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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation – praised the passage of his legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2044. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 was introduced by Sen. Moran and the leaders of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). The legislation is expected to pass the U.S. House of Representatives next week before moving to the President’s desk.

“After months of negotiations, the Senate came together to pass a long-term FAA Reauthorization poised to not only address the current demands of the aviation industry, but also the future ones,” said Sen. Moran. “I have worked closely with Sen. Cantwell, Sen. Duckworth and Sen. Cruz to balance the priorities of the FAA, the aviation community, its academic partners and the flying public. This bill demonstrates our commitment to aviation safety and excellence.”

“As the Air Capital of the World, Kansas is the leader in aviation research, development and technologies and will continue to contribute to the greater aviation industry as a result of this legislation,” continued Sen. Moran. “I’m pleased that many of my priorities were included in this bill including new resources to bolster the aviation workforce, investments for infrastructure at airports in rural communities, critical safety enhancements and innovative research and development so Kansas and the United States remains the leader in aviation and aerospace.”

Sen. Moran’s FAA Reauthorization Priorities:

  • Bolster the aviation workforce and strengthen the supply chain: Provisions from Sens. Moran and Duckworth’s legislation, the Aviation Workforce Development Enhancement Actwere included in the FAA Reauthorization Act to help meet future needs in the aviation workforce.
  • Improve the FAA backlog: Sens. Moran and Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) legislation, the FAA Advancements Act, was included in the FAA Reauthorization Act to help improve the FAA’s certification processes and implementation of bilateral agreements, while also increasing the transparency surrounding the development of regulatory materials. Ensuring transparent and efficient processes makes certain the U.S. aerospace industry remains competitive on a global scale.
  • Promote women in aviation: Sen. Moran joined colleagues to introduce the Promoting Women in Aviation Actincluded in the FAA Reauthorization Act. This will establish a new Women in Aviation Advisory Committee to promote women in the aviation industry and workforce at-large. Two Kansans previously served on the board ensuring Kansas voices were represented.
  • Enabling the Future of Flight: This legislation supports emerging aviation technologies, including hypersonic and supersonic flight, which will bolster the Kansas Supersonic Transportation Corridor (SSTC) to continue as an asset for companies to utilize for the testing of supersonic flight.
  • Expand access to travel for people with disabilities: Sen. Moran introduced the Joint Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Safety Act to invest new resources into the FAA’s Joint Center of Excellence formed by Wichita State University and the University of Washington. This provision broadens the scope of research conducted at the Centers of Excellence to include testing for accessible air travel for people with disabilities, including in-cabin wheelchair users and passengers with mobility challenges.
  • Support staffing for Air Traffic Control: To address Air Traffic Controller staffing and training concerns, Sen. Moran bolstered the workforce to ensure maximum hiring at the FAA Academy, while also including a review on future training opportunities.   
  • Attract air service to small communities: Provisions from Sen. Moran’s Small Community Air Service Enhancement Act were included in the FAA Reauthorization Act to help bolster and attract new air services to small communities.
  • Address new aircraft entering the airspace: Sen. Moran worked to secure extensions and expansions of existing programs that support the drone industry and advanced air mobility by safely and efficiently introducing these new technologies into the air space. This also extends the BEYOND program.
  • Modernize ground-based infrastructure: This provision would initiate action to replace outdated Air Traffic Control systems that were designed in the 1970s and 1980s and are no longer efficient to operate.
  • Expands the national strategy on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM): Legislation introduced by Sen. Moran last Congress established an interagency working group (IWG) to collaborate with the civil aviation industry on the maturation of AAM. This provision expands the scope of the IWG to consider recommendations for research and development.
  • Safeguards the Essential Air Service program: Throughout his time in Congress, Sen. Moran has advocated for the Essential Air Service program and worked to keep the program intact to help make certain small airports and rural communities are connected to the national airspace system. This legislation increases protects the Essential Air Service program.

Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran’s Floor Remarks Regarding Passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act