The US Senate has unanimously passed legislation that would overhaul the FAA’s approach to mental health and pilot medical certification, potentially reducing barriers for aerial firefighting pilots seeking treatment.
The US Senate has unanimously passed legislation intended to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approach to mental health and pilot medical certification.
The John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act, S. 3257, passed the Senate on September 24 and would require the FAA to update its regulations and guidance within 18 months of enactment.
The legislation is intended to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to seek mental health treatment and disclose conditions without unnecessarily jeopardizing their careers.
It would also require regular reviews of the FAA’s mental health special issuance process, including consideration of additional medications and evidence-based treatments.
For aerial firefighting pilots, the proposed changes could reduce uncertainty around seeking mental health treatment and address lengthy certification delays that can prevent otherwise qualified pilots from flying.
The bill calls for improvements to mental health training for aviation medical examiners and would expand the circumstances in which properly trained examiners could issue medical certificates.
It would also authorize up to $15 million annually from fiscal year 2026 through 2028 for additional staffing and training within the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine.
The funding could also be used to address the backlog of special issuance cases awaiting review.
However, the legislation would not immediately change existing medical certification requirements.
The Senate passed an amended version of S. 3257 on September 24. The bill must now pass the US House of Representatives and be signed into law before the FAA can begin implementing its provisions.
If enacted, the legislation would direct the FAA to review its approach to mental health certification while providing additional resources to support the medical certification process.
The Senate-passed text is available through GovInfo.
