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Congress Passes Legislation to Accelerate Safe AAM Integration
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), which captures Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Regional Air Mobility (RAM), is an already proven form of sustainable transportation technology that helps high-paying jobs, reduces vehicle traffic on our nation’s roadways, and connects rural and urban areas throughout the country. This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two critical and forward-looking pieces of legislation with broad bipartisan support. AUVSI is proud to support both bills.
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6270, the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization (AAIM) Act, which will help state, local, and tribal governments prepare for AAM operations. The bill establishes a pilot program to invest $25 million in comprehensive planning grants for the development and deployment of AAM vertiports and related infrastructure. The Senate companion version passed last month out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. AUVSI looks forward to seeing H.R. 6270, which was pre-negotiated with the Senate, pass the full Senate and be signed into law by President Biden soon.
AUVSI thanks the sponsors of H.R. 6270: Aviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen [D-WA-2], Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member and Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus Co-Chair Garret Graves [R-LA-6], and Aviation Subcommittee Member and Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus Co-Chair Dina Titus [D-NV-1]. We also thank the sponsors of the Senate version of the AAIM Act, S. 4246: Sens. Alex Padilla [D-CA] and Jerry Moran [R-KS], in addition to all Members of Congress who cosponsored both bills and had a hand in their passage.
On Tuesday, the House also passed S. 516, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act, which instructs the U.S. Department of Transportation to create an AAM interagency working group to “evaluate, plan, and coordinate efforts regarding the safety, infrastructure, and security of the developing AAM ecosystem in the United States.” The bill, which previously passed by unanimous voice vote in the U.S. Senate, now heads to the President to be signed into law, which we expect to happen soon.
The AAM industry is rapidly growing into a safe, efficient, and sustainable user of our National Airspace System (NAS). AAM technologies and aircraft can carry larger payloads, including people and cargo, with varying levels of autonomy. To ensure the U.S. remains a leader in aviation innovation, we must embrace new technologies and support new rules and necessary funding necessary to facilitate their operations. Legislative and regulatory changes are necessary to facilitate their scaled integration.
H.R. 6270 and S. 516 will ensure stakeholders and regulators at both the federal and local levels are prepared to safely integrate AAM into the airspace and therefore reap the benefits this technology is poised to bring to communities around the country. AUVSI members are laying the foundation for this industry’s future, and we will continue to advocate for commonsense changes to regulatory frameworks that allow safe and scalable AAM operations.
