H.R. 9687 (Introduced in House) — Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2024

Section 1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2024”.

Sec. 2 Regulations for individuals carrying out aviation activities

(a)

In general— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall update regulations, including in part 67 of title 14 of Code of Federal Regulations, as appropriate, and take any other actions necessary to implement the recommendations of the aviation workforce mental health task group established under section 411(d) the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 to encourage individuals to—

(1)

seek help for mental health conditions or symptoms of mental health conditions; and

(2)

to disclose conditions or symptoms described in paragraph (1).

(b)

Consultation— In carrying out this section, the task group described in subsection (a) shall consult with relevant stakeholders from the aviation and medical communities, as necessary, including—

(1)

the exclusive bargaining representatives of pilots and air traffic controllers certified under section 7111 of title 5, United States Code;

(2)

aviation medical examiners, as described in section 183.21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations;

(3)

organizations representing the individuals in paragraphs (1) and (2); and

(4)

any other stakeholder determined relevant by the task group , including any stakeholders described in section 411(d)(3)(B) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

(c)

Report requirements— Section 411(d)(4) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118–63) is amended—

(1)

in subparagraph (B) by striking “and” at the end;

(2)

in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

“(D) an evaluation of any recommendations reached by the National Transportation Safety Board related to aviation workforce mental health; and

“(E) a description of relevant clinical studies, research, diagnostic manuals, and protocols used by the licensed professionals as of the date of enactment of this Act.”

Sec. 3 Annual review of mental health special issuance process

The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct an annual review, and update, as appropriate, the applicable regulations and policies, on mental health-related special issuance for pilots and air traffic controllers to—

(1)

reclassify and approve additional medications that may be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health conditions;

(2)

if the administrator determines appropriate, delegate additional authority to aviation medical examiners; and

(3)

improve the special issuance process for pilots and air traffic controllers.

Sec. 4 Authorization of appropriation for additional aviation medical examiners

There is authorized to be appropriated $13,740,000 to the Administrator for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028 to—

(1)

recruit, select, train, and delegate the necessary authorities to additional aviation medical examiners and human intervention motivation study aviation medical examiners, including those who are psychiatrists;

(2)

review and improve mental health care training for aviation medical examiners;

(3)

expand capacity to provide oversight of aviation medical examiners and clear the backlog of special issuance requests at the Office of Aerospace Medicine; and

(4)

support any other related activities, as determined by the Administrator.

Sec. 5 Public information campaign

(a)

In general— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028 for a public information campaign or similar public education efforts to destigmatize individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who seek mental health care and to broaden awareness of available supportive services.

(b)

Report— Not later than 1 year after the Administrator creates the public information campaign described in subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit to appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the actions taken to develop such campaign and the plans for implementation.

Sec. 6 Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Appropriate committees of Congress— The term “appropriate committees of Congress” means—

(A)

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and

(B)

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

(2)

Special issuance— The term “special issuance” has the meaning given the term in section 67.401 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2024