February 26, 2015 - Bipartisan “Pilot’s Bill of Rights II” legislation has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that would put EAA-supported aeromedical reform into effect along with a number of other protections for pilots and other airmen.

The Senate bill (S. 571) is co-sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. Steven Daines (R-MT), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Sen. Angus King (I-ME), and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Parallel legislation in the House (H.R. 1062) is co-sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN). The bill is an expansion of the original Pilot’s Bill of Rights that was passed by Congress in 2012 and signed by President Obama, as well as an effort to further advance the aeromedical reforms first proposed in the General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2014 introduced by Sen. Boozman and Rep. Rokita.

The first provision of the new legislation is expansion of the Federal Aviation Administration’s current exemption from third-class medical requirements for sport pilots to cover general aviation aircraft up to 6,000 pounds, carrying up to five passengers, for both VFR and IFR flights at up to 14,000 feet. The bill would also prohibit FAA enforcement for third-class medical certificate violations unless the FAA has issued regulations within 180 days of the enactment of this legislation.

...(more at source)