{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=7DF6768F-25A4-4A31-BEA2-87B155B34B50", "VIDEO: Sen. Moran Calls on Congress to Amend NDAA to Maintain Critical Aviation Safety Standards for Military Helicopters", "2025-12-11", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "KS", "Jerry Moran", "M000934", "www.moran.senate.gov", "moran", "https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) \u2013 chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation \u2013 today spoke on the Senate floor warning that the current draft of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) fails to implement the minimum standards necessary for military helicopters operating in mixed airspace. Sen. Moran called on his colleagues to amend the NDAA or pass additional legislation to maintain current safety standards.\n\nThe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy stated in a press conference this week that the current version of the NDAA could threaten safety regulations that were put in place following the fatal January 29 crash involving American Airlines Flight 5342, which originated from Wichita.\n\n\u201cI will insist and be working with my colleagues to amend the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or to otherwise pass legislation to make sure that NDAA language is at least as a minimum abiding by the safety standards that were set in place after the crash of January, the 29th,\u201d said Sen. Moran. \u201cOur aviation system is fragile. I chair the subcommittee in Commerce on Aviation and Space. We\u2019ve seen this in testimony time and time again: there is fragility in the safety of our air system, and over the last year, Congress has passed significant legislation to invest in the future safety of our airspace and introduced legislation to make our airspace safer, including the ROTOR Act. Now is not the time to take a step back from these efforts.\u201d\n\nYesterday, Sen. Moran joined his fellow members of the Senate Commerce Committee leadership in issuing a joint statement raising concerns about the NDAA provision.\n\nClick HERE to Watch Sen. Moran\u2019s Full Remarks\n\nSen. Moran\u2019s full remarks as delivered:\u201cMr. President, the deadly collision that occurred here in our nation\u2019s capital between American Airlines Flight 5342, from Wichita, Kansas, and a U.S. Army Blackhawk on January 29th, 2025, forever changed how we look and think about air travel. There were numerous circumstances that led to this horrific incident, and the NTSB\u2019s \u2013 the National Transportation Safety Board\u2019s \u2013 critical investigation into this collision is continuing even today.\n\n\u201cWhile the NTSB\u2019s final recommendations have not yet been released, the Chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, took an unusual step in publicly stating that the current version of the NDAA \u2013 the National Defense Authorization Act \u2013 does not adequately address the safety concerns surrounding the mixed airspace around DCA.\n\n\u201cShe even went on to say that the legislation \u2013 the legislation, the NDAA \u2013 she says, \u2018reverses safety changes made after the mid-air collision; after the NTSB issued urgent safety recommendations; and after Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy rightfully implemented NTSB\u2019s urgent safety recommendations.\u2019\n\n\u201cBased on the data and recommendations we\u2019ve received so far from NTSB so far, we know that:\n\n\u201cOne: There should have been limitations to rotary travel in high-traffic areas of commercial air travel.\n\n\u201cTwo: All aircraft in this space should be using position broadcast technology, nearly no exceptions,\n\n\u201cAnd three: the users of this congested air space should be communicating problems to each other, like the 15,000 \u2018near misses\u2019 that occurred around DCA in a three-year period between commercial planes and rotary aircraft. 15,000 near misses in a three-year period of time.\n\n\u201cThe current NDAA text includes a provision which misses the mark on two of these must-have provisions. Therefore, I will insist and be working with my colleagues to amend the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or to otherwise pass legislation \u2013 perhaps in the appropriations process, of which I\u2019m a member of that committee \u2013 to make sure that NDAA language is at least as a minimum abiding by the safety standards that were set in place after the crash of January, the 29th.\n\n\u201cOur aviation system is fragile. I chair the subcommittee in Commerce on Aviation and Space. We\u2019ve seen this in testimony time and time again: there is fragility in the safety of our air system, and over the last year, Congress has passed significant legislation to invest in the future safety of our airspace and introduced legislation to make our airspace safer, including the ROTOR Act.\n\n\u201cNow is not the time to take a step back from these efforts. I\u2019m grateful for the hard work of NTSB Chair Homendy and her team, and I look forward to receiving their final recommendations when that time arises.\n\n\u201cAnd I also want to say thank you to the families of the victims of Flight 5342, who have continued to be vocal advocates for the safety of our airspace in honor of the loved ones they lost.\n\n\u201cMr. President, it is important we not take a step back, but take a step forward. And I\u2019ll work in every way that I can with my colleagues to see that we accomplish that before the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. Mr. President, I yield the floor.\u201d\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=7DF6768F-25A4-4A31-BEA2-87B155B34B50"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5396990347653627, "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"}