Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the ROTOR Act. I thank the sponsor as well.

On January 29, 2025, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 collided midair outside of DCA, and 67 lives were lost.

Among the victims were families from my community in northern Virginia. We lost children, parents, and members of the ice-skating community. These folks had their whole lives ahead of them. It is a tragedy that has had a profound and lasting impact on our community and our Nation.

This week, the families of the victims are here on Capitol Hill, and I got to speak with them today. They have one message for us: Pass the ROTOR Act.

The ROTOR Act addresses the glaring holes in aviation safety around DCA that allowed this completely preventable accident to happen. It does so by requiring military and civilian aircraft in busy airspace to broadcast and receive real-time traffic information.

Having been more than a year since the collision, it is time for there to be real accountability and change. We must ensure that nothing like this ever happens again, and people don't fear flying.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source