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Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
FAA mental health regulation update within 18 months
Requires the FAA to update aviation medical regulations and issue guidance to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to seek help for and disclose mental health conditions, and authorizes the FAA to act on expert task group recommendations within 180 days.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation medical examiners — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dollar amount, appropriation, or funding stream is authorized or allocated by this provision.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory mandate — a binding deadline for regulatory updates and a congressional-justification requirement — that constrains agency conduct without restructuring substantive certification law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must update regulations and issue guidance but retains discretion over the specific content of those rules and whether to implement task group recommendations, tempered by the congressional-justification requirement.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal rulemaking and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance infrastructure, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment High Once regulations are updated they persist indefinitely, and the congressional-justification obligation has no expiry — both continue until Congress affirmatively acts to change them.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
Periodic FAA review of mental health special issuance process
Requires the FAA to conduct recurring reviews of how pilots and air traffic controllers with mental health conditions can qualify for medical certificates, including considering safer medication options and expanding what trained medical examiners are allowed to approve independently.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots and air traffic controllers navigating the special issuance process and aviation medical examiners — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Same as above.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new recurring procedural obligation — a mandatory review schedule with prescribed intervals and required regulatory follow-through — that binds agency conduct without independently altering the substantive certification criteria.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator must conduct reviews and update regulations 'as appropriate,' preserving substantial discretion over findings and remedial action while being required to consider specific subjects such as medication reclassification and expanded examiner authority.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes recurring internal review and potential rulemaking obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment High The triennial review cycle continues indefinitely after the first two annual reviews, persisting until Congress affirmatively acts to end or modify the schedule.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Authorize $15M/year for FAA aerospace medicine capacity
Authorizes up to $15 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2028 to expand the FAA's medical office capacity, including hiring psychiatrists and other aviation medical examiners and clearing backlogs of certification requests.
- Population Scope Low Directly targets the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s Office of Aerospace Medicine, aviation medical examiners, and the pilots and controllers awaiting certification — a narrow institutional and occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes up to $15 million annually for FY2026–FY2028 (up to $45 million total), a modest discretionary authorization targeted at a single agency office.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new statutory authorization for appropriations with specified permissible uses, a procedural budgetary authority that does not independently alter substantive certification law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Funds 'may' be used for enumerated purposes and 'other activities as determined by the Administrator,' granting meaningful but bounded spending discretion.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Establishes a spending authorization with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms; execution burden falls on internal FAA administration of hiring and training programs.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization expires after FY2028 — a hard, sub-10-year end date — and does not continue unless Congress affirmatively reauthorizes it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
Mandate implementation of ARC mental health recommendations
Requires the FAA to implement recommendations from an expert aviation rulemaking committee on mental health medical clearances within two years, with stakeholder consultation, and to justify in writing to Congress any recommendation it chooses not to adopt.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation medical examiners subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mental health clearance policies — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dollar amount, appropriation, or funding stream is authorized or allocated by this provision.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory duty — a time-bound mandate to act on pre-existing expert recommendations with a congressional-accountability backstop — that constrains agency discretion without independently establishing new substantive certification rules.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium FAA Administrator must implement recommendations 'as appropriate,' retaining judgment over which recommendations to adopt, but faces a binding congressional-justification requirement for any omission.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal implementation and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance infrastructure, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment Low The two-year implementation deadline and 90-day justification window are fixed, one-time obligations tied to enactment; once fulfilled or elapsed, no recurring or indefinite duty remains.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
FAA mental health public information campaign
Directs the FAA to run a public awareness campaign from 2026 to 2028 to reduce mental health stigma among aviation workers, promote available support services, and build trust between the agency and pilots and air traffic controllers.
- Population Scope Low Directly targets pilots, air traffic controllers, air carriers, flight training institutions, and airports — a sector-specific population well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Same as above.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory obligation — a multi-year campaign mandate with specified delivery channels, collaboration requirements, congressional briefing, and an effectiveness report — that binds agency conduct without altering substantive aviation law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator must carry out the campaign and meet specific outreach requirements but retains discretion over campaign content, messaging, and the selection of collaborating partners.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal program-delivery and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment Low The campaign is explicitly bounded to FY2026–FY2028 — a hard, sub-10-year end date — and does not continue unless Congress affirmatively acts to extend it.
No signal yet
No possible riders have been surfaced for this bill.
Summary
This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to update rules, conduct reviews, and launch a public campaign to make it easier and safer for pilots and air traffic controllers to seek mental health care without risking their careers. It also funds FAA's medical office and requires the agency to act on expert recommendations already on record. Among other elements, the bill * requires FAA to update regulations within 18 months to encourage aviation workers to disclose and seek help for mental health conditions; * mandates recurring FAA reviews of the process by which pilots and controllers with mental health conditions can obtain or keep their medical certificates; * authorizes up to $15 million per year for three years to hire more medical examiners and clear certification backlogs; * directs FAA to carry out a public awareness campaign to reduce stigma around mental health care in aviation; * and requires FAA to implement recommendations from an expert rulemaking committee on mental health clearances, or explain to Congress why it did not.
