II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4045 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2022 

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 flight 

training services to veterans. 

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 FLIGHT TRAINING 

7 SERVICES TO VETERANS. 

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 

3 enter into agreements with flight schools to provide assist4 ance in the form of grants to eligible entities to provide 

5 flight training services to veterans. 

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

7 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a pilot school that— 

8 (1) holds a training certificate under part 141 

9 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

10 (2) has an established employment pathway 

11 with at least one commercial air carrier operating 

12 under part 121 or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations. 

14 (c) PRIORITY APPLICATION.—In selecting eligible en15 tities to award grants to under this section, the Adminis16 trator shall give priority to eligible entities that meet ei17 ther of the following: 

18 (1) The entity is accredited by the Department 

19 of Education. 

20 (2) The entity holds a restricted airline trans21 port pilot (R–ATP) letter of authorization, as speci22 fied under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg23 ulations. 


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1 (d) CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTION.—In selecting 

2 eligible entities to award grants to under this section, the 

3 Administrator shall consider the following: 

4 (1) The eligible entity’s pass rate for students, 

5 as measured by part 141 of title 14, Code of Federal 

6 Regulations. 

7 (2) The total estimated cost per veteran to com8 plete the eligible entity’s program. 

9 (3) The anticipated time from start of training 

10 under the eligible entity’s program to employment. 

11 (4) The eligible entity’s graduate placement 

12 percentage. 

13 (5) The eligible entity’s use of advance tech14 nology and simulation. 

15 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from a grant received 

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

17 for the following: 

18 (1) To case manage and support veterans for 

19 flight training services. 

20 (2) To provide guidance and flight training 

21 services to the veterans enrolled, including additional 

22 training required to reach proficiency, for the fol23 lowing certificates and ratings: 

24 (A) Private pilot certificate. 

25 (B) Instrument rating. 


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1 (C) Commercial pilot certificate. 

2 (D) Multi-engine rating. 

3 (E) Certificated flight instructor single en4 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

5 (F) Certificated flight instructor multi-en6 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

7 (G) Certificated flight instructor instru8 ment certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 

9 (3) To provide applicable program tuition, 

10 books, training materials, and equipment. 

11 (4) To provide periodic reports to the Adminis12 trator on use of the grant funds, including docu13 mentation of training completion of the certificates 

14 and ratings described in subparagraphs (A) through 

15 (G) of paragraph (2). 

16 (f) COORDINATION WITH VETERANS EDUCATION

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

18 pilot program who is entitled to educational assistance for 

19 veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of 

20 Veterans Affairs— 

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

22 the pilot program that are covered by such edu23 cational assistance shall be borne by the veteran 

24 using such educational assistance; and 


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1 (2) any costs incurred by the veteran in partici2 pation in the pilot program that are not covered by 

3 such educational assistance, including the cost of a 

4 private pilot license, may be borne by the eligible en5 tity concerned using grant amounts awarded to the 

6 eligible entity for purposes of the pilot program. 

7 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, 

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

9 of the fiscal years 2023 through 2028. 

Æ 


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