Garamendi Secures Wins for Safer, Easier Airline Travel in FAA Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, U.S. Representative 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, support passengers, and more in the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization (H.R.3935). The final compromise legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a bipartisan vote of 387 to 26 after passing the Senate by a vote of 88 to 4.

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,” 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.

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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO) are seeking to use progressive design-build project delivery models to complete construction on time and on budget.

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.

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-CA14) 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.

Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvements

• Includes Garamendi’s “Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act” with Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA26) 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.

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.

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, including Naloxone, to reverse opioid overdoses.
• This provision was inspired by the experience of Garamendi’s former 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.

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.

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.

Requires Data and Voice Recorders on Commercial Helicopters

• Incorporates late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Brad Sherman’s (D-CA32) “Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act of 2021,” requiring that flight data recorders be installed on helicopters, as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board.

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