WASHINGTON — The House rejected an aviation safety bill Tuesday that the Senate passed unanimously because of the collision between an American Airlines jetliner and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River last year.
Family members of some of the 67 crash victims watched from the gallery above the chamber as House members voted on the ROTOR Act.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the bill’s author, was seen on the House floor trying to drum up support at the last minute. He was seen comforting family members after the vote failed.
The tally was 264-133, falling short of the three-thirds margin required for passage as it was fast-tracked under a process known as “suspension.” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his GOP leadership team voted against the bill after the Defense Department came out against it on Monday.
“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation that’s been put out there,” Cruz told reporters after the House vote, vowing not to give up. “We came within a few thirds of three votes. The majority of the House voted for ROTOR, and I believe we will pass it.”
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform, or ROTOR, Act would establish “new requirements for all airplanes and helicopters to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B)” — technology that broadcasts the airspace.
The legislation passed the Senate unanimously in December, giving it momentum as it heads to the House. But the Pentagon pulled its support on Monday.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement Monday that while the department is working with the Senate on the legislation, it “does not reflect several of the revisions discussed” and could interfere with “national defense operations.”
“As currently written, the legislation would create a significant unaddressed budget burden and security risk affecting national defense operations,” Parnell said. “The Department remains ready to continue productive discussions with Congress to ensure that the legislation achieves its safety goals while protecting critical operational capabilities and resources.”
House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., voiced opposition to the legislation Monday night, and, in a statement, said that “any effective order or mandate from Congress will be calculated, incremental, and future-proof — not a blanket mandate that limits the aviation community to a single technology.”
Graves has pledged to bring a rival, House-led aviation security bill called the ALERT Act to his committee for a sign-up as soon as next week.
“If the ROTOR Act is approved by the House today, I commit to the supporters of that legislation, to the families of the accident victims, and to the aviation community, that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will mark up the WARNING Act as soon as next week and we will work with our colleagues in the Senate to get this right,” Graves said in a statement on Tuesday. “Safety will always be my top priority, which is why it’s important that we address the NTSB’s recommendations in a timely manner.”
The ALERT Act is bipartisan and led by the chairmen and ranking members of the Transportation and Armed Services committees.
House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., a member of Johnson’s leadership team, emphasized Graves’ desire to take an alternative path to the House.
“I don’t think so [the ROTOR Act] go far enough to be safe,” Hern said in an interview after Tuesday’s vote.” As a pilot for 45 years, there isn’t a pilot I know or know who doesn’t want as much safety and security as possible – not just for their own lives but for the lives of those flying. And the House bill does a good job.”
The US government admitted in court papers to the failure that led to the mid-air collision over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025. Sixty passengers and four crew members died on American Airlines Flight 5342; Three soldiers were also killed in a military plane.
There are no survivors. It was the deadliest plane crash in the US since 2001.
“The United States acknowledges that it owes the Plaintiffs a duty of care, which it breached, thereby causing the horrific accident,” state attorneys said in court.
