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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9687 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9687

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
   revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation 
   activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2024

    Mr. Casten (for himself and Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 
   revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation 
   activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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.
                                 <all>
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