Solano Sun

WASHINGTON, DC—On June 20, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA08), a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, secured provisions to modernize airports, protect airline workers, improve aviation safety, support passengers, and more in the House’s bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization (H.R.3935). The legislation passed the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today by a unanimous vote of 63 to 0. The full House is expected to take up and pass the bill before summer.

Every five years, Congress passes a reauthorization bill to update the FAA’s governing rules and practices for the airline industry and make federal investments in airport infrastructure. Garamendi secured more than a dozen provisions in this year’s legislation to benefit airline travelers and employees in the Bay Area and across the nation.

“I’m pleased that my proposals to improve airplane cabin air quality, bolster aviation safety, and strengthen Buy America standards were included in this legislation,” Garamendi said. “As the governing entity for all U.S. airline travel, it is critically important that the FAA operates under the most comprehensive, cutting-edge set of guidelines and technologies to ensure airline travel is safe, efficient, and seamless for all.

“The recent uptick in travel delays and near misses at our airports underscores the need for this bipartisan legislation,” Garamendi continued. “I will work tirelessly to ensure this bill passes the United States Congress and is signed into law by President Biden to improve air travel for employees and passengers alike,” Garamendi concluded.

Garamendi secured the following provisions as part of the FAA Reauthorization legislation that passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee:

• Cabin Air Safety
  • Includes key provisions from the bipartisan “Cabin Air Safety Act” Garamendi introduced with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) to improve the cabin air quality on commercial airline flights.
  • The legislation is endorsed by: Air Line Pilots Association International, Association of Flight Attendants, Allied Pilots Association, Association of Professional Flight Attendants, National Consumers League, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Transport Workers Union of America, American Association for Justice, American Lung Association, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association.
• Airline Passenger Assault Prevention
  • Includes Garamendi’s “Airline Employee Assault Prevention Act” with Congressman Rob Menendez (D-NJ), which requires all commercial airlines to develop and submit an employee assault prevention and response plan. 85% of flight attendants have said they have dealt with an unruly passenger, and 17% say they have been physically assaulted. Garamendi’s legislation ensures proper oversight and response plans are in place to protect airline staff aboard the airplane and those working inside the airport.
  • Also includes portions of Garamendi’s and Congressman Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) “Protection from Abusive Passengers Act”. This bill deters passenger interference with airline staff and develops crew-member self-defense training programs.
  • These provisions are endorsed by: International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Transport Workers Union of America
• Closing Buy America Loopholes for Airport Buses and Trams
  • Includes Garamendi’s “Airport Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act” to apply “Buy America” standards so all federally funded buses and passenger rail-like trams utilized at U.S. airports are made in the United States by skilled American workers. This will help produce new middle-class, union jobs and push back on the concerning rise of rolling stock at U.S. airports that is developed by Chinese state-controlled enterprises and poses a national security threat.
  • These provisions are endorsed by: Rail Security Alliance, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Transport Workers Union of America (AFL-CIO), United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, United Steelworkers, American Foundry Society, Forging Industry Association, Non-Ferrous Founders Society, North America's Building Trades Unions, and International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
• Supporting Passenger Service Agents
  • The U.S. Department of Justice states that customer service agents within the airline industry are covered by the penalties for criminal interference with security screening personnel. However, federal prosecutors have never used this authority to protect customer support staff, such as gate agents and baggage claim personnel.
  • A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study showed that 61% of customer service agents reported experiencing at least one passenger assault during their tenure.
  • Garamendi’s provision codifies into law the U.S. Department of Justice’s interpretation that customer support staff are protected under the same federal penalties protecting other security personnel.
  • These provisions are endorsed by: Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD); Communications Workers of America; International Brotherhood of Teamsters; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Transport Workers Union of America; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
  • Garamendi and Congresswoman Dian Titus (D-NV) included their bipartisan legislation that will add ticket agents to the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.
• Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvements
  • Includes Garamendi and Congresswoman Julia Brownley’s (D-CA) “Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act” requiring foreign aircraft repair stations to be held to higher stands like domestic stations. Recent airline accidents raise serious concerns about the increasing trend of maintenance being outsourced. These foreign outsourcers do not have to be FAA certified and are not subject to the drug and alcohol testing required in the United States for mechanics. Outsourcing has also eliminated thousands of middle-class jobs in the United States and created significant safety concerns for passengers.
• Fair and Open Skies
  • Includes Garamendi and former Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio’s (D-OR) “Fair and Open Skies Act.” Garamendi was an original cosponsor of the legislation, which promotes fair competition and open markets in the aviation industry.
• Strengthening Air Traffic Controller Staffing Standards
  • Includes Garamendi’s provision requiring that the FAA Collaborative Resource Workgroup’s targets, staffing standards, and guidelines for air traffic controllers be implemented at each air traffic control facility to ensure Congress and aviation stakeholders have a complete understanding of the operational staffing needs at each facility.
  • This provision is endorsed by: National Air Traffic Controllers Association
• Emergency Medical Kits
  • Includes Garamendi’s provision inspired by his constituent who is a registered ICU nurse and was on a commercial flight from California to New Jersey in October 2022, when she was called upon by the cabin crew to assist a fellow passenger who was undergoing a medical emergency. However, the nurse was alarmed to discover that the emergency medical kit on this transcontinental flight lacked basic equipment such as an automatic blood pressure machine, a glucometer, and a pulse oximeter.
  • Garamendi’s provision requires the FAA to update the mandatory equipment list for all emergency kits on commercial aircraft to include Narcan to prevent opiate overdoses. The standards haven’t been updated since 2004, and this provision is long overdue.
• Eliminating Leaded Aviation Fuel
  • Requires the FAA to issue regulations that prohibit the use of leaded fuel by aircraft operating within U.S. airspace.
• Improving Cockpit Safety
  • Includes Garamendi and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s (R-PA) “Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act,” named after United Airlines pilot Captain Victor J. Saracini, who tragically lost his life in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
  • The bill would mandate the installation of secondary barriers on commercial aircraft. These barriers would create a physical separation between the cockpit and the passenger cabin, providing an additional layer of security to protect pilots from unauthorized access and potential acts of terrorism.
• Prioritizing U.S.-based Airlines to Service Domestic Routes
  • Garamendi added a provision to the FAA reauthorization directing the FAA to study interchange agreements between foreign and domestic airlines to ensure that foreign airlines are not taking away jobs from Americans.
  • The Congressionally directed study would require the FAA to consider any regulatory updates necessary to ensure that such agreements do not violate federal cabotage laws requiring that only US-based airlines service domestic routes.

Original source can be found here