S. 3257

Overview

This bill aims to make pilots and air traffic controllers more willing to seek mental health care and disclose it to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which medically certifies them. Within 18 months, the FAA would have to update its medical rules and guidance to encourage people to get help for mental health conditions and report them, and within two years it would have to carry out, as appropriate, an FAA advisory committee's April 2024 recommendations on mental health and medical clearances, explaining to Congress any it rejects. The FAA would also regularly review its "special issuance" process (case-by-case medical approval for people who do not meet the standard requirements), including whether more mental health medications and treatments can be safely allowed. The bill would let the FAA spend up to $15 million a year from its operating budget in fiscal years 2026 through 2028 to recruit and train more aviation medical examiners (the doctors who perform FAA medical exams), including psychiatrists, and to clear a backlog of special issuance cases. During those same years, the FAA would run a public education campaign to reduce the stigma of seeking mental health care and build trust with pilots and controllers.