Photo: Tom Brenner / Getty Images News / Getty Images
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly rejected a bipartisan aviation safety bill on Tuesday (February 24), one day after the Pentagon abruptly withdrew its support — dealing a blow to families who had traveled to Capitol Hill hoping to see the legislation pass.
The bill, known as the Restricting Operations That Overlook Risks Act (ROTOR Act), was developed in response to a deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people last year. The final vote was 264 in favor and 133 opposed — falling short of the two-thirds majority required under House rules. More than 130 Republicans voted against it.
The ROTOR Act would have required wider use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, a safety system that transmits an aircraft's location to other aircraft, and would have limited exemptions for military helicopters. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said ADS-B technology could have given pilots enough warning to avoid last year's crash.
The Senate had approved the bill unanimously in December, and it carried broad support from aviation safety groups, industry trade unions, and the families of crash victims.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement Monday (February 23) saying the bill could create "unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks," without specifying what those risks are. The statement marked a reversal from the Pentagon's earlier support of the legislation.
Several powerful House Republican committee leaders also pushed back. Rep. Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, argued the bill posed a national security threat. "This bill will undermine our national security," Rogers said. "Requiring our fighters and bombers and highly classified assets to regularly broadcast their location puts our men and women in uniform at risk."
Rep. Sam Graves, Republican of Missouri and chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, called the ROTOR Act an "unworkable government mandate" and raised concerns that it would be "burdensome" to some pilots. Graves and Rogers backed an alternative bill called the ALERT Act, which does not have the endorsement of the NTSB, aviation industry trade unions, or crash victims' families.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy expressed frustration before the vote, writing on social media that "the ROTOR Act would've saved lives," adding, "How many more people need to die before we act?"
After the vote, the Families of Flight 5342 released a statement expressing disappointment. "We are devastated. Today, a majority of the House voted to pass the ROTOR Act. It was not enough," the statement read. "We call on House leadership to bring the ROTOR Act back for a vote that lets the majority pass it."
Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and co-author of the bill, vowed to push forward. "Only the ROTOR Act ensures that all airplanes and helicopters flying in U.S. airspace play by the same set of rules," Cruz said in a statement after the vote. "Today's result was just a temporary delay. We will succeed, and the ROTOR Act will become the law of the land. The families and the flying public deserve nothing less."