Kentucky Republican Representative and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer tried to get one over on New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday, but he failed spectacularly.
Comer used the ongoing discussion about a bill that would make changes to regulations surrounding pilot training and certification—lowering the mandatory retirement age for pilots as well as reducing the cockpit training requirements—to try to get in a dig at both Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic President Joe Biden.
Comer quipped:
"I’m amused that the gentlelady is concerned about raising the age regulation that limits the age for pilots when there’s a shortage of pilots, but they’re OK with a President of the United States who’s more than 20 years older than the minimum age."
Ocasio-Cortez quickly corrected Comer.
"Mr. Chairman, since you’re referring to me it’s not age."
"It’s training-hour time—the number of hours that an individual’s training, not the age."
Comer tried to save face, but came off as a bit petulant by retorting:
"Well, part of the regulation is the age as well."
You can view the exchange below:
Comer's attempt—and utter failure—was not lost on Twitter.
Both lawmakers are referencing the 773-page proposal to reauthorize FAA programs for the next 5 years that was released last week.
One of the included changes would be to increase the number of training hours that can be performed in a simulator, rather than in the cockpit, to 250 from the current 100. This wouldn't affect the total requirement of 1500 training hours, just allow for more of them to be completed using simulators.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also recently approved an amendment that would raise the age at which pilots are required to retire from 65 to 67, which is likely what Comer was trying to reference.
