Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 516) to plan for and coordinate efforts to integrate advanced air mobility aircraft into the national airspace system, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 516, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 516, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act.

Last November, this Chamber took a critical first step in fostering innovative advanced air mobility, AAM, in the U.S., by passing with an overwhelming majority, H.R. 1339, companion legislation also titled Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act.

That bill would establish an interagency working group comprised of the Federal Government, States, localities, the aviation industry, labor unions, and other key stakeholders to plan and coordinate efforts to safely integrate AAM operations into our airspace system.

Today, we are one step closer to making what was once only thought of as a figment of the imagination--as people used to refer to flying cars and things like that. S. 516, as amended, reflects a bipartisan, bicameral agreement that will make this a reality.

It will require the development of an AAM National Strategy; include a Government Accountability Office study on the interests, roles and responsibilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments affected by AAM aircraft and operations; and direct the Department of Transportation to conduct an evaluation of whether the AAM working group should be terminated after the group submits its required recommendations to Congress. It will incorporate relevant language and technical corrections from H.R. 1339; and clarify the key stakeholders with whom the new AAM working group will collaborate.

The Federal Government industry stakeholders alike recognize the potential for AAM aircraft to alleviate traffic congestion, reduce the current burden on surface infrastructure, create good-paying U.S. jobs, and provide a more environmentally sustainable mode of daily transportation.

As these new aircraft emerge in an already complex national airspace, we must be certain that they are safe for

those on board, those on the ground, and fully and safely and effectively integrated into the national airspace system.

The interagency working group and subsequent AAM National Strategy on safety, security, and infrastructure will help support the development and deployment of AAM and advance U.S. leadership in this growing global industry.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsors of the original House bill, Representatives Sharice Davids and Garret Graves, for their bipartisan effort.

Mr. Speaker, I support S. 516, as amended, and I urge all my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have just heard the bipartisan consensus expressed by the two speakers on that side about the looming extraordinary importance of this industry and how we have to get it right as we move forward to not impede it but also to protect safety.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly recommend this legislation to my colleagues, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, to maintain safe airspace, we know we have to have coordination. Think about all of the moving parts that are required to keep people safe in that shared resource. That kind of coordination is also important at the Federal level if we want to keep everybody safe, and if we want to make sure AAM keeps moving in the right direction.

That is what S. 516 does, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act. It makes sure that we are able to continue moving forward and that AAM has the Federal support it needs from a variety of agencies to be successful.

As the chairman mentioned, we had a similar bill, H.R. 1339, which passed the House overwhelmingly, 383 yeas to 41 nays.

I think we all realize that that kind of strong bipartisan support is not always as typical around here as we would like. Of course, this has got a Senate number so, of course, we have strong bicameral support as well. Indeed, the text that is before us today has been amended, and so it reflects language that has been negotiated and agreed upon, Mr. Speaker, by both Chambers.

This sort of bipartisan, bicameral agreement ensures that industry and government can start to hash out these questions on the tough and sometimes thorny issues that have to be addressed so that we make sure that innovative new entrants are able to operate safely within our transportation system.

We know that it is not always easy to deal with the Senate--our colleagues on the other side of the Capitol--but my hope is that once we pass this legislation, they will quickly take up the amended bill and send it to the President's desk for speedy signing into law.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Congresswoman Sharice Davids, as well as Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves, whom I am normally loath to say anything good about, but in this instance, I will. I thank them both for their leadership on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman from California just did a wonderful job rattling off a number of key questions that policymakers have to settle on before we can make sure that AAM is safely integrated into our existing airports and airspace. This bill will do much to make sure that we have the coordination that will be necessary to answer those questions.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, American aviation--something we care about greatly in Kansas but across the country--it is entering a new era of innovation and of growth. Industry and government in this circumstance need to work together to make certain the United States stays competitive and remains the leader in this arena.

In today's technology and research and development, there are unmanned vehicles. They are autonomous. They will be flying passengers and cargo from point to point in the United States.

These vehicles will take off vertically and land vertically, and it is important for us to begin the preparation for that development in our airspace, at our airports, in our communities, and across the country.

Bipartisan legislation, which I have introduced along with Senator Sinema, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act, has been waiting Senate approval for weeks.

This legislation would instruct the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead a working group comprised of members of various government Agencies and the civil aviation industry--a public- private effort.

Their objective would be for them to review the steps needed to mature AAM past its initial operations, ensure a robust domestic supply chain, identify current Federal policies that can be leveraged to advance this industry.

I thank Senator Sinema for her help in moving this bill forward. It has been approved by the Commerce Committee, and the advocacy groups have been engaged in helping us develop the legislation and helping us work its way through the committee and through the Senate.

I also thank a number of Kansans who have provided information and support for this endeavor.

This legislation is crucial to ensuring the United States remains a leader in the aviation sector for years to come, and I am anxious for it to become law with the President's signature.

Therefore, as if in legislative session, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 516.

Mr. President, now I move to concur in the House amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. Speaker, advanced air mobility has the potential to revolutionize personal transportation in the United States.

Imagine a future just a few years from now where instead of summoning a taxicab, Mr. Speaker, you walk several blocks to a nearby vertiport where an autonomous aerial vehicle comes down to pick you up, hovers briefly, touches down, the doors open for you, and it takes you straight to your destination at a cost similar to calling an Uber today. That is the potential of advanced air mobility. Unfortunately, it is going to require the coordination and cooperation of many different Federal, State, and local government agencies to realize its potential.

There are many thorny problems that have to be solved before that reality is available to us, for example, problems around the certification of these vehicles and problems around the regulation of the industry.

Are they regulated like a taxicab operator, or are they regulated like an air carrier?

Who pays for and conducts the planning for these vertiports?

What considerations are there for aircraft noise?

What certification standards surround the autonomous vehicle software that controls these aerial vehicles?

All of these are problems that will have to be solved before this can become a reality.

If we are not careful about laying the foundation for success with this industry, then, unfortunately, regulation will serve to crush this optimistic future instead of catalyzing it.

That is why I am so happy that we are considering two important bills with respect to advanced air mobility on the floor of the House today. The first of these bills will establish a working group of different government agencies whose coordination and cooperation will be necessary to solve some of these regulatory problems that face this burgeoning industry.

The second of these bills will establish a new grant program for the planning and development of the infrastructure necessary to support advanced air mobility.

Mr. Speaker, together these bills represent a very meaningful first investment in this incredibly exciting new industry. I urge support, and I am happy to see the House take up these bills tonight.

Madam Speaker, I was not present for the following Roll Call votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Roll Call vote No. 263, On Agreeing to the Amendment (Dingell of Michigan Part D Amendment En Bloc No. 2, I would have voted YEA;

Roll Call vote No. 264, On Agreeing to the Amendment, Kildee of Michigan Part D Amendment No. 4, I would have voted NAY;

Roll Call vote No. 265, On Agreeing to the Amendment, Butterfield of North Carolina Part D Amendment No. 5, I would have voted NAY;

Roll Call vote No. 266, On Motion to Recommit (H.R. 2773) Recovering America's Wildlife Act, I would have voted YEA;

Roll Call vote No. 267, On Passage of the bill (H.R. 2773) Recovering America's Wildlife Act, I would have voted NAY;

Roll Call vote No. 268, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, the bill (S. 516), to plan for and coordinate efforts to integrate advanced air mobility aircraft into the national airspace system, and for other purposes, I would have voted YEA; and for

Roll Call No. 269, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass the bill (H.R. 721), to

amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, review a final rule of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes, I would have voted NAY.