Senate Passes John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act to Modernize FAA Regulations
The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed two bipartisan bills aimed at reforming mental health regulations and medication transparency for pilots and air traffic controllers. The primary legislation, the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act, mandates the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to update its mental health rules and allocates up to $15 million annually from 2026 to 2028 for recruiting and training aviation medical examiners, including psychiatrists. The second bill, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act, requires the FAA to publish a clear, annually updated list of approved medications for aviation personnel. These bills were sponsored by Senators John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois). The John A. Hauser Act is named after a University of North Dakota aviation student who died by suicide in 2021, whose family has since advocated for changes in aviation mental health policies.
