Washington, DC – The U. S. House of Representatives today approved legislation to strengthen Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety standards in order to ensure the United States maintains the safest aviation system in the world.
The House took up H.R. 6493, the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, under suspension of the rules. The legislation was introduced in the House earlier in July in response to concerns about FAA’s oversight of airline maintenance programs.
“The United States has an aviation safety record unparalleled in the history of the world, but we should never be satisfied with ‘good enough’,” said U.S. Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republican Leader and cosponsor of the legislation. “There is always room for improvement. FAA has already begun to institute some reforms, but this bipartisan legislation will ensure that FAA follows through on its efforts and provides proper oversight of airlines and their maintenance programs.”
“While our aviation system is the safest in the world, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General did uncover some areas where FAA oversight could be improved,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Republican. “This bill will go a long way in tightening up FAA’s airline maintenance oversight procedures to make our current system even safer.”
The safety legislation contains the following provisions:
- Creates an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office;
- Requires modification of FAA’s Customer Service Initiative to eliminate references to airlines and certificate holders as “customers”;
- Establishes post-employment restrictions for FAA Flight Standards inspectors and managers: a two-year cooling off period before individuals can represent an airline in any matter before the FAA;
- Requires reassignment of FAA Principal Supervisory Inspectors (PSIs) every five years;
- Requires an FAA headquarters review of the Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS) Database – this provision requires establishment of a team to review the ATOS database every month, a monthly report of any regulatory trends identified, corrective actions if appropriate, and a quarterly report to Congress.
“I continue to have reservations that the proposed two-year post-employment cooling off period for inspectors is too long,” Mica added. “We should have the best and most current technical expertise available, and I believe that two years is too long to allow inspectors to stay at the top of their field.
“Overall, this bill will take a safe aviation system and make it even safer.”
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