Shuster Amendment to Increase Aviation Safety and Improve FAA Rulemaking Process Passes House

Press Release

Earlier today, the House voted to adopt Congressman Bill Shuster's amendment to increase aviation safety and improve the FAA rulemaking process as part of the FAA reauthorization bill.

"My amendment to the FAA Reauthorization has attracted national attention, and I am pleased that upon thoughtful consideration the House approved these important improvements."

"The purpose of the amendment is to improve the rulemaking process at FAA and to increase safety across the board," Shuster added. "I have record of strong support for pilot and passenger safety and I continue to strive to keep our aviation industry safe and economically viable."

Congressman Shuster is an established leader with a proven track record of legislative action to improve the safety of America's transportation systems. Shuster was a key co-author of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, has authored motorcoach safety legislation and voted in favor of the "Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010" to address safety improvements in the wake of the Colgan Air crash in New York.

Shuster's amendment requires an analysis of different aviation industry segments and the tailoring of future regulations to industry segments where appropriate. Simply put, the more specific a regulation is, the safer the aviation community will be. It also requires the FAA to conduct rulemakings with certain basic principles in mind, including a mandate that regulations are based on sound science; an assessment of its economic impact; and a reasoned cost benefit analysis.

Further, Shuster's amendment is consistent with President Obama's recent statements on regulatory reform and FAA Administrator Babbitt's own view that that "in rulemaking, not only does one size not fit all, but it's unsafe to think it can

"In no way is my amendment intended to single out any specific regulation or rule, especially where safety is concerned," Shuster added. "My focus is to improve the process. I remain committed to "one level of safety' for pilots."

Contrary to some allegations, Shuster's amendment does not single out any particular regulation or proposed regulation, and is not intended to apply to ongoing rulemakings. Shuster's amendment is prospective, not retroactive, with respect to the process of establishing pilot safety regulations.

"I do understand that some groups may have questions and I am entirely open to sitting down with them to ease their concerns or to make clarifications moving forward." Shuster added. "I want to improve the FAA rule making process and I welcome suggestions to make further improvements to my amendment before it is signed into law."

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