law. But Cohen intends to push ahead with the effort. 
 
 “Shrinking seats raise safety and health concerns, and it’s time for the FAA to take action,” Cohen says in a statement. “The FAA requires that planes be capable of rapid evacuation in case of emergency, yet they haven’t conducted emergency evacuation tests on all of today’s smaller seats.” 
 
 Cohen also plays to health concerns in advocating for his SEAT Act, adding in his statement that “doctors have also warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who can’t move their legs during longer flights. Consumers are tired of being squeezed both physically and fiscally by airlines.” 
 
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– Cramped airline passengers, Steve Cohen speaks for you. The representative from Tennessee plans to introduce the Seat Egress in Air Travel Act on Thursday, USA Today reports. According to Consumerist, Cohen doesn't want to see airline seats continue to get smaller. The SEAT Act would force the FAA to agree to a minimum size. “Consumers are tired of being squeezed both physically and fiscally by airlines,” Cohen said in a press release announcing the act on Monday. “Shrinking seat sizes isn’t just a matter of comfort but safety and health as well." He argues cramped seating could slow evacuation efforts in the event of emergencies and increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis in passengers. Cohen plans on pitching the SEAT Act as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization bill, which the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to vote on Thursday. The amendment "faces long odds" to actually becoming law, according to USA Today. Airline passengers have lost about 4 inches of leg room and 1.5 inches of butt room since the 1970s. The smaller seats have allowed airlines to fit more passengers on board while making planes lighter to save on fuel costs.