The record

LegislationLegislation· Oct 2026
S 3257 Passed Senate — in House

Sponsored by John Hoeven (R)

John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act

Requires the FAA to update mental health rules for pilots and air traffic controllers within 18 months.

Tradeoff

Costs about $4 million in federal spending to review policies and run awareness campaigns through 2028. Private-sector compliance costs depend on FAA regulations not yet finalized.

What's in it

See official bill text

Costs approximately $4 million over 2026-2031 in federal spending subject to , plus an unquantified private-sector compliance burden from potential new FAA regulations.

The $4 million is just the federal cost to review policies, run public awareness campaigns, and report to Congress—the bill's real impact on pilots and medical examiners depends on what new rules the FAA eventually writes, which could either reduce or increase their regulatory burden.

S. 3257, Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2026 · May 2026

Passed the Senate by on September 24, 2026 — sitting in the House.

  1. Senate

    Introduced

    (Nov 20, 2025)

  2. Senate

    Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation(Nov 20, 2025)

  3. Senate

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to send it to the floor

    Reported(Apr 14, 2026)

    Committee report S. Rept. 119-139.

  4. Senate · Amended

    Senator Hoeven's

    Agreed to by (S.Amdt. 6834 · Sep 24, 2026)

    Drops the $1,500,000 yearly public information campaign on aviation mental health and adds new funding for aviation medical examiner recruitment, training and oversight.

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Sep 24, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  6. House

    Received from the Senate

    Received(Oct 1, 2026)