The House overwhelmingly passed an aviation safety bill designed to prevent a repeat plane crash like the one that unfolded at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last year.
The ALERT Act passed in a final 396-10 vote on Tuesday, garnering the necessary two-thirds majority support under the lower chamber’s fast-track rules. It now heads to the Senate, where it may face some stiff opposition.
The bipartisan legislation’s main sponsors, House Transportation Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), led the charge in striking down a similar Senate-passed bill in late February.
The ROTOR Act, spearheaded by Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), fell just short of the two-thirds majority after the Pentagon raised objections at the time. This last-minute opposition prompted House GOP leaders to let the measure fail.
Both bills sought to prevent military-commercial aircraft collisions, but their methods were different.
The ALERT Act tackles the aviation safety system more broadly by requiring pilots to use new collision-prevention technology by the end of 2031 to more accurately track nearby aircraft and updating air traffic control procedures and training. By contrast, the ROTOR Act mandated a location-broadcasting device, called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In, on all aircraft to improve safety.
The ADS-B technology was a major factor in the January 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. The system on the Black Hawk helicopter was turned off when it collided with the American Airlines flight. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed in the accident.
Cruz expressed opposition to the House bill hours before it passed, indicating he may be one of its detractors when it comes to a vote in the Senate.
“A warning to my colleagues in the House: the ALERT Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision, as it lacks the critical improvements our aviation system needs,” the senator posted on X.
“This significant issue must be addressed,” he said. “Congress should not advance a bill that neither improves aviation safety nor closes the loopholes that have allowed operators, including the military, to fly blind in congested airspace.”
HOUSE FAILS TO PASS ROTOR ACT AFTER PENTAGON RAISES LATE OBJECTIONS
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are expected to discuss the legislation as it heads toward a vote in the upper chamber.
The National Transportation Safety Board did not initially back the ALERT Act over safety concerns, but the agency later softened its disapproval of the revised bill. The NTSB favored the ROTOR Act more before it was rejected in the House because the measure addressed the major safety recommendation that seeks to close the technology gap responsible for last year’s fatal plane crash.