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How much did the U.S. Congress pack into the new FAA Reauthorization Act?
The single-spaced table of contents runs more than 11 pages.
Suffice it to say there is a lot in the legislation that President Biden signed into law May 16, capping months of give-and-take both within and between the House and Senate. Like any authorization legislation, this one set the framework for the agencies in question—in this case, $105 billion over five years for both the FAA and NTSB (the green light to spend that money comes later, via annual appropriations bills.)
The legislation codifies a few things in progress, such as mandating cockpit voice recorders that capture at least 25 hr. on all new aircraft and giving the FAA 18 months to issue a draft of its pending changed product rule modifications.
A deeper dive into the Act’s 1,100 pages shows lawmakers and advisors who helped craft the legislation’s attempt to take aim at some longstanding issues. Section 821 orders the Transportation Department (DOT) Inspector General to review how rules and policies are interpreted and applied by the FAA’s Flight Standards and Aircraft Certification services. The law orders audits covering supplemental type certificates, repair stations, and technical standard orders.
In a related provision, Section 822 orders the FAA to ensure policies, orders and guidance are applied consistently. It also orders the FAA to “properly document findings and decisions throughout a project.” This, the law explains, will help minimize disruptions and duplicative work when key agency personnel assigned to the project change.
Workforce pipelines receive several bits of welcomed news via the law. Aviation Workforce Development Grant programs for pilots and mechanics will continue and expand. Funding will jump to $20 million per year, with maximum grant awards doubling, to $1 million. They will be joined by a third program targeting aviation manufacturing workers and engineers.
The programs also will be grouped into the Cooperative Aviation Recruitment, Enrichment, and Employment Readiness (CAREER) Program, to be managed by the DOT.
Section 426 calls on the FAA to look at streamlining the transition from military service to civilian work for qualified technicians.
Despite a glaring need for skilled technicians, issues such as different aircraft fleets and jargon create unnecessary barriers that prevent highly qualified veterans from easily finding spots in civil aviation maintenance.
Section 440 reauthorizes, improves, and increases funding for the aviation workforce grant programs created with input from the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, among others.
The existing mechanic and pilot workforce programs will be quadrupled to $20 million per year. Congress is creating a new grant program (also $20 million per year) to expand the aviation manufacturing workforce. The maximum grant award will be increased from $500,000 to $1 million in any one calendar year for all three programs and eligibility will be expanded to include 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The grant programs will now be known as the Cooperative Aviation Recruitment, Enrichment, and Employment Readiness Program (CAREER) Program. Finally, the law improves reporting about grant awards to help measure the program’s success and eventually shifts management of the program from the FAA to DOT.
Section 343 closes a small gap in the regulations by requiring companies to certify that all design data submitted as part of a certification project complies with applicable regulations. Current rules don’t specify this, but rather focus on the complete package.
As one Congressional source explains, requiring applicants to certify their data complies with the rules even before FAA reviews it, ensures that companies are held accountable for their work, and can’t point to the agency for mistakenly approving designs that don’t comply.
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