Austin News

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has expressed his approval for the Senate's passage of the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, a comprehensive piece of legislation aimed at enhancing safety and convenience in travel for Texans and consumers nationwide.

In his statement, Sen. Cruz said, “Today the Senate overwhelmingly passed a major FAA Reauthorization that will modernize and transform our country’s aviation system. It was a privilege to lead this significant piece of bipartisan legislation. It included hundreds of key priorities from across the political spectrum and touching every state in the nation. It ultimately gives the FAA the stability it needs to fulfill its primary mission—advancing aviation safety—while also making travel more convenient and accessible."

He added that America's aviation sector is globally recognized for its innovation, and this bill will take it a step further by integrating future technologies into our nation's aerospace system.

Sen. Cruz emphasized the crucial role of the aviation sector in our economy, stating that "the historic investments and reforms in this legislation will have a significant impact on the daily lives of people across Texas and the nation." He noted that his bipartisan legislation would greatly benefit Texas’s thriving aviation industry by enabling testing for various cutting-edge technologies, improving critical infrastructure at airports across Texas, and facilitating a direct flight from San Antonio International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The senator expressed his pride in working with Senate colleagues Chairwoman Cantwell, Aviation Subcommittee Chairwoman Duckworth, and Ranking Member Moran to address serious challenges facing the FAA and the aviation industry at large. He highlighted their efforts to advance provisions fostering next-generation aviation technology.

The FAA Reauthorization bill delivers several key provisions for Texas:

- A historic $4 billion per year in funding for airport infrastructure projects.

- Five additional exemptions to statutory “perimeter rule,” allowing new round-trip flights to previously excluded locations.

- Directing the FAA to hire maximum air traffic controllers to address understaffing issues.

- Creating a Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies for aviation technologies like electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

- An adjustment to the bill’s discretionary airport improvement program funding structures that would boost McKinney National Airport’s efforts.

- Reforms aimed at better integrating commercial space activities into the national airspace system.

- Provisions benefiting Texas universities seeking to develop aviation-related curriculum and workforce development programs.

- Reforms to FAA’s State Block Grant program to level the playing field.

- Funding that will improve operational capabilities for the FAA’s UAS test range managed by Texas A&M.

- A measure addressing recent devastating wildfires in Texas by directing the FAA to develop a plan for better use of unmanned aircraft systems in firefighting.

- Streamlining approvals for more drone operations for offshore oil and gas facilities in international waters.

Additional provisions aim to improve safety and efficiency, including requiring cockpit voice recorders on commercial aircraft to record for 25 hours, codifying recommended best practices on aircraft manufacturing, safety improvements for ramp workers around plane engines, requiring airlines to seat families together, creating a pilot program for entities that train veterans for civil aviation careers, making it easier to accept drone delivery of essential medicines, directing the FAA to complete Beyond the Visual Line of Site rulemaking, and conducting thorough reviews of medical and mental health protocols for pilots.