View source for Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013

{{Infobox United States federal proposed legislation
| name = Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013
| fullname = To ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances the safety of small airplanes, and the continued development of the general aviation industry, and for other purposes.
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| introduced in the = 113th
| sponsored by = [[Mike Pompeo|Rep. Mike Pompeo (R, KS-4)]]
| number of co-sponsors = 4
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| sections affected = {{USCSub|15|3701|note}},
| agenciesaffected = [[United States Congress]], [[Federal Aviation Administration]],
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| leghisturl      = {{USBill|113|H.R.|1848}}
| introducedin    = House
| introducedbill  = {{USBill|113|H.R.|1848}}
| introducedby    = [[Mike Pompeo|Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS)]]
| introduceddate  = May 7, 2013
| committees      = [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]], [[United States House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation]]
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The '''Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013''' ({{USBill|113|H.R.|1848}}) is a bill related to airplane regulations in the [[United States of America]] that was introduced into the [[United States House of Representatives]] during the [[113th United States Congress]].  The bill would require the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] to adopt the recommendations of the "Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee" about ways to modernize regulations on small aircraft.

According to a fact sheet provided by the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]], the [[general aviation]] industry "includes nearly 600,000 pilots, employs roughly 1.3 million people, and contributes approximately $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy."<ref name=factsheet1848>{{cite web|title=Fact Sheet: H.R. 1848 – Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013|url=http://docs.house.gov/meetings/PW/PW00/20130710/101126/HMKP-113-PW00-20130710-SD001.pdf|publisher=Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|accessdate=15 July 2013}}</ref>  The industry has been undergoing some recent decline, some of which is blamed on outdated and inappropriate regulations that stifle innovation and unnecessarily increase costs.<ref name="factsheet1848"/>  The Federal Aviation Administration began to deal with this situation in August 2011 by chartering the "Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee."<ref name="factsheet1848"/>  The Committee was "charged with creating a progressive, tier-based system so that small recreational airplanes won't have to be designed and certificated under the same regulatory requirements as heavier, more complex and higher performance aircraft."<ref name=aug2011eaanews>{{cite news|title=FAA Forms ARC to Reorganize Part 23|url=http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-08-25_arc.asp|accessdate=15 July 2013|newspaper=EAA.org News|date=25 August 2011}}</ref>   The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) are divided into different Parts, with Part 23 comprising the section of rules related to small planes.  In June 2013, this Committee finished writing its recommendation for changes to make to FAR Part 23 "to remove barriers to bringing new, safer airplane designs to market."<ref name="factsheet1848"/>  The Committee's recommendations included "(1) removing prescriptive methods of compliance, (2) ensuring safety objectives address future technologies, (3) utilizing FAA-accepted consensus standards, (4) developing globally acceptable regulations, and (5) implementing these recommendations as soon as possible."<ref name="factsheet1848"/>  There is also the possibility that these new regulations will be adopted by other countries, helping to set international standards.<ref name="pt23rewrite"/>

==Provisions/Elements of the bill==
''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the [[Congressional Research Service]], a [[public domain]] source.''<ref name=1848sum>{{cite web|title=H.R. 1848 - Summary|url=http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1848|publisher=United States Congress|accessdate=15 July 2013}}</ref>

The Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 would direct the Administrator of the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) to advance the safety and continued development of small airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements to streamline the approval of safety advancements.<ref name="1848sum"/>

The bill would require the Administrator to issue a final rule meeting certain consensus-based standards and FAA Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee objectives, including to: (1) create a regulatory regime for small [[Aviation safety|airplane safety]]; (2) set broad, outcome-driven objectives that will spur small plane innovation and technology adoption; (3) replace current, prescriptive requirements contained in FAA rules with performance-based regulations; and (4) use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how Part 23 safety objectives may be met by specific small plane safety designs and technologies.<ref name="1848sum"/>

The final rule required by this bill would be due by December 31, 2015.<ref name="factsheet1848"/>  On July 23, 2014, the FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety testified that the agency would miss the December 2015 deadline.<ref name=SARAdelay>{{cite web|title=Certification reform will be delayed, FAA tells Congress|url=http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/July/25/Certification-reform-will-be-delayed-FAA-tells-Congress}}</ref>  The FAA estimated that the implementation of the new rules would not be completed until 2017.<ref name="SARAdelay"/>

==Procedural history==
The Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 was introduced into the House on May 7, 2013 by [[Mike Pompeo|Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS)]].<ref name=AllCongActions1848>{{cite web|title=H.R. 1848 - All Congressional Actions|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:H.R.1848:@@@X|publisher=Library of Congress|accessdate=15 July 2013}}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It was referred to the [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]] and the [[United States House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation]].<ref name="AllCongActions1848"/>  On July 10, 2013, the bill was reported (amended) by a [[voice vote]] of the Committee.  The House Majority Leader [[Eric Cantor]] placed the bill on the schedule for the week of July 15, 2013,<ref name=scheduleJuly15>{{cite web|title=Leader's Weekly Schedule - Week of July 15, 2013|url=http://majorityleader.gov/floor/7-15-13.pdf|publisher=House Majority Leader's Office|accessdate=15 July 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001013434/http://majorityleader.gov/floor/7-15-13.pdf|archivedate=1 October 2013}}</ref> and it passed unanimously (411-0) on July 18, 2013.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.eaa.org/news/2013/2013-07-18_small-airplane-revitalization-act-passes-house.asp | title = Small Airplane Revitalization Act Passes House, Heads to Senate | date = 2013-07-18 | publisher = Experimental Aircraft Association }}</ref>

