HR 3935 Received in Senate
FAA Reauthorization
Last week, HR 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (informally the FAA reauthorization act) officially arrived in the Senate. The delay was due to incorporating amendments that were adopted during the debate on the bill the previous week. Several new provisions were added to the bill before it passed in the House by a strongly bipartisan vote of 351 to 69.
New Sections
There were a large number of new sections added, both during the debate and in the House Rules Committee which added language from H 3559, FAA Research and Development Act of 2023, and HR 3796, To provide for the extension of taxes funding the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and to require the designation of certain airports as ports of entry. Newly added sections of potential interest here include:
§635. Protection of public gatherings
§853. Sense of Congress encouraging the FAA to welcome the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
§858. Assessment by Inspector General of the Department of Transportation of counter-UAS system operations.
§871. Prohibition on procurement of foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems
§1146. Report on aviation cybersecurity directives.
Counter UAS Provisions
Section 635 is similar in concept to the yet to be implemented requirement for the FAA to established a process by which critical infrastructure can request to be declared a UAS No-Fly Zone. This version would apply to public gatherings, requiring the FAA to “establish a process to allow applicants to request temporary prohibitions of unmanned aircraft operations in close proximity to an eligible large public gathering for a specified period of time”. Section 635 gives the FAA the same 180-day deadline to accomplish this requirement that Congress gave for the critical infrastructure version in 2017. Again, there is no mention of how the no-fly-zone would be enforced.
Section 858 would require the DOT Inspector General’s office to conduct an assessment of “all actions taken by the Federal Aviation Administration affecting the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to conduct counter-UAS system operations at the southern border of the United States from January 1, 2021, to such date of enactment.” The assessment would look at:
Operational capabilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in detecting and mitigating unauthorized unmanned aircraft systems,
Coordination efforts and information sharing between the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding counter-UAS system operations, and
Any other impacts or considerations the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation determines relevant.
FAA Cybersecurity
Section 1146 would require the FAA to report on their response to the 2016 requirement {§2111 of PL114-190; 49 USC 44903 Note} to develop “a comprehensive and strategic aviation cybersecurity framework and establishment of a research and development plan to mitigate cybersecurity risks in the National Airspace System”. The report would include:
A description of the FAA’s progress in developing, implementing, and updating such framework,
A description of prioritized research and development activities for the most needed improvements, with target dates, to safeguard the National Airspace System, and
An explanation for any delays or challenges in so implementing such section.
Moving Forward
This is one of the perennial, ‘must pass’ bills for Congress. The Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will craft their own version of the legislation. They will typically then take up the House bill, with one of the first amendments being considered being substitute language taken from the Senate version of the bill. The House will then have a chance to take up the revised language, but generally, the House will demand their version of the language. To resolve the differences, a conference committee will be formed to develop a consensus version of the bill, which will then go back to the two bodies for a final vote in each house of Congress.
The bipartisan vote for HR 3935 in the House bodes well for its eventual passage.