Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 3935, which reauthorizes the FAA and its related authorities through fiscal year 2028.

At long last, after the House passed our bill almost a year ago, the Senate caught up with the House, and it passed a bill Thursday night, making critical investments and key policy reforms to the aviation system to deliver for the American people and the American economy.

From air traffic controller staffing challenges to the modernization of the FAA's legacy safety and technology infrastructure to the integration of new entrants in the U.S. skies, there is no shortage of problems facing the aviation sector. This FAA reauthorization bill takes significant steps toward addressing these issues and ensuring the U.S. aviation system remains the safest and most efficient in the world.

It will bolster aviation safety, strengthen consumer protections and accessibility, and make landmark investments in sustainability, enhance and diversify our aviation workforce, and advance American leadership in aerospace.

I am pleased that many of my priorities have made it into this bill. For too long, airlines have made passengers jump through countless hoops to get refunds for flights that have been canceled or significantly delayed or changed. I worked with Senator Markey on this on the Senate side. Airlines will now be required to provide full cash refunds in those situations if a passenger does not accept alternative compensation.

Mr. Speaker, I am also glad to see the inclusion of my proposals that provide transparency in the complaints from passengers with disabilities to help passengers who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs. Too many times we have seen disabled people's wheelchairs damaged from being tossed like some type of rubber baggage, and they have trouble even leaving the airport. This will protect disabled people and allow them to have access to the skies equivalent to nondisabled passengers.

This bill additionally directs the FAA to consider real-life conditions in its evacuation standards and initiating rulemaking on seat sizes. We have worked on rulemaking on seat sizes since the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) was the chair of the committee. He was my friend and a great chairman. We got it into the bill, but we still haven't got the FAA to make a test where they have real situations that are like it is when you fly to see how long it takes to evacuate a plane and have seat sizes that are safe for the American public.

Finally, we have long-overdue requirements for aircraft cockpit voice recorders to record the most recent 25 hours of audio and for critical flight data to be recoverable without underwater retrieval to be included. This was included as part of the bill that I received from the suggestions of the former NTSB chair, Jim Hall, a great Tennessean, who championed this when there was a plane that went down leaving South America, and it took forever for them to find the recorder. He has been a tireless champion of these requirements, and this will provide greater clarity for accident investigations.

The challenges facing the U.S. aviation system make it clear that we must pass this long-term, comprehensive reauthorization.

I thank my friends and colleagues: Chairman Sam Graves, who did a great job in bringing this bill together, bringing everybody together, giving everybody opportunities to be included, and making sure it was successful; and Garret Graves, who is a big fan of Steve Larsen, and also Ranking Member Rick Larsen.

Our partnership in this body shows we can come together and pass meaningful and transformative legislation. It is bipartisan, it is bicameral, and it is bicoastal. It is not bisexual.

I support the Senate amendment to H.R. 3935 and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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