Press Releases

Statements from Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) on today’s U.S. Department of Transportation announcement that it is establishing an advisory committee to review and provide recommendations to the Department for improving Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety oversight and certification programs, as required by the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, signed into law last year:

“Safety is our highest priority, and through the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Congress provided the structure for strong oversight of FAA certification activities.  Under that law, the Secretary is standing up the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee (SOCAC) to provide greater oversight of safety and certification programs and to assemble a broad array of experts and stakeholders to provide recommendations for improving the programs.  I commend the Department of Transportation for moving forward to begin establishing this important advisory committee, with particular focus on aircraft certification,” said Full Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves.

“Air travel is the safest mode of transportation by far, and with all the innovation and integration of technology happening across the industry right now, passenger safety remains and must continue to be the first priority.  We’re excited to see this committee get underway – the input from these additional experts will deliver another layer of insight and the kind of fact-based decision making that has made the FAA the global gold standard for aviation safety,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves.