S. 1405: Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-06-22 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 407.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-06-22 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 407. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017

Plain summary

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill reauthorizes through FY2021 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and specified FAA programs. The bill revises requirements for the airport improvement program and pilot program for passenger facility charges at nonhub airports. Forward Looking Investment in General Aviation, Hangars, and Tarmacs Act of 2017 or the FLIGHT Act of 2017 The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall implement an expedited and coordinated environmental review process for general aviation airport construction or improvement projects. DOT shall establish a public-private partnership program for building or improving hangars, businesses, or other facilities at: general aviation airports, and privately owned airports for public use that do not have scheduled air service. The Government Accountability Office shall review privacy issues and concerns associated with the operation of unmanned aircraft (drones) in the national airspace system. The FAA shall establish a process for the acceptance of risk-based, consensus safety standards for the safe integration of small drones into such system. DOT shall issue guidance for the operation of public drones. The FAA shall develop a plan for the deployment of technologies to detect and mitigate potential airspace safety threats posed by drones. Drone Operator Safety Act The bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to operate a drone that knowingly or recklessly interferes with or disrupts the operation of an aircraft carrying one or more occupants in U.S. airspace. DOT shall establish a Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. The FAA shall take specified actions to improve airline passenger safety. Commercial Balloon Pilot Safety Act of 2017 The bill directs the FAA to revise federal regulations to apply medical certificate of physical fitness requirements that are applicable to pilot flight crewmembers to operators of air balloons. Fairness for Pilots Act The bill amends the Pilot's Bill of Rights to revise the authorization for appeal to a federal court by a substantially affected individual from a decision of the National Transportation Safety Board to uphold an adverse FAA order or final decision. The bill specifies the suspension or revocation of an airman certificate as the punitive civil action which may be appealed. A U.S. district court shall review de novo an FAA denial, suspension, or revocation of an airman certificate. The bill prescribes certain requirements with respect to improving passenger air service. Transparency Improvements and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe Act of 2017 or the TICKETS Act The bill prescribes requirements to prohibit an air carrier from denying an air passenger from boarding a flight without the consent of the passenger cleared to board such flight unless such passenger presents a safety, security, or health risk, to oneself or others, or engages in obscene, disruptive, or unlawful behavior. The bill reauthorizes through FY2021 the essential air service program and the small community air service development program. NextGen Accountability Act The bill amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to direct the FAA to establish annual NextGen (i.e., Next Generation Air Transportation System) performance goals for each of the national airspace system performance metrics to meet identified performance metric baselines with respect to NextGen projects. Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2017 The FAA shall issue an order requiring the installation of a secondary cockpit barrier on each new aircraft that is manufactured for delivery to a U.S. passenger air carrier.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 1405, Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2017 (2017-08-31)

Cosponsors on this site

Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] reported raising $4.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s1405.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s1405 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115