Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell issued a joint statement on Mar. 26 regarding the advancement of the ALERT Act in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. The senators raised concerns that the revised bill does not include key safety reforms they believe are necessary to prevent serious aviation accidents.
The discussion comes as lawmakers debate how best to address air traffic safety following a deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport last year. According to the official website, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is responsible for reviewing legislation related to commerce, science, and transportation during congressional sessions.
In their statement, Cruz and Cantwell said: “The ADS-B In standard in the ROTOR Act will save lives.” They continued: “Even before the Senate unanimously passed the ROTOR Act in December, the Commerce Committee was ready and willing to engage with our House colleagues on aviation safety legislation. The ALERT Act, while ambitious in its goals, falls short on a strong and clear requirement for common-sense situational awareness technology recommended by the NTSB 18 times. That’s why the ROTOR Act is supported by a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the NTSB, safety experts, major pilots unions, and families of those lost in the midair collision at DCA. And yet today when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee had an opportunity to vote on an amendment to mandate a strong ADSB-In requirement they refused to take that vote.”
They added: “Any legislation that is expected to pass both chambers will have to apply the strongest ADS-B In safety standards to all aircraft—civilian or military—ensure accountability for broadcasting ADS-B Out signals; and reform airspace rules so that accidents like Flight 5342-PAT 25 never happen again.”
The ROTOR Act would require all aircraft broadcasting their locations via ADS-B Out also receive those signals in their cockpits—a capability known as “ADS-B In.” This measure has been recommended multiple times by federal investigators but has not yet become mandatory law.
Statements from groups such as labor organizations and families affected by past collisions have also emphasized that any new law should fully meet these recommendations. The Families of Flight 5342 stated: “A clear ADS-B In mandate that fully meets NTSB’s own recommendations must be part of any bill that becomes law.”
According to the official website, this committee operates from Washington D.C.’s Russell Senate Office Building under leadership including senators from both parties. As Congress continues its work on aviation policy reforms within this legislative session,the committee remains central in shaping outcomes affecting national transportation safety.
