{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hoeven-duckworth-senate-passes-john-a-hauser-mental-health-in-aviation-act", "Hoeven, Duckworth: Senate Passes John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act", "2026-09-25", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "John Hoeven", "H001061", "www.hoeven.senate.gov", "hoeven", "https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) today issued the following statements after the U.S. Senate approved the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act, bipartisan legislation they introduced to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA) approach to mental health and medical certification. The bill, which honors John A. Hauser, a University of North Dakota (UND) aviation student from Chicago, Ill., who tragically took his own life in an aircraft in October 2021, would:\n\nImprove aviation safety by encouraging both pilots and air traffic controllers to seek mental health care, when needed.\n\nAlleviate the stigma associated with mental health.\n\nReduce the potential impact on a pilot\u2019s career when receiving care.\n\n\u201cOur nation faces a severe shortage of qualified pilots and air traffic controllers, while bureaucratic delays and outdated processes at the FAA keep these professionals from working for prolonged periods when they seek mental health care. Our Mental Health in Aviation Act would provide much-needed updates to the FAA\u2019s Medical Certificate process to help ensure pilots and air traffic controllers can get the care they need without undue repercussions to their careers,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cI appreciate Senator Duckworth for partnering with me on both this legislation and her Aviation Medication Transparency Act, which will provide more certainty regarding which medications are approved by the FAA for aviation professionals. Together, our bills will make a real difference for the well-being of pilots and controllers.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur aviation system depends on the well-being of our pilots and air traffic controllers, who operate under an immense amount of stress. Their careers should never be threatened because they weren\u2019t properly informed about which medications they\u2019re allowed to take, or simply sought the mental health care they need,\u201d said Duckworth. \u201cThese two bipartisan, commonsense bills will help make it easier for those in our aviation workforce to take care of themselves without fearing for their job security\u2014while also sending this important message to future recruits. Now that they\u2019ve passed the Senate with unanimous consent, the House must do the same so we can address bureaucratic shortcomings within the FAA, dismantle the dangerous culture of silence surrounding mental health in the aviation industry and ultimately make our skies safer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe know the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act will help many pilots and air traffic controllers more easily seek care for their mental health and are proud and humbled that it now bears our son John\u2019s name. We know that John would be very pleased that this bill and the AMTA will help other pilots seek care and reduce barriers to getting the care they need and deserve. We are extremely grateful for the work Senators John Hoeven and Tammy Duckworth and Representative Sean Casten have done to write and support both bills through Congress. This bipartisan effort will lead to meaningful change in aviation,\u201d said Anne Suh and Alan Hauser, the parents of John A. Hauser.\n\nJohn A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act\n\nThe John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act bill builds upon efforts taken by the Hauser Family and UND, including the establishment of the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Initiative Fund, the UpLift Peer Support program, which offers mental health support for aviation students from their own peers, and the North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine. Hoeven\u2019s legislation would require the FAA to:\n\nModernize mental health guidance regulations for pilots and air traffic controllers to encourage the early disclosure and treatment of mental health conditions, while also requiring a regular review of the FAA\u2019s Mental Health Special Issuance Process.\n\nProvide funding to train additional medical examiners, including specialists, to improve the efficiency of the FAA\u2019s Special Issuance Medical Certification process.\n\nUndertake a public information campaign to help reduce the stigma around mental health care in aviation and encourage aviation professionals to seek mental health care.\n\nThe full text and a summary of Hoeven\u2019s legislation can be found here and here, respectively.\n\nAviation Medication Transparency Act\n\nConcurrently, the Senate passed Senator Duckworth\u2019s Aviation Medication Transparency Act, legislation Hoeven is co-leading that requires the FAA to issue accessible, user-friendly guidance on medications that are safe for individuals in positions requiring an FAA Medical Certificate, including pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals. The FAA currently provides Aviation Medical Examiners (AME) with specific guidance on medications that are safe for individuals holding an FAA medical certificate to take \u2013 but this information is not easily accessible to aviation professionals. As a result, pilots and air traffic controllers with medical certifications may unknowingly take medications that could jeopardize their careers. To help make this information more accessible, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act would require the FAA to:\n\nPublish within one year of enactment, and update annually, a comprehensive, user-friendly and accessible list of medications that are safe for pilots, air traffic control specialists and trainees, developed in consultation with various stakeholders.\n\nIndicate what, if any, period of time individuals holding an FAA medical certificate must have limited or no duties while taking this medication.\n\nIndicate a list of medications the FAA has designated as \u201cDo Not Issue.\u201d\n\nProvide information for doctors to contact the FAA should they have any questions.\n\nThe full text of the legislation can be found here.\n\n-###-", 1, "2026-09-26T09:43:57Z", "2026-09-26T09:44:55Z"]], "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://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hoeven-duckworth-senate-passes-john-a-hauser-mental-health-in-aviation-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9763782620429993, "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"}