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The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is applauding recent action in both chambers of Congress advancing key aviation legislation. The House has passed the ALERT Act, while a Senate committee has approved a pilot mental health bill—both measures aimed at strengthening aviation safety and supporting pilot well-being. AOPA says the progress reflects growing recognition of the need for modernized policies that enhance safety, improve access to care, and support the long-term health of the aviation community.
House Passage of ALERT Act
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act today, 396-10. The bill addresses key safety issues resulting from the mid-air collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a UH-60 Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in January 2025, which claimed 67 lives.
The ALERT Act includes provisions that would require ADS-B In to be used where ADS-B Out is required, and that portable devices could be used for Part 91 operations while commercial airliners would be equipped with next-generation collision avoidance technology once it is certified. It also includes key provisions from the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA), which AOPA strongly supports, to prohibit the use of ADS-B for anything other than its original purpose—safety and airspace efficiency.
“We appreciate the bipartisan support for the ALERT Act, and all members involved in putting together this comprehensive bill—especially House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen,” said AOPA Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon. “By including PAPA, this bill is positioned to dramatically enhance aviation safety—as it ensures there is no disincentive for pilots to not use this important technology.”
“In this process, airport groups and others have falsely stated that PAPA would limit the ability to impose and collect fees, and that could not be further from the truth,” added Coon. “Folks need to read the bill’s language—there is nothing that prevents anyone from imposing or collecting fees, they just need to use other technologies and not a technology intended to assist in avoiding mid-air collisions. A pilot’s right to privacy and safety concerns far outweigh the use of safety technology for economic gain, especially with equipment that pilots were mandated to purchase and install solely for safety reasons.”
The ALERT Act will now be sent to a House-Senate conference committee, where lawmakers will work out differences with the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which passed the U.S. Senate in late 2025, but failed to pass in the House in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board has said both bills would address the agency’s 50 recommendations in its final report following the D.C. midair collision.
In February, at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said she wants PAPA to become law, “ADS-B is a safety tool, and it should be used for safety, not as a revenue generator,” a practice which she later said, “should be prohibited.”
“Everyone involved has the same goal: making our skies as safe as possible,” said Coon. “We believe lawmakers in both chambers understand that airports are not being prevented from collecting fees and see the importance of ADS-B as a key safety-enhancing technology—and that it should be used for safety and not economic gain.”
Senate Committee Passage of Pilot Mental Health Bill
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) applauds the unanimous passage of the Mental Health in Aviation Act by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today.
The bipartisan bill (S. 3257), introduced by Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), would require the FAA to revise regulations to encourage voluntary disclosure of mental health conditions and treatment, regularly review the special issuance process to expand treatment options and approved medications, and provides funding to reduce the special issuance backlog.
In addition, the bill would implement recommendations from the 2024 Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearance Aviation Rulemaking Committee, in which AOPA participated.
“I commend Senators Hoeven and Duckworth for their work on this important issue,” said AOPA Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon. “This bill is one step closer to bringing long overdue reforms. Pilots should not have to worry about being forced out of the flight deck—possibly losing their livelihood—when they should be seeking treatment.”
AOPA sent a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in December, emphasizing AOPA’s “strong support” for the bill, saying “efforts to make meaningful steps to ensure pilots can prioritize their health are welcomed and appreciated.”
Coon represented AOPA on the 2024 rulemaking committee, which examined industry culture, persistent stigma, mistrust of the aeromedical process, and the often-complicated path to obtaining a medical certificate. The committee issued a 164-page report that outlined a series of 24 recommendations to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to disclose mental health conditions and treatment.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in September.