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Despite strong objections from industry, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee on Wednesday approved a bill 39-19 to mandate unscheduled inspections and additional standards at FAA-certified foreign repair stations. H.R.5119, the Safety Maintenance Standards Act, further calls for record-keeping requirements and would prevent the FAA from certifying new foreign repair stations until the agency complied with the bill’s mandates.
T&I chairman Pete DeFazio (D-Oregon) introduced the measure last week to address weaknesses in the FAA’s oversight of repair stations abroad that perform significant work on U.S. airline fleets. The bill establishes one standard, regardless of where an aircraft is maintained, he said.
However, 11 aviation organizations this week wrote the T&I leadership, urging them to scrap the bill, saying it would threaten jobs, hurt small businesses, disrupt air travel, and weaken the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) called H.R.5119 “policymaking at its worst.” Noting the bill was introduced without warning late last week and passed shortly afterward without hearings or opportunity to comment, ARSA v-p Christian Klein said, “No-huddle offense may win football games, but it’s a loser when making policy, particularly in a heavily regulated sector like aviation safety.”
Klein added that it would disrupt both air carrier and general aviation operations, add to the burden of regulators and undermine global aviation regulatory cooperation. “Aviation laws and regulations must be based on facts with safety as the overarching goal. In stark contrast, H.R.5119 is a political bill that will disrupt international travel.”
Committee Republican leaders pointed to industry opposition and said the bill “unilaterally imposes U.S. law on FAA-certificated repair stations in foreign countries, regardless of their compatibility with foreign laws, and prohibits new foreign repair station certificates until new and burdensome regulations are enacted.” Aviation subcommittee ranking member Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) was unsuccessful in offering a substitute during the committee vote.
Despite strong objections from industry, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee recently passed a bill 39-19 to mandate unscheduled inspections and additional standards at FAA-certified foreign repair stations.
T&I chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) introduced the measure, H.R.5119, the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act, saying, “We’re at an unfortunate moment in our aviation system’s history where safety standards are being questioned, and the bottom line is safety has to be the number-one priority.”
He added he has pressed FAA officials for years to do more to close the gap on foreign repair station safety standards. “The bill I’m introducing today does just that by establishing one standard of safety regardless of where the aircraft is maintained.”
H.R.5119 was unveiled with seven co-sponsors, a number that now is at a dozen. It requires unannounced inspections at foreign repair stations; minimum qualifications for mechanics and others working on U.S.-registered aircraft at foreign repair stations (including FAA certification for mechanics and supervisors); data analysis; moratoriums on new FAA-certified foreign repair stations until the bill is implemented; and a repository of heavy maintenance history.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) called H.R.5119 “policymaking at its worst.” Noting the bill was introduced without warning and passed shortly afterward without hearings or opportunity to comment, ARSA v-p Christian Klein said, “No-huddle offense may win football games, but it’s a loser when making policy, particularly in a heavily regulated sector like aviation safety.”
Klein added that it would disrupt both air carrier and general aviation operations, add to the burden of regulators and undermine global aviation regulatory cooperation. “Aviation laws and regulations must be based on facts with safety as the overarching goal. In stark contrast, H.R.5119 is a political bill that will disrupt international travel.”
Ten other organizations joined ARSA in opposition to the legislation, urging the T&I leadership to scrap the bill in a letter that said H.R.5119 would threaten jobs, hurt small businesses, disrupt air travel, and weaken the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry.
“The bill mandates onerous new record-keeping and reporting requirements that do nothing to help focus regulators on safety-critical information and will simply overwhelm them with irrelevant data,” the organizations said, adding some of the requirements would be impossible to implement.
They also expressed concern about the threat to international cooperation. “Passenger and cargo airlines and general aviation operators that rely on FAA-certified facilities around the globe will be unable to get their aircraft serviced at foreign destinations,” they said, expressing the additional fear that U.S. repair stations could also be vulnerable to losing approval from foreign aviation authorities.
Also signing the letter were the Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Electronics Association, Airlines for America, Aviation Suppliers Association, Cargo Airline Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, International Air Transport Association, Modification and Replacement Parts Association, National Air Carrier Association, and Regional Airline Association.
While those organizations opposed the bill, several unions and other organizations backed it, including the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, Consumer Reports, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Consumers League, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, and the Transport Workers Union of America Transportation Trades Department.
Committee Republican leaders pointed to industry opposition and said the bill “unilaterally imposes U.S. law on FAA-certificated repair stations in foreign countries, regardless of their compatibility with foreign laws, and prohibits new foreign repair station certificates until new and burdensome regulations are enacted.” Aviation subcommittee ranking member Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) was unsuccessful in offering a substitute during the committee vote in November.