AI-generated summary, pending human review.
| Version | Event | Date | User support | Your vote | Roll calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original |
Initial publication
Nov 20, 2025
|
Nov 20, 2025 | No votes yet | — | — |
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Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
FAA mental health regulation update within 18 months
Requires the FAA to update aviation medical regulations and issue guidance to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to seek help for and disclose mental health conditions, and authorizes the FAA to act on expert task group recommendations within 180 days.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation medical examiners — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dollar amount, appropriation, or funding stream is authorized or allocated by this provision.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory mandate — a binding deadline for regulatory updates and a congressional-justification requirement — that constrains agency conduct without restructuring substantive certification law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must update regulations and issue guidance but retains discretion over the specific content of those rules and whether to implement task group recommendations, tempered by the congressional-justification requirement.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal rulemaking and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance infrastructure, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment High Once regulations are updated they persist indefinitely, and the congressional-justification obligation has no expiry — both continue until Congress affirmatively acts to change them.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes
FAA mental health regulation update within 18 months
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
Periodic FAA review of mental health special issuance process
Requires the FAA to conduct recurring reviews of how pilots and air traffic controllers with mental health conditions can qualify for medical certificates, including considering safer medication options and expanding what trained medical examiners are allowed to approve independently.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots and air traffic controllers navigating the special issuance process and aviation medical examiners — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Same as above.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new recurring procedural obligation — a mandatory review schedule with prescribed intervals and required regulatory follow-through — that binds agency conduct without independently altering the substantive certification criteria.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator must conduct reviews and update regulations 'as appropriate,' preserving substantial discretion over findings and remedial action while being required to consider specific subjects such as medication reclassification and expanded examiner authority.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes recurring internal review and potential rulemaking obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment High The triennial review cycle continues indefinitely after the first two annual reviews, persisting until Congress affirmatively acts to end or modify the schedule.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes
Periodic FAA review of mental health special issuance process
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Authorize $15M/year for FAA aerospace medicine capacity
Authorizes up to $15 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2028 to expand the FAA's medical office capacity, including hiring psychiatrists and other aviation medical examiners and clearing backlogs of certification requests.
- Population Scope Low Directly targets the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s Office of Aerospace Medicine, aviation medical examiners, and the pilots and controllers awaiting certification — a narrow institutional and occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes up to $15 million annually for FY2026–FY2028 (up to $45 million total), a modest discretionary authorization targeted at a single agency office.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new statutory authorization for appropriations with specified permissible uses, a procedural budgetary authority that does not independently alter substantive certification law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium Funds 'may' be used for enumerated purposes and 'other activities as determined by the Administrator,' granting meaningful but bounded spending discretion.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Establishes a spending authorization with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms; execution burden falls on internal FAA administration of hiring and training programs.
- Temporal Commitment Low The authorization expires after FY2028 — a hard, sub-10-year end date — and does not continue unless Congress affirmatively reauthorizes it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Authorize $15M/year for FAA aerospace medicine capacity
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
Mandate implementation of ARC mental health recommendations
Requires the FAA to implement recommendations from an expert aviation rulemaking committee on mental health medical clearances within two years, with stakeholder consultation, and to justify in writing to Congress any recommendation it chooses not to adopt.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation medical examiners subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mental health clearance policies — a narrow occupational group well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No dollar amount, appropriation, or funding stream is authorized or allocated by this provision.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory duty — a time-bound mandate to act on pre-existing expert recommendations with a congressional-accountability backstop — that constrains agency discretion without independently establishing new substantive certification rules.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium FAA Administrator must implement recommendations 'as appropriate,' retaining judgment over which recommendations to adopt, but faces a binding congressional-justification requirement for any omission.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal implementation and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance infrastructure, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment Low The two-year implementation deadline and 90-day justification window are fixed, one-time obligations tied to enactment; once fulfilled or elapsed, no recurring or indefinite duty remains.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
Mandate implementation of ARC mental health recommendations
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
FAA mental health public information campaign
Directs the FAA to run a public awareness campaign from 2026 to 2028 to reduce mental health stigma among aviation workers, promote available support services, and build trust between the agency and pilots and air traffic controllers.
- Population Scope Low Directly targets pilots, air traffic controllers, air carriers, flight training institutions, and airports — a sector-specific population well under 1% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low Same as above.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Creates a new procedural statutory obligation — a multi-year campaign mandate with specified delivery channels, collaboration requirements, congressional briefing, and an effectiveness report — that binds agency conduct without altering substantive aviation law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator must carry out the campaign and meet specific outreach requirements but retains discretion over campaign content, messaging, and the selection of collaborating partners.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Imposes internal program-delivery and reporting obligations on FAA with no new penalties, compliance requirements, or enforcement mechanisms directed at regulated parties.
- Temporal Commitment Low The campaign is explicitly bounded to FY2026–FY2028 — a hard, sub-10-year end date — and does not continue unless Congress affirmatively acts to extend it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
FAA mental health public information campaign
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