Republican News

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, today released the following statements upon inclusion of their bipartisan bill, S. 3717, the Spectrum IT Modernization Act, in the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing titled, “Examining the Federal Aviation Administration’s Oversight of Aircraft Certification,” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. The hearing will provide an opportunity to review issues associated with the design, development, certification, and operation of the Boeing 737 MAX following two international accidents in the past two years. The hearing will also consider potential opportunities to reform the certification process for transport-category aircraft.

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced the Aircraft Safety Improvement Act of 2020, which would improve aviation safety by codifying recommendations from a number of reviews and investigations related to the 737 MAX crashes. The legislation would mandate adoption of Safety Management Systems (SMS) for manufacturers, require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review its assumptions regarding pilot reaction time, and ensure a representative sample of pilots from around the world participate in flight testing. The bill would also reform the FAA’s certification processes to eliminate instances of undue pressure or “regulatory coziness” that could lead to lapses in safety protocols.