The Aviation Safety Enhancement Act: Seeing Double

On July 22, the House unanimously passed the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 6493) a bill introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN-8) and co-sponsored by the committee Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL-7), Aviation Subcommitte Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL-12) and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Petri (R-WI-6).

The legislation is a response to the safety oversight lapses investigated by the committee during hearings in early April of 2008. Specifically, the legislation seeks to enact recommendations from the Department of Transportation Inspector General's (IG) office included in an interim report issued in late June.

Unfortunately, the legislation is guilty of attempting to recreate laws already on the books regarding oversight and investigation into safety lapses. The result of enactment would be an increased burden on the Federal Aviation Administration's already strained resources. In addition, the changes proposed are based on isolated lapses in safety oversight not indicative of the system's performance as a whole.

ARSA has constructed a side-by-side of the legislation for review and encourages members to contact their Senators and urge the rejection of the legislation. To contact your Senator, visit:
http://www.ARSAaction.org

The IG interim report, the full text of the bill, and ARSA's side-by-side are available in the files below.