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House Rejects Aviation Safety Bill Following Deadly Potomac Collision
WASHINGTON D.C. – A proposed aviation safety bill, swiftly passed by the Senate, met an unexpected end in the House on Tuesday, despite impassioned pleas from victims’ families and its author, Senator Ted Cruz. The “ROTOR Act” aimed to boost aircraft visibility following last year’s tragic mid-air collision over the Potomac River, which claimed 67 lives.
Family members of those lost in the January 2025 crash, involving an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, watched from the gallery as the House voted. Senator Cruz, R-Texas, was seen actively lobbying for support on the House floor and later consoling the grieving families after the bill failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority. The final tally was 264-133, falling short of the threshold required for passage under “suspension of the rules.”
The bill’s defeat came after the Defense Department withdrew its support on Monday, citing “significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his entire GOP leadership team ultimately voted against the measure.
Senator Cruz expressed disappointment, stating, “I think there was a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation that was put out. We came within a couple of votes of two-thirds. An overwhelming majority of the House voted for ROTOR, and I believe we’re going to pass it.”
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act sought to mandate Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) technology for nearly all aircraft and helicopters, a system that broadcasts an aircraft’s precise location.
The Pentagon, while initially working with the Senate on the legislation, pulled its support, with spokesman Sean Parnell explaining that the current draft “does not reflect several of the mutually discussed updates.”
House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., also voiced opposition, advocating for a more “calculated, scalable, and future-proof” approach than a “blanket mandate” on a single technology. Graves pledged to advance a rival House-led bill, the ALERT Act, as early as next week. This bipartisan alternative is supported by the chairs and ranking members of both the Transportation and Armed Services committees.
House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., a pilot for 45 years, echoed Graves’ sentiment, stating, “I don’t think [the ROTOR Act] went far enough for safety… And the House bill does a great job.”
The U.S. government has admitted to failures contributing to the Potomac River collision, which resulted in the deaths of 60 passengers and four crew members on American Airlines Flight 5342, and three soldiers on the military helicopter. There were no survivors in what was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since 2001. Attorneys for the government stated in court filings, “The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident.”