I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3082 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue 
regulations concerning accommodations for powered wheelchairs, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2023 
Mr. COHEN (for himself and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration to issue regulations concerning accommodations 
for powered wheelchairs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mobility aids On Board 
Improve Lives and Empower all Act’’ or the ‘‘MOBILE 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REGULATIONS RELATED TO POWERED WHEEL-
CHAIRS; OTHER EVALUATIONS REGARDING 
WHEELCHAIRS. 
(a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Trans-
portation (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring air 
carriers and foreign air carriers (as defined in section 
40102 of title 49, United States Code)— 
(1) to publish, on a prominent and easily acces-
sible place on the website of the carrier, information 
describing the dimensions of the cargo holds of all 
aircraft types in the air carrier’s fleet, including the 
dimensions of the cargo hold entry; and 
(2) in the case of a qualified individual with a 
disability (as defined in section 382.3 of title 14, 
Code of Federal Regulations) traveling with a wheel-
chair (including a powered wheelchair, manual 
wheelchair, or scooter) who has purchased a ticket 
for a flight from the air carrier but who cannot fly 
on the existing aircraft because the wheelchair of 
such qualified individual cannot fit in the cargo hold, 
to offer a refund to such qualified individual of any 
previously paid fares, fees, and taxes applicable to 
such flight. 
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(b) EVALUATION OF DATA REGARDING MISHANDLED 
WHEELCHAIRS.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall— 
(1) evaluate data (which shall be delineated by 
type of wheelchair being mishandled, such as pow-
ered wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, and scooters, 
and by type of mishandling, such as damage (includ-
ing the type of damage, such as broken drive wheels 
or casters, bent or broken frames, damage to elec-
trical connectors or wires, control input devices, 
joysticks, upholstery, or other components, and any 
other type of damage deemed appropriate by the 
Secretary), delay, or loss) regarding the frequency of 
mishandling of wheelchairs (as defined in section 
37.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) occur-
ring on aircraft; 
(2) determine whether there are issues with re-
spect to such frequency and type of mishandling; 
and 
(3) review and report any claims for which an 
air carrier has conclusive evidence of fraud. 
(c) REPORT ON MISHANDLED WHEELCHAIRS.—Not 
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 
section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
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Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives a report (which shall be 
made publicly available on the website of the Department 
of Transportation) regarding the results of each such eval-
uation and determination under subsection (b), including 
how the Secretary plans to address such results through 
consultation with air carriers, wheelchair manufacturers, 
national disability and disabled veterans organizations, 
and other relevant stakeholders. 
(d) FEASIBILITY
OF IN-CABIN WHEELCHAIR RE-
STRAINT SYSTEMS.— 
(1) ROADMAP.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a publicly available strategic road-
map that describes how the Department of Trans-
portation and the United States Access Board, re-
spectively, shall, in accordance with the rec-
ommendations from the National Academies of 
Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Transpor-
tation Research Board Special Report 341— 
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(A) establish a program of research, in col-
laboration with the Rehabilitation Engineering 
and Assistive Technology Society of North 
America (RESNA), the assistive technology in-
dustry, air carriers, original equipment manu-
facturers, national disability and disabled vet-
erans organizations, and any other relevant 
stakeholders, to test and evaluate an appro-
priate selection of WC19-compliant wheelchairs 
and accessories in accordance with applicable 
Federal 
Aviation 
Administration 
crash-
worthiness and safety performance criteria, in-
cluding the issues and considerations set forth 
in Special Report 341; and 
(B) sponsor studies that assess issues and 
considerations, including those set forth in Spe-
cial Report 341, such as— 
(i) the likely demand for air travel by 
individuals who are nonambulatory if such 
individuals could remain seated in their 
personal wheelchairs in flight; and 
(ii) the feasibility of implementing 
seating arrangements that would accommo-
date passengers in wheelchairs in the main 
cabin in flight. 
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(2) STUDY.—If determined to be technically 
feasible by the Secretary, not later than 2 years 
after making such determination, the Secretary shall 
commence a study to assess the economic and finan-
cial feasibility of air carriers and foreign air carriers 
implementing seating arrangements that accommo-
date passengers with wheelchairs (including powered 
wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, and scooters) in 
the main cabin during flight. Such study shall in-
clude an assessment of— 
(A) the cost of such seating arrangements, 
equipment, and installation; 
(B) the demand for such seating arrange-
ments; 
(C) the impact of such seating arrange-
ments on passenger seating and safety on air-
craft; 
(D) the impact of such seating arrange-
ments on the cost of operations and airfare; 
and 
(E) any other information determined ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date on which the study under paragraph (2) is 
completed, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
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mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
a publicly available report describing the results of 
the study conducted under paragraph (2), together 
with any recommendations the Secretary determines 
appropriate. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
Æ 
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