Wins for GA

You know them well: ensuring Bob Hoover was able to return to flying; passing the original Pilot’s Bill of Rights; securing BasicMed privileges for thousands of pilots with reforms to the third class medical process; including volunteer pilots in the Volunteer Protection Act; and our work developing the future of the aviation workforce, just to name a few.

As a fellow pilot, I introduced legislation in 2011 to make things fairer between individual pilots and the massive bureaucracy of the FAA. Signed into law in 2012, the Pilot’s Bill of Rights leveled the playing field for pilots during FAA enforcement proceedings and National Transportation Safety Board reviews. The FAA had to ensure pilots understood their rights during enforcement proceedings, and pilots were guaranteed access to information needed to appropriately defend themselves.

We have also enacted critical policy advances such as third class medical reform, a key provision in my Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 and a huge win for the general aviation community. BasicMed, as it became known, cuts bureaucratic red tape and allows pilots to see an aviation medical examiner or their private physician for medical examinations. Since it took effect in 2017, more than 70,000 pilots have completed the requirements to fly under BasicMed privileges, while successfully keeping the general aviation accident rate at its lowest in decades.

It is essential that we do everything we can to educate and train the next generation of pilots and maintenance professionals. With this in mind, the 2018 FAA Reauthorization included my legislation to support the development and spread of curriculum necessary to maintain and grow the aviation workforce. If we want to create a better future for our pilots, we must equip the next generation with the knowledge and resources to learn more and do their jobs as efficiently as possible.

And we are not finished. On the top of my mind this year is to provide a safe and smart transition to unleaded fuel so that pilots can keep flying. We must all work together—the federal government, fuel producers and distributors, airports, and pilots—to provide the smoothest transition to unleaded fuels. I questioned a senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee about this very topic in May. The bottom line—we must work toward an unleaded alternative that is widely available, so airports are not unilaterally banning the sale of leaded fuels before a solution is ready.

One thing is clear—we can accomplish almost anything when we put our heads together and work on behalf of the aviation community. We have seen this time and again over the years, and I am so thankful to have been able to advocate for you here in Congress. I am looking forward to seeing you at Oshkosh this year!