Stauber’s bipartisan aviation safety bill approved by House

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a bipartisan bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) to establish a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) taskforce that would determine what improvements should be made to the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system.

Action on the bill now ranks the freshman GOP lawmaker as having the most stand-alone pieces of legislation passed through the House during this session of Congress compared to other freshman Republicans or members of the Minnesota House delegation.

“At a time when many good initiatives are being stalled due to partisan politics and gridlock, I am especially thankful that my colleagues supported this critical legislation in a bipartisan manner,” Rep. Stauber said. “I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve more bipartisan wins for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District and the nation.”

The House on Oct. 28 approved Rep. Stauber’s Notice to Airmen Improvement Act of 2019, H.R. 1775, to improve the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots to any potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight, according to a bill summary provided by his office. The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) and John Katko (R-NY).

“Although NOTAMs contain critical safety information, they are often lengthy and difficult to understand,” said Rep. Stauber. “These inefficiencies have the potential to create life-threatening situations. My legislation will ensure the continued safety of air travel by requiring that safety protocols are consistently maintained and improved upon.”

If enacted, the task force established under H.R. 1775 would review existing methods for presenting NOTAMs and flight operations information to pilots; review regulations and policies relating to NOTAMs; evaluate and determine best practices to organize, prioritize and present flight operations information; and provide recommendations to improve the presentation of NOTAM information, according to the congressional record summary.

The U.S. Senate on Oct. 29 received H.R. 1775 and referred it to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for consideration.