Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025
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The bill would require the FAA to update mental health regulations for pilots and air traffic controllers, encouraging them to seek help and disclose conditions without automatically losing their ability to fly, and to implement recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee.
It would also set aside dedicated funding to recruit more aviation medical examiners and run a public information campaign to reduce stigma around mental health care in the aviation workforce.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the FAA to revise its regulations, including part 67 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, within two years to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to seek help for and disclose mental health conditions. It would expand the mandate of the existing Aviation Workforce Mental Health Task Group to review National Transportation Safety Board recommendations and consult with pilot and controller unions and aviation medical examiners. It would require the FAA to implement mental health-related recommendations from a 2024 report and from the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee, conduct annual reviews of the special-issuance medical certificate process, reclassify approved medications, and expand aviation medical examiner authority. The bill also authorizes $13,740,000 per year for FY2026-2028 to recruit and train additional aviation medical examiners and clear case backlogs, and $1,500,000 per year for the same years for a public information campaign. If the FAA declines to implement recommendations, it must justify that decision to Congress.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the FAA to update regulations within two years to encourage aviation workers to seek help for and disclose mental health conditions
- 2Would expand the Aviation Workforce Mental Health Task Group's review requirements and mandate stakeholder consultation, and require implementation of its report's recommendations within 180 days
- 3Would require an annual review to reclassify approved medications, improve examiner training, delegate more authority to examiners, and improve the special-issuance process
- 4Would set aside $13,740,000 annually for FY2026-2028 to recruit, train, and expand oversight capacity for aviation medical examiners
- 5Would require the FAA to implement recommendations of the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee within two years
- 6Would set aside $1,500,000 annually for FY2026-2028 for a public information campaign to destigmatize mental health care in aviation
Who would be affected
Pilots, air traffic controllers, and aspiring aviation workers who seek or disclose mental health treatment; aviation medical examiners who evaluate them; the FAA's Office of Aerospace Medicine; and organizations representing pilots and controllers who would be consulted in the process.
Why it matters
Pilots and controllers currently may fear disclosing mental health conditions could end their careers, discouraging treatment. If enacted, updated regulations, more approved medications, and more trained examiners could make it easier for aviation workers to get care while keeping their certifications, potentially improving both worker wellbeing and safety oversight.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (49 U.S.C. 44703 note) (Sec. 2(b))
Adds NTSB recommendation review and clinical-study description requirements to the task group's report, and adds a stakeholder consultation requirement
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- FAA regulation updates encouraging disclosure of mental health conditions
- Implementation of task group report's mental health recommendations
- Implementation of Aviation Rulemaking Committee recommendations
- Report on public information campaign development and implementation plans
Funding and costs
- $13,740,000
recruit, train, and expand oversight of aviation medical examiners and clear special-issuance backlog
- $1,500,000
public information campaign to destigmatize mental health care in aviation
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 2591 would cost approximately $1 million over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that implementing the regulatory and reporting requirements in H.R. 2591 would cost $1 million over the 2025–2030 period, subject to the availability of appropriated funds (discretionary spending Congress must annually approve); there is no estimated effect on direct (mandatory) spending or revenues. The bill sets aside $15 million per year from 2026 through 2028 from the FAA's existing authorization for hiring medical examiners and mental health awareness campaigns, but because this draws from funds already authorized, CBO does not count it as a new spending increase. CBO identified a private-sector mandate — potential new regulations on FAA-licensed pilots and aviation medical examiners — but could not determine whether compliance costs would exceed the UMRA threshold of $206 million (in 2025 dollars) because the scope of any future regulations is not yet known; no intergovernmental mandates were identified.
How implementation would work
The FAA Administrator would have two years to update regulations and implement rulemaking committee recommendations, consulting with unions and aviation medical examiners along the way. A previously required task group report would trigger a 180-day window for the FAA to act on its recommendations, with annual reviews of special-issuance policy required afterward. If the FAA chooses not to adopt a recommendation, it must send Congress a written justification. Two funding set-asides, drawn from existing FAA appropriations authority, would run FY2026 through FY2028 for examiner recruitment and a public awareness campaign, with a report due one year after the campaign launches.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Official CRS summary
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This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review and update its regulations and policies on mental health for pilots and air traffic controllers.
The FAA must update regulations and take any other actions necessary to implement the recommendations of (1) the Aviation Workforce Mental Health Task Group, and (2) the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (the ARC).
The FAA must also annually review and update, as appropriate, the applicable regulations and policies on mental health-related special issuance for pilots and air traffic controllers. As background, an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate is a discretionary document from the FAA which allows an airman with a disqualifying medical condition to fly under a restricted medical certificate.
Among other things, the review and update must
- reclassify and approve additional medications that may be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health conditions,
- delegate additional authority to aviation medical examiners (AMEs) consistent with the ARC recommendations, and
- improve the special issuance process for pilots and air traffic controllers.
The bill authorizes the FAA to take actions to recruit and train additional AMEs.
The bill also authorizes an FAA public information campaign or education efforts to (1) destigmatize individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who seek mental health care, (2) broaden awareness of available supportive services, and (3) establish trust with pilots and air traffic controllers.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Aviation and airports; Congressional oversight; Department of Transportation; Drug therapy; Government information and archives; Health promotion and preventive care; Internet, web applications, social media; Mental health; Transportation and Public Works; Transportation employees; Transportation safety and security
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-242