Opinion: New Congressional Leaders Will Shape U.S. Aviation Policy

Dust from the 2022 Congressional election is still settling, with Democrats maintaining narrow control of the Senate and Republicans winning a slim majority in the House of Representatives. If you are an optimist, the divided Congress creates opportunities for collaboration in traditionally bipartisan policy areas, particularly aviation. The form of that collaboration will depend on the people leading key committees charged with aviation policymaking. These members of Congress take on outsized importance as the Hill takes on FAA reauthorization.

In the House, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) will take the gavel of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) (no relation to Sam) is on track to become chairman of T&I’s aviation subcommittee. With the retirement of former committee chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) at the end of the last Congress, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) has assumed the ranking position for the minority.

Larsen has chaired the aviation subcommittee for several years and has deep knowledge of aviation policy. He has a record of working across the aisle and has been a leader on aviation workforce policy issues. He also represents an aviation-heavy district in Washington, so he has first-hand knowledge about how aviation affects the local economy. In response to Larsen’s promotion, there will be a new ranking member on the aviation subcommittee. Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.) and Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) are next in seniority.

On the Senate side, the faces will mostly stay the same. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) will remain chair of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) will keep the aviation subcommittee gavel. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is set to take the full committee ranking member spot. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the current Commerce ranking member, is expected to take the top GOP spot on the Senate Armed Services Committee and may take over from Cruz as ranking member on the aviation subcommittee.

Once the leadership decisions are resolved and staffing decisions are made, the committee members will roll up their sleeves and get to work on FAA reauthorization. ARSA is hopeful that, given the experience of committee leaders, the process will proceed apace and be complete by the Sept. 30 deadline. Industry members should be ready for a full year of working with Congress to get the ball over the goal line.

Christian A. Klein is the managing member of Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, overseeing the firm’s policy advocacy practice. He is also executive vice president of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association.