U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., thinks shrinking airline seats are a health and safety hazard, and the federal government should set minimum seat sizes for the industry.

In the 1970s, the average width of airline seats was 18 inches, and Cohen argues that deregulation of the industry led to the puny 16 ½-inch seats passengers are forced to put up with today. The average distance between rows has also shrunk from 35 inches to 31 inches since that time, according to a Cohen news release.

“Consumers are tired of being squeezed both physically and fiscally by airlines,” he said. “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,” Cohen continued. “Doctors have also warned that deep vein thrombosis can afflict passengers who can’t move their legs during longer flights.”

Cohen’s so-called SEAT Act would change all that, of course. He introduced the bill – an acronym for “Seat Egress in Air Travel” – on Monday and it was assigned to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Specifically, it would require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations within a year that would “establish minimum dimensions (including width, length, and seat pitch) for passenger seats on aircraft operated by any air carrier in the provision of interstate air transportation or intrastate air transportation; and for the safety and health of passengers.

“The term ‘seat pitch’ means the distance from any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front of or behind it,” according to H.R. 4490.

The congressman told the Atlanta Journal Constitution he hopes to latch the SEAT Act onto a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill scheduled before the House transportation committee tomorrow.

Cohen is definitely not the first to raise issues with the increasingly cramped quarters on passenger planes. Last spring, the Department of Transportation’s Advisory Committee for Aviation and Consumer Protection held a hearing in Washington D. C., where consumer advocates raised issues with the deep vein thrombosis issue and concerns about evacuations.

Eric Schmidt, known on Twitter as @exitrow4thetall, invented the “Knee Defender” to protect tall passengers after struggling to fit his 6’6” frame into tiny airplane seats. He vented frustrations about airlines charging extra for exit row seating, which he believes to be a necessity for tall folks.

“Give tall people the space they need,” Schmidt pleaded with airline reps at the meeting, according to the AJC.

Travel blog Conde Nast Traveler reports the three U.S. Airlines with the most legroom are JetBlue at 33 inches, followed by Virgin America, and Southwest, both at 32 inches between rows.

The standard worldwide is about 31 inches, the same as in the United States, but several airlines offer passengers at least 33 inches: Aeromexico, South African Airways, Asiana, Air India, and Air Tahiti Nui.

The airlines with the least include Air Berlin, Austrian Airlines and Aeroflot, all at 30 inches of leg room, according to the blog.