The FAA reauthorization bill was passed by the House Wednesday by a 387 to 26 bipartisan vote. The bill now goes to President Biden's desk for his signature. See statement from Rep. Rudy Yakym below.

“This bill contains many provisions important to the Hoosier aviation industry and the flying public. I am pleased that it passed the Senate in a strong bipartisan vote and urge the House to pass this critical bill,” said Young.

A number of Sen. Young’s amendments and priorities were included in the bill:

• Prohibiting drones that pose a national security risk, a provision prohibiting the Department of Transportation (DOT) from entering into a contract with or awarding a grant for the operation, procurement, or contracting of drones manufactured or assembled by the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, or any covered foreign entity designated by the Secretary of Commerce.
• Comprehensive plan for automated drone operations, a provision directing FAA to develop a plan for automated drone operations and submit a report to Congress. As the world enters the second century of aviation, maintain America’s leadership edge in aviation requires leading the way in the safe application of automated and autonomous technologies.
• Common sense flexibility for model aircraft enthusiasts, a provision providing flexibility for model aircraft hobbyists to safely operate in uncontrolled airspace and allows them to secure faster approval for the establishment of fixed flying sites for people flying model aircraft in fields, backyards, and dedicated flying sites.
• Protecting U.S. transportation infrastructure from Chinese espionage, a provision preventing government grants from being used to subsidize the purchase of airport infrastructure like jet bridges from hostile governments.
• Supporting aviation technology innovations, a provision directing the FAA to study new aviation fuels or fuel systems and will ensure that the U.S. maintains its competitive lead in the aviation sector and provide advancements in a wide range of technologies, from civil to defense.
• Remote identification of drones, a provision directing the FAA to review and report to Congress on whether drone manufacturers and operators can meet the intent of FAA’s Remote ID rule through network-based remote identification within one year of enactment.
• Increasing global competitiveness for drones in the United States, a provision that safely streamlines the approvals process for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights and bring the regulation of drones in the United States up to speed with current technologies.
• Cutting red tape for drones, a provision modernizing and bringing standardization and clarity to the environmental review process for drones.
• Streamlining environmental review for airports, a provision making aviation-related reforms to National Environmental Policy Act, adds a categorical exclusion for small airport projects similar to what exists for highways, and requires DOT to review and update categorial exclusions for certain projects.

Yakym applauds passage of FAA reauthorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02) issued the following statement Wednesday (May 15) after the House overwhelmingly passed the Senate amendment to the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act to reauthorize the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for five years:

"The U.S. is known around the world as the global leader in aviation safety and innovation, and this FAA reauthorization bill will make sure America stays that way,” Yakym said. 

"I applaud Chairman Sam Graves for his determined leadership in seeing this FAA reauthorization through with Member-driven input and broad bipartisan support. I am confident that with the commonsense changes we delivered in this bill we will shore up America's aviation technology and critical infrastructure needs and maintain the gold standard of safety that Americans expect and deserve when they fly." 

Background
Rep. Yakym, who serves as Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee, fought for a number of provisions and legislative items that were included in the final FAA bill, including:

• A bipartisan amendmentthat requires the FAA to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers for all five years of the reauthorization, which will help rebuild the pipeline of controllers and alleviate delays.
• Key elements of Rep. Yakym’s bipartisan bill, R. 3459, the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act, which requires the FAA to establish rules that will unlock the potential of unmanned aircraft and maintain American leadership in next-generation aviation.
• Key elements of Rep. Yakym’s bipartisan amendmentto stop FAA red tape from hindering model aircraft enthusiasts.
• Yakym’s bipartisan amendmentto establish a pilot program to test technology that will deliver clearances via mobile device, which could help reduce congestion at smaller airports.