A strong focus

From providing the foundational building blocks for most airline pilots to serving as economic engines for small and rural communities, our aviation sector wouldn’t be where it is today without a strong GA community.

Congress has an opportunity this year to pass bipartisan, long-term FAA reauthorization legislation—a bill that must pass to keep airplanes in the sky and operating safely. As the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and an avid general aviator, I am thrilled that our bipartisan Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935) includes the first-ever title focused solely on GA. Nearly 300 of my colleagues and I serve on the General Aviation Caucus, and we all recognize the importance of GA to our communities. As the House and Senate work to reach final agreement on a shared bill this summer, I will fight to ensure that any final agreement maintains this strong GA focus.

To begin with, the bill seeks to increase Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding to $4 billion per year, up from the $3.35 billion per year it has remained at for years while construction costs have continually increased. This AIP increase will especially help improve infrastructure at GA airports. We will also dedicate $25 million to the development of GA aircraft hangars, plus $25 million for the development of transient ramp parking.

In 2016, Congress established BasicMed, a common-sense medical qualification that allows private pilots to get approved by a state-licensed medical physician to take to the skies. This year’s bill capitalizes on BasicMed’s successes by expanding the specifications for eligible aircraft. Specifically, the bill proposes to increase the occupancy restriction to seven people and to raise the maximum gross takeoff weight to 12,500 pounds. The bill allows a BasicMed pilot to carry up to six passengers.

The bill also strives to grow and support the aviation workforce through the establishment of the National Center for the Advancement of Aerospace, a center where government and aviation industry stakeholders will collaborate on advancing programs to develop a twenty-first-century aviation workforce. Programs like the AOPA Foundation’s high school aviation curriculum program readily come to mind, and I look forward to ensuring that the center provides a forum for growing talent pipelines and leveraging GA communities in carrying out its mission.

Additionally, the bill expands protections for pilots by prohibiting the FAA from weaponizing the exclusive review of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data against a pilot in certain instances. This means that although the FAA administrator could still use ADS-B data in an investigation, the investigation cannot have been initiated based on the sole review of ADS-B data by an FAA bureaucrat. For those of us who were required to equip, we were told that ADS-B was to be installed for the purpose of enhancing safety, but too often we hear about the FAA abusing this data and using it against our fellow pilots. This bill solidifies ADS-B as a safety enhancing tool, not an enforcement tool.

The FAA must also work to provide better services to those it regulates. Under our proposal, the FAA must not only ensure that aircraft registration and renewal applications are processed in a timely manner upon receipt, but must also authorize aircraft owners to continue operating their aircraft during the renewal process so long as certain conditions are met. We also establish an ombudsman to assist individuals with administrative actions (or inaction) attributed to a certification, certificate, registration, waiver or exemption, interpretation, determination, or other activity. In other words, GA pilots will have a point of contact within the FAA whenever they have questions or need assistance.

I will always fight for our right to fly, but we have a shared responsibility in ensuring that our passion for flying is passed on to the next generation of Americans. And to do that, we need to ensure that general aviation continues to thrive for decades to come. I am honored to work with AOPA and its members in that effort, and I look forward to partnering with the entire GA community in sending this legislation to President Biden’s desk so that we can lead for another century and beyond.