AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2024 - 12

AOPA ACTION
VIEW FROM CAPI TOL HILL /
A very good bill
Intended to help move GA forward
BY JIM COON / Senior Vice President,
Government Affairs and Advocacy
AOPA Foundation Legacy Society member
TIMING I S EVERY THING, they say, and it couldn't be truer
with regard to the five-year FAA reauthorization that was
shepherded through Congress a few months ago and signed into law
by the president.
FAA reauthorization legislation is a large and comprehensive
aviation bill that comes around every four or five years. It impacts
all the programs and policies administered by the FAA and every
sector of aviation. This year's bill includes the first ever general
aviation title-a title solely intended to help move GA forward.
How did this occur? For starters Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.)
serves as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure. He's an experienced pilot and an enormous
advocate for general aviation. Chairman Graves announced
more than a year ago his intention to include such a title in this
year's FAA bill. He worked with AOPA, industry leaders, and his
colleagues, in a bipartisan fashion, in both the House and Senate
to craft a good bill for the GA community.
The FAA legislation is one of the most significant and
comprehensive measures signed into law that protects and promotes
the freedom to fly. Let me outline just a few of the highlights that
were included in this massive bill.
First, it expands BasicMed to cover aircraft with a maximum
certificated takeoff weight to 12,500 pounds (up from 6,000
pounds). It increases the number of allowable passengers to six (up
from five), and it increases the number of seats in a covered aircraft
to seven (up from six). Designated pilot examiners (DPEs) will now
be able to perform authorized examiner duties under BasicMed.
The program has been widely successful since AOPA took medical
reform head on nearly 10 years ago. Since the program's inception
in 2017, more than 80,000 pilots have qualified to safely fly under
these privileges. BasicMed allows a medical exam to be conducted
by either an AME or your own physician.
Addressing the need to modernize the FAA's medical processes
and systems to create transparency and efficiencies for pilots and
AMEs, the bill establishes a working group of experts to address
the delays caused by outdated technology and processes that pilots
are subjected to when going through the special issuance process.
100LL avgas will now be required to be made available
at airports that were selling the fuel in 2022-at least until the
12
AOPA PILOT / July 2024
beginning of 2030 or the date which the FAA certifies an unleaded
aviation gasoline alternative is available at airports.
Investments in GA airports will increase from $670 million to $1
billion each year. And the bill creates a program for small airports to
construct transient GA parking ramps. All these funds are derived
from the Aviation Trust Fund, which is continuously replenished
by users of our aviation system through aviation fuel taxes and
passenger fees. It also funds the lion's share of the FAA's operations.
Protecting the future of GA airports is a key piece of this
legislation and it helps ensure the FAA cannot close an airport
that has received federal funds. It expands the letter of deviation
authority (LODA) exclusion to limited and primary category aircraft.
AOPA successfully pursued this exemption for experimental
aircraft a couple years ago. The LODA was an FAA bureaucratic
requirement for flight instructors, owners, lessors, and lessees of an
aircraft to conduct or receive flight training. The legislation includes
an all-makes-and-models authorization, wherein a pilot can now
obtain a letter of authorization (LOA) for all makes and models of
experimental high-performance piston-powered aircraft.
To address workforce challenges, the bill ensures STEM aviation
education programs remain available through grants intended to
introduce students to all aviation offers.
As of this writing, nearly 13,000 bills have been introduced in
Congress this session and about 50 have been signed into law. This is
reflective of how demanding it is to navigate the legislative process.
In short, this is a great bill for AOPA members and all of GA.
Advocating before Congress is unique and sometimes bewildering,
and often you don't get everything you want-but in this particular
FAA reauthorization process, the timing was right.
Having several years of experience in and outside of Congress,
I can say with conviction that without the power of AOPA's
members, GA would look a
lot different in this country-
and a lot smaller. When the
timing is right and the right
leaders with passion and
persistence are in place,
good things happen.
jim.coon@aopa.org
JIM COON spent 25 years on
Capitol Hill in several senior
staff positions, including staff
director for the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee
on Transportation and
Infrastructure.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2024