==Debate and discussion==
Arguing in favor of the bill when he introduced it, Rep. [[Mike Pompeo]] said, "The existing outdated certification process needlessly increases the cost of safety and technology upgrades by up to 10 times. With this bill, we can ensure that the general aviation industry has what it needs to thrive."<ref name=pt23rewrite>{{cite news|last=Bellamy III|first=Woodrow|title=Part 23 Rewrite Effort Gains Traction With New Bill|url=http://www.aviationtoday.com/the-checklist/Part-23-Rewrite-Effort-Gains-Traction-With-New-Bill_79204.html#.UeQMh0GyDdc|accessdate=15 July 2013|newspaper=Aviation Today|date=May 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name=pompeosite1>{{cite web|title=Rep. Mike Pompeo Introduces Small Aircraft Revitalization Act of 2013|url=http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=332856|publisher=Congressman Pompeo's House Page|accessdate=15 July 2013}}</ref>

The bill was supported by a number of aviation industry groups and companies.  Michael Thacker, senior vice president of engineering at [[Cessna]], an American aircraft company, spoke in favor of the bill, saying that "the active and willing participation of the FAA and other international regulatory bodies has been critical to the success of this effort so far."<ref name="pompeosite1"/>  Pete Bunce, president and CEO of [[General Aviation Manufacturers Association]] (GAMA), an aviation industry trade association, also spoke in favor of the bill.<ref name="pompeosite1"/>  The bill received additional support from [[Cirrus Aircraft]] co-founder and CEO, [[Klapmeier brothers|Dale Klapmeier]], and  [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] (EAA) Vice President, Doug Macnair.<ref name=eaanewsjuly11>{{cite news|title=Small Airplane Revitalization Act Clears First Hurdle|url=http://www.eaa.org/news/2013/2013-07-11_small-airplane-revitalization-act-clears-first-hurdle.asp|accessdate=15 July 2013|newspaper=EAA.org News|date=11 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="businessnorth.com">{{cite news|title=Congress OKs laws that help small aircraft manufacturers|url=http://www.businessnorth.com/viewarticle.asp?articleid=5685|accessdate=14 November 2014|newspaper=BusinessNorth.com|date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

The Small Aircraft Revitalization Act of 2013's companion bill, introduced by [[Amy Klobuchar|Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)]] and [[Lisa Murkowski|Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)]], {{USBill|113|S.|1072}} (which is considered nearly identical), was criticized for two reasons by [[Aviation International News]] editor-in-chief Matt Thurber, an FAA antagonist. First, he argued that the bill was unlikely to make a difference because "the FAA, like any government bureaucracy, will not give up power without a big fight that could last for years or even decades."<ref name=AINblogMay30>{{cite news|last=Thurber|first=Matt|title=AIN Blog: Let's Kick The FAA Into Action On New Regulations|url=http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/blogs/ain-blog-lets-kick-faa-action-new-regulations|accessdate=15 July 2013|newspaper=AINonline|date=30 May 2013}}</ref> Second, he argued that the bill was too limited in scope; it dealt only with Part 23 covering regulations on new constructions, but does not do anything to fix regulations in Part 21 covering the modification of used planes (to update them with new safety equipment, autopilot, etc.).<ref name="AINblogMay30"/> Despite these criticisms, the bill passed Congress on 14 November 2013, ultimately being signed by President [[Barack Obama]] on 27 November 2013.<ref name=MidwestFlyer.com>{{cite news|title=President Obama Signs Small Airplane Revitalization Act Into Law|url=http://www.midwestflyer.com/?p=6914|accessdate=14 November 2014|newspaper=Midwest Flyer|date=29 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=GeneralAviationNews>{{cite news|title=President signs Small Plane Revitalization Act|url=http://generalaviationnews.com/2013/12/01/president-signs-small-plane-revitalization-act/|accessdate=14 November 2014|newspaper=General Aviation News.com|date=1 December 2013}}</ref> Klobuchar hailed the bill as having the ability to cut red tape for small aircraft manufacturers, and speed up the process of bringing new aircraft and jobs to the aviation market.<ref name="businessnorth.com"/>

==See also==
*[[List of bills in the 113th United States Congress]]
*[[Aviation safety]]
*[[Airplane]]
*[[Federal Aviation Administration]]

==Notes/References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1848; 113th Congress)}}
*[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.113hr1848 Library of Congress - Thomas H.R. 1848]
*[http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1848 beta.congress.gov H.R. 1848]
*[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1848 GovTrack.us H.R. 1848]
*[https://archive.today/20130717081245/https://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-h1848/show OpenCongress.org H.R. 1848]
*[http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/113_HR_1848.html WashingtonWatch.com H.R. 1848]

{{US government sources}}

[[Category:Acts of the 113th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Federal Aviation Administration]]
[[Category:Aviation safety]]