The House overwhelmingly passed an aviation safety bill designed to prevent a repeat plane crash like the one that unfolded at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last year.
The ALERT Act passed in a final 396-10 vote on Tuesday, garnering the necessary two-thirds majority support under the lower chamber’s fast-track rules. It now heads to the Senate, where it may face some stiff opposition.
The bipartisan legislation’s main sponsors, House Transportation Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), led the charge in striking down a similar Senate-passed bill in late February.
The ROTOR Act, spearheaded by Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), fell just short of the two-thirds majority after the Pentagon raised objections at the time. This last-minute opposition prompted House GOP leaders to let the measure fail.
Both bills sought to prevent military-commercial aircraft collisions, but their methods were
Continue reading
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!