Aviation Safety Bill Passes House with Unanimous Support

On July 22, the House unanimously passed the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (H.R. 6493), sending the legislation on to the Senate for further action.

The bill was introduced July 15 by Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN-8) and co-sponsored by Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL-12) and Committee Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL-7) and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Petri (R-WI-6). The bipartisan legislation was based on recommendations from the Department of Transportation Inspector General as well as industry representatives previously testifying before the committee.

The bill aims to address three goals:

1. Create an independent office within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to handle whistleblower claims as well as complaints from certificate holders.

2. Modify the Customer Service Initiative. The modifications will include redefining "customer" only as the traveling public, rotating Principal Maintenance Inspectors between Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) every five years, and imposing a two-year "cool off" period for FAA employees before a certificate holder may hire them to have direct contact with the FAA.

3. Review of Air Transport Oversight System. The bill would mandate a monthly review to ensure corrective actions are methodically accomplished and periodically reporting these findings to the Congress.

During the press conference announcing the legislation, Rep. Oberstar stressed that a goal of the legislation is to spur a more "hands on" approach by FAA inspectors. Specifically, he called for more inspectors to "get out of the FSDO and into the maintenance shops."

The text of the legislation is available below.