{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-approves-faa-reauthorization-legislation-including-rep-tokudas-bill", "House Approves FAA Reauthorization Legislation, Including Rep. Tokuda's Bill Addressing Air Safety Concerns", "2024-05-15", "2024", "2024-05", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Jill N. Tokuda", "T000487", "tokuda.house.gov", "tokuda", "https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases?PageNum_rs=7&", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, which includes improved air safety standards as well as an increase in workforce and consumer protection.\n\nThe legislation authorizes more than $105 billion in appropriations for the FAA through Fiscal Year 2028, including $66.7 billion for key safety programs. It addresses air traffic controller shortages by requiring the FAA to implement better staffing standards to help fill thousands of vacant positions. The bill will not change the mandatory pilot retirement age which remains at 65.\n\nApproval of this bill also means the passage of the Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023, which Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02) introduced alongside Sen. Brian Schatz (HI). It increases safety standards for skydiving and commercial air tour operators, following the 2019 Mokul\u0113\u2018ia crash on O\u02bbahu that killed 11 people. In Hawai\u2018i, at least 85 people have died in air tour crashes since the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began keeping records \u2013 the highest number of any state.\n\n\u201cWe can never let the Mokul\u0113\u2018ia tragedy ever happen again. Incidents in the skies are unacceptable and we must do better to protect passengers. With the passage of this bill, we will ensure better aviation safety requirements and save lives,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda. \u201cAs a frequent traveler between Capitol Hill and the different counties I represent in Hawai\u02bbi, I have also experienced issues with canceled or delayed flights. I have heard so many heartbreaking stories of people missing medical appointments and family milestone events. This legislation will give consumers more rights and ensure airlines are held accountable for their actions.\u201d\n\nAs part of the FAA Reauthorization Act, travelers will have the right to a hassle-free refund if a flight is canceled or delayed three hours domestically and six hours for international flights.\n\nThe U.S. Senate passed the bill last week. The legislation now heads to President Biden\u2019s desk to be signed into law.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:01:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-approves-faa-reauthorization-legislation-including-rep-tokudas-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.068746205419302, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}