House fails to pass ROTOR Act after Pentagon raises late objections
This is performative politics again.
The House on Tuesday failed to pass bipartisan aviation safety legislation designed to prevent military-commercial aircraft collisions like January 2025 crash near Washington, D.C., after the measure fell just short of the two-thirds majority required under fast-track rules.
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act failed on a 264-133 vote, leaving supporters a couple votes shy of the threshold needed to suspend the rules and send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The Senate-passed legislation would require civilian and military aircraft operating in congested airspace to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology, which allows pilots to broadcast and track aircraft positions in real time. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the technology could have prevented the crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
The bill would also narrow the definition of a “sensitive government mission,” a designation that currently allows military helicopters to operate without broadcasting their position in certain circumstances.
Despite broad bipartisan backing and emotional appeals from victims’ families, the legislation ran into late opposition from the Pentagon, which warned the Senate-passed version could create operational and budgetary challenges.
In a statement ahead of the vote, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department supported the intent of the legislation but argued the bill failed to include several updates discussed with lawmakers.
“As currently drafted, enactment would create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities,” Parnell said, adding that the Pentagon remained ready to work with Congress to ensure safety goals were met while protecting military operations.
The War Department’s relatively brief statement did not detail specific points of disagreement with the ROTOR Act.
Supporters of the bill said the legislation already includes language requested by the Pentagon and safeguards for classified flights.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), one of the House sponsors, said lawmakers were surprised by the last-minute opposition after months of collaboration.
“We’re very disappointed,” Beyer said during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday. “There was no reason for the helicopter that night not to have ADS-B out and on. They were just practicing.”
Beyer …
This is performative politics again.
The House on Tuesday failed to pass bipartisan aviation safety legislation designed to prevent military-commercial aircraft collisions like January 2025 crash near Washington, D.C., after the measure fell just short of the two-thirds majority required under fast-track rules.
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act failed on a 264-133 vote, leaving supporters a couple votes shy of the threshold needed to suspend the rules and send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The Senate-passed legislation would require civilian and military aircraft operating in congested airspace to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology, which allows pilots to broadcast and track aircraft positions in real time. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the technology could have prevented the crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
The bill would also narrow the definition of a “sensitive government mission,” a designation that currently allows military helicopters to operate without broadcasting their position in certain circumstances.
Despite broad bipartisan backing and emotional appeals from victims’ families, the legislation ran into late opposition from the Pentagon, which warned the Senate-passed version could create operational and budgetary challenges.
In a statement ahead of the vote, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department supported the intent of the legislation but argued the bill failed to include several updates discussed with lawmakers.
“As currently drafted, enactment would create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities,” Parnell said, adding that the Pentagon remained ready to work with Congress to ensure safety goals were met while protecting military operations.
The War Department’s relatively brief statement did not detail specific points of disagreement with the ROTOR Act.
Supporters of the bill said the legislation already includes language requested by the Pentagon and safeguards for classified flights.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), one of the House sponsors, said lawmakers were surprised by the last-minute opposition after months of collaboration.
“We’re very disappointed,” Beyer said during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday. “There was no reason for the helicopter that night not to have ADS-B out and on. They were just practicing.”
Beyer …
House fails to pass ROTOR Act after Pentagon raises late objections
This is performative politics again.
The House on Tuesday failed to pass bipartisan aviation safety legislation designed to prevent military-commercial aircraft collisions like January 2025 crash near Washington, D.C., after the measure fell just short of the two-thirds majority required under fast-track rules.
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act failed on a 264-133 vote, leaving supporters a couple votes shy of the threshold needed to suspend the rules and send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The Senate-passed legislation would require civilian and military aircraft operating in congested airspace to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology, which allows pilots to broadcast and track aircraft positions in real time. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the technology could have prevented the crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
The bill would also narrow the definition of a “sensitive government mission,” a designation that currently allows military helicopters to operate without broadcasting their position in certain circumstances.
Despite broad bipartisan backing and emotional appeals from victims’ families, the legislation ran into late opposition from the Pentagon, which warned the Senate-passed version could create operational and budgetary challenges.
In a statement ahead of the vote, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department supported the intent of the legislation but argued the bill failed to include several updates discussed with lawmakers.
“As currently drafted, enactment would create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities,” Parnell said, adding that the Pentagon remained ready to work with Congress to ensure safety goals were met while protecting military operations.
The War Department’s relatively brief statement did not detail specific points of disagreement with the ROTOR Act.
Supporters of the bill said the legislation already includes language requested by the Pentagon and safeguards for classified flights.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), one of the House sponsors, said lawmakers were surprised by the last-minute opposition after months of collaboration.
“We’re very disappointed,” Beyer said during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday. “There was no reason for the helicopter that night not to have ADS-B out and on. They were just practicing.”
Beyer …
