[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2591 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2591
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation
activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis or condition, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 2, 2025
Mr. Casten (for himself, Mr. Stauber, Mr. Larsen of Washington, and Mr.
Mann) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation
activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis or condition, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health in Aviation Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. REGULATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS CARRYING OUT AVIATION ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
shall update regulations, including in part 67 of title 14 of Code of
Federal Regulations, as appropriate, and take any other actions
necessary to implement the recommendations of the aviation workforce
mental health task group established under section 411(d) the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024 to encourage individuals to--
(1) seek help for mental health conditions or symptoms of
mental health conditions; and
(2) to disclose conditions or symptoms described in
paragraph (1).
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the task group
described in subsection (a) shall consult with relevant stakeholders
from the aviation and medical communities, as necessary, including--
(1) the certified exclusive bargaining representatives of
air traffic controllers of the Administration certified under
section 7111 of title 5, United States Code;
(2) the principal organization representing the largest
certified collective bargaining representative of airline
pilots;
(3) aviation medical examiners, as described in section
183.21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and
(4) any other stakeholder determined relevant by the task
group, including any stakeholders described in section
411(d)(3)(B) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
(c) Report Requirements.--Section 411(d)(4) of the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) a review and evaluation of any
recommendations reached by the National Transportation
Safety Board related to aviation workforce mental
health; and
``(E) a description of relevant clinical studies,
research, diagnostic manuals, and protocols used by the
licensed professionals as of the date of enactment of
this Act.''.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH SPECIAL ISSUANCE PROCESS.
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall
conduct an annual review, and update, as appropriate, the applicable
regulations and policies, on mental health-related special issuance for
pilots and air traffic controllers to--
(1) reclassify and approve additional medications that may
be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health
conditions;
(2) improve mental health knowledge and training for
aviation medical examiners;
(3) if the Administrator determines appropriate, delegate
additional authority to aviation medical examiners consistent
with the recommendation of the Mental Health Aviation
Rulemaking Committee described in section 5; and
(4) improve the special issuance process for pilots and air
traffic controllers.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION FOR ADDITIONAL AVIATION MEDICAL
EXAMINERS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $13,740,000 to the
Administrator for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to--
(1) recruit, select, train, and delegate the necessary
authorities to additional aviation medical examiners and human
intervention motivation study aviation medical examiners,
including those who are psychiatrists;
(2) expand capacity to provide oversight of aviation
medical examiners and clear the backlog of special issuance
requests and cases awaiting review at the Office of Aerospace
Medicine; and
(3) support any other related activities, as determined by
the Administrator.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
shall implement the recommendations of the Mental Health and Aviation
Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee which were submitted
to the Administrator on April 1, 2024.
(b) Consultation.--Subject to section 2, the Administrator shall
consult with parties in the implementation described in subsection (a).
SEC. 6. PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration $1,500,000 for
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 for a public information
campaign or similar public education efforts to destigmatize
individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who
seek mental health care, to broaden awareness of available supportive
services, and establish trust with pilots and air traffic controllers.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the Administrator creates
the public information campaign described in subsection (a), the
Administrator shall submit to appropriate committees of Congress a
report describing the actions taken to develop such campaign and the
plans for implementation.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
(2) Special issuance.--The term ``special issuance'' has
the meaning given the term in section 67.401 of title 14, Code
of Federal Regulations.
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