II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 748 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 

establish a pilot program to provide veterans with pilot training services. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2023 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a pilot program to provide veterans 

with pilot training services. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Aviator 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE VETERANS WITH 

7 PILOT TRAINING SERVICES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

9 Aviation Administration (in this section referred to as the 


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1 ‘‘Administrator’’), in consultation with the Secretary of 

2 Education and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall es3 tablish a program to provide assistance in the form of 

4 grants to eligible entities that provide pilot training activi5 ties and related education to support a pathway for vet6 erans to become commercial aviators. 

7 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 

8 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a pilot school or provi9 sional pilot school that— 

10 (1) holds an Air Agency Certificate under part 

11 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

12 (2) has an established employment pathway 

13 with at least 1 air carrier operating under part 121 

14 or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

15 (c) PRIORITY APPLICATION.—In selecting eligible en16 tities to award grants to under this section, the Adminis17 trator shall give priority to eligible entities that meet the 

18 following criteria: 

19 (1) The eligible entity is accredited (as defined 

20 in section 61.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula21 tions) by an accrediting agency recognized by the 

22 Secretary of Education. 

23 (2) The eligible entity holds a letter of author24 ization issued in accordance with section 61.169 of 

25 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from a grant received 

2 by an eligible entity under the pilot program shall be used 

3 for the following: 

4 (1) Administrative costs related to implementa5 tion of the program, not to exceed 10 percent of the 

6 amount awarded. 

7 (2) To provide guidance and pilot training serv8 ices, including tuition and flight training fees for 

9 veterans enrolled with the eligible entity and any 

10 training required to reach proficiency, to the vet11 erans enrolled to support them in obtaining any of 

12 the following pilot certificates and ratings: 

13 (A) Private pilot certificate. 

14 (B) Instrument rating. 

15 (C) Commercial pilot certificate. 

16 (D) Multi-engine rating. 

17 (E) Certificated flight instructor single en18 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

19 (F) Certificated flight instructor multi-en20 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

21 (G) Certificated flight instructor instru22 ment certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

23 (3) To provide books, training materials, and 

24 equipment to support pilot training activities and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S748.IS S748

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1 lated education for veterans enrolled with the eligible 

2 entity. 

3 (4) To provide periodic reports to the Adminis4 trator on use of the grant funds, including docu5 mentation of training completion of the certificates 

6 and ratings described in subparagraphs (A) through 

7 (G) of paragraph (2). 

8 (e) COORDINATION WITH VETERANS EDUCATION

9 BENEFITS.—In the event a veteran participates in the 

10 pilot program who is entitled to educational assistance for 

11 veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of 

12 Veterans Affairs— 

13 (1) any costs of the veteran in participation in 

14 the pilot program that are covered by such edu15 cational assistance shall be borne by the veteran 

16 using such educational assistance; and 

17 (2) any costs incurred by the veteran in partici18 pation in the pilot program that are not covered by 

19 such educational assistance, including the cost of a 

20 private or commercial pilot license, may be borne by 

21 the eligible entity concerned using grant amounts 

22 awarded to the eligible entity for purposes of the 

23 pilot program. 


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1 (f) APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, 

2 there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each 

3 of the fiscal years 2024 through 2029. 

Æ 


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