Showdown Now Set In The Senate With Their Competing Rotor Act Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026 (H.R. 7613).
The comprehensive bipartisan legislation was in response to the tragic 2025 midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a UH-60 Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
The ALERT Act was introduced in the House by Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), and Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash). The bill was approved by a vote of 396 to 10.
Graves and others in the House had rejected the Rotor Act in favor of their ALERT Act.
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, whose independent agency expressed apprehension about the ALERT Act as it was initially drafted, has since been supportive of the amended version of Graves’ and Rogers’ proposal, which advanced out of their committees in March.
The House bill would require that next-generation collision avoidance technology be on airlines by Dec. 31, 2031, with flexibility to extend this deadline by up to two years, and that similar equipment be on some civil helicopters, though when they would have to install it is open-ended and would be prescribed in a Federal Aviation Administration rule.
Smaller, non-military planes flying in busy airspace would be covered under a separate but related mandate. There would be exemptions for those that are amateur-built, for air shows or being operated for research purposes, among other uses, so long as they receive air traffic control clearance. This provision would also kick in by late 2031.
The congressional fight over the two bills revolves around Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) who have argued that compared to their bipartisan ROTOR Act, the House legislation is inadequate when it comes to improving air safety. Cruz wrote on X, “A warning to my colleagues in the House: The ALERT Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision, as it lacks the critical improvements our aviation system needs.”
One point of contention between the two bills involves military aircraft. The Senate bill seeks to limit when military helicopters nationwide can turn off a location-broadcasting device, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out, or ADS-B Out, but the ALERT Act isn’t as stringent when it comes to this issue.
FMI: www.house.gov
