Two long-time pilot members of Congress have successfully amended the pending House FAA reauthorization bill to preserve the Block Aircraft Registration Request (Barr) program. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), co-chairman of the House of Representatives General Aviation Caucus, and Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), who flew helicopters in Vietnam, authored a provision that directs the FAA to allow aircraft owners and operators to opt out of having their flight information broadcast online. The action taken by the congressmen is a response to the FAA’s recent publication of a plan to severely limit participation in the Barr program. The government’s plans for curtailing the Barr program have been met with strong objections by NBAA, which has noted the proposal represents an unwarranted invasion of privacy, a threat to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a potential security risk to persons on board general aviation aircraft. The amendment filed by Graves and Boswell also notes that the online broadcast of GA movements by government against citizens’ will “does not serve a public policy objective.”