For the third time in six months, the U.S. Senate passed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR 2) yesterday.
PBOR 2 was included this time in the National Defense Authorization Act, which cleared the Senate by an 85-13 vote, but also faces a veto threat from President Obama because of restrictions to closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. The Senate version of the defense authorization must next be reconciled with the House-passed version.
PBOR 2, which includes third-class medical reform and strengthens legal protections for pilots, first was cleared by the Senate in December as a standalone bill and then was included in comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation that passed the Senate in April 2016. PBOR 2 measures also were included in the House version of FAA reauthorization, but the fate of that bill remains uncertain. The Senate has passed these reforms three times already, and the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 has 178 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House. It’s time for the House to take action and pass Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 so we can get much needed medical reforms.