Nowadays, any bill passing along Capitol Hill comes out feeling a little dirty.
But not Kate Hanni — the mastermind behind the Passenger Bill of Rights — or at least the woman who got so mad at getting stuck on a plane with a bunch of snakes and Samuel L. Jackson that she started a website and then used her virtual bully pulpit to lobby congress and pass one law in the House and another in the Senate.
The bill was unusual for Congress to attempt to enact because most congressmen have never flown public airlines and were not sure what it’s like to go
through TSA checkpoints or wait in line for the restroom. (Except former senator Larry Craig, who is a fan of airport bathrooms.)
Now, after Sunday, everyone knows what happens after two separate bills of the same law pass: Reconciliation time.
“Today is an historic day for airline passengers in the United States,” said Flyers Rights Executive Director Hanni. “By providing airline passengers with a Bill of Rights, including a 3 Hour limit whereby airlines must return stranded passengers to the terminal, the United States Senate has spoken boldly and clearly that the airlines must treat their customers fairly and with decency, or face consequences.”
