Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay 

July 24, 2023 – WASHINGTON, DC—Last week, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA08), a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, secured key provisions to modernize airports, protect Airline workers, improve aviation safety, and support airline passengers in the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization (H.R.3935). The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 351-69 after passing the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously last month.

Every five years, Congress passes legislation to update the FAA’s governing rules and practices to improve the aviation industry and upgrade airport infrastructure throughout America. Garamendi secured over one dozen provisions in this year’s bill to benefit airline travelers and employees in the Bay Area and across the nation.

“Today we took a vital step towards enacting my legislation to improve cabin air quality, bolster aviation safety, and strengthen Buy America standards to create new middle-class jobs in the Bay Area,” Garamendi said. “As the governing entity for all U.S. airline travel, the FAA must 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 bill.”

“Now that this legislation has passed the U.S. House of Representatives,I will work tirelessly to negotiate a final bill with the U.S. Senate that can be sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law before the end of the year to improve air travel for passengers and modernize California’s airports,” concluded Garamendi.

Garamendi secured the following provisions as part of the FAA Reauthorization bill that passed by the U.S. House of Representatives:

• Cabin Air Safety
  • Includes key provisions from Garamendi’s bipartisan “Cabin Air Safety Act” (H.R.1293) with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to prevent smoke and other potentially dangerous fumes inside the cabin on commercial flights.
  • The bipartisan bill 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.

• Reducing Air Pollution from Airports
  • Includes Garamendi’s amendment restoring eligibility for major California airports to apply for the FAA’s grant programs for zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and voluntary airport low emissions projects. Under current federal law, only airport air pollution reduction projects done on a voluntary basis are eligible. Because state law and the California Air Resources Board’s regulations set high standards for air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, many if not most major commercial airports in the state are currently ineligible for this FAA grant funding.
  • This provision is endorsed by: California Airport Council.

• Building Modern and Climate Resilient Airports
  • Includes Garamendi’s amendment requiring the FAA to allow alternative project delivery methods like progressive design-build for federally funded airport projects. Major airport modernization and resiliency projects including SFO are seeking to use progressive design-build project delivery models to complete construction on time and on budget.
  • This provision is endorsed by: San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

• Preventing Airline Passenger Assault
  • Includes key provisions from Garamendi’s “Airline Employee Assault Prevention Act” (H.R.4037) with Congressman Rob Menendez (D-NJ), which requires all commercial airlines’ employee assault prevention and response plans to also protect airport workers like baggage handlers and ticket and gate agents. A 2019 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that 61% of customer service agents reported experiencing at least one passenger assault during their tenure. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill ensures proper oversight and response plans are in place to protect all airline staff, not just those aboard the airplane.
  • Codifies into law the U.S. Department of Justice’s interpretation that airline employees working in the airports who provide a security function like gate agents and baggage claim personnel are protected under the same federal penalties protecting other security personnel.

• • This bipartisan bill is endorsed by: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Transport Workers Union of America, and Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

• Closing Buy America Loopholes for Airport Buses and Trams
  • Includes Garamendi’s “Airport Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act” (H.R.2912) with Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) requiring that all federally funded buses and passenger rail-like trams at domestic airports are made in the United States by skilled American workers. This will ensure that taxpayer funds for airport improvements support middle-class, union jobs and prevent Chinese state-controlled companies from undercutting American manufacturers.
  • Includes Garamendi’s applying Buy American standards to the FAA’s Ground Transportation Demonstration Projects, to ensure that taxpayer funds for transit, parking, ride share, and other projects to improve access at airport terminals are spent on American-made building materials and equipment.
  • The bipartisan bill is 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.

• Protecting Airline Consumers and Ticket Purchases
  

• Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvements
  • Includes Garamendi’s “Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act” with Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) requiring foreign aircraft repair stations to be held to higher standards as are 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.
  • This bill is endorsed by: International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Transportation Workers Union; International Association of Machinists; Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

• Fair and Open Skies
  • Includes key provisions from Garamendi’s “Fair and Open Skies Act” with Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), which cracks down on foreign air carriers’ abuse of the United States’ treaty with the European Union to access the American market illegally and undermine labor, tax, and aviation safety standards.

• Strengthening Air Traffic Controller Staffing
  • 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 requiring the FAA to update the mandatory equipment list for all emergency kits on commercial aircraft to include new medical necessities.
  • This provision was inspired by the experience of Garamendi’s constituent and emergency room nurse 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, she 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. The federal standards for emergency medical kits aboard commercial flights have not been updated since 2004, and this provision is long overdue.

• Phasing out Leaded Aviation Fuel
  • Includes provisions supporting the FAA’s ongoing work with the aviation industry to phase out leaded fuel by aircraft operating with piston engines.

• Improving Cockpit Safety
  • Includes key provisions from Garamendi’s “Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act” (H.R.911) with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) named after United Airlines pilot Captain Victor J. Saracini, who tragically lost his life in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
  • This bipartisan 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.
  • This provision is endorsed by: Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

• Prioritizing U.S.-based Airlines to Service Domestic Routes
  • Includes Garamendi’s amendment directing the FAA to examine 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.
    Source: Congressman John Garamendi