American Aviator Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3128 To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a pilot program to provide veterans with pilot training services. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2023 Ms. SCHRIER (for herself, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Ms. STRICKLAND, and Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin- istration to establish a pilot program to provide veterans with pilot training services. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Aviator 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE VETERANS WITH 6 PILOT TRAINING SERVICES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 8 Aviation Administration (in this section referred to as the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.IH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3128 IH ‘‘Administrator’’), in consultation with the Secretary of 1 Education and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall es- 2 tablish a program to provide assistance in the form of 3 grants to eligible entities that provide pilot training activi- 4 ties and related education to support a pathway for vet- 5 erans to become commercial aviators. 6 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 7 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a pilot school or provi- 8 sional pilot school that— 9 (1) holds an Air Agency Certificate under part 10 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and 11 (2) has an established employment pathway 12 with at least 1 air carrier operating under part 121 13 or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 14 (c) PRIORITY APPLICATION.—In selecting eligible en- 15 tities to award grants to under this section, the Adminis- 16 trator shall give priority to eligible entities that meet the 17 following criteria: 18 (1) The eligible entity is accredited (as defined 19 in section 61.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula- 20 tions) by an accrediting agency recognized by the 21 Secretary of Education. 22 (2) The eligible entity holds a letter of author- 23 ization issued in accordance with section 61.169 of 24 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.IH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3128 IH (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from a grant received 1 by an eligible entity under the pilot program shall be used 2 for the following: 3 (1) Administrative costs related to implementa- 4 tion of the program, not to exceed 10 percent of the 5 amount awarded. 6 (2) To provide guidance and pilot training serv- 7 ices, including tuition and flight training fees for 8 veterans enrolled with the eligible entity and any 9 training required to reach proficiency, to the vet- 10 erans enrolled to support them in obtaining any of 11 the following pilot certificates and ratings: 12 (A) Private pilot certificate. 13 (B) Instrument rating. 14 (C) Commercial pilot certificate. 15 (D) Multi-engine rating. 16 (E) Certificated flight instructor single en- 17 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 18 (F) Certificated flight instructor multi-en- 19 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 20 (G) Certificated flight instructor instru- 21 ment certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 22 (3) To provide books, training materials, and 23 equipment to support pilot training activities and re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.IH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3128 IH lated education for veterans enrolled with the eligible 1 entity. 2 (4) To provide periodic reports to the Adminis- 3 trator on use of the grant funds, including docu- 4 mentation of training completion of the certificates 5 and ratings described in subparagraphs (A) through 6 (G) of paragraph (2). 7 (e) COORDINATION WITH VETERANS EDUCATION 8 BENEFITS.—In the event a veteran participates in the 9 pilot program who is entitled to educational assistance for 10 veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of 11 Veterans Affairs— 12 (1) any costs of the veteran in participation in 13 the pilot program that are covered by such edu- 14 cational assistance shall be borne by the veteran 15 using such educational assistance; and 16 (2) any costs incurred by the veteran in partici- 17 pation in the pilot program that are not covered by 18 such educational assistance, including the cost of a 19 private or commercial pilot license, may be borne by 20 the eligible entity concerned using grant amounts 21 awarded to the eligible entity for purposes of the 22 pilot program. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3128.IH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3128 IH (f) APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, 1 there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each 2 of the fiscal years 2024 through 2029. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3128.IH H3128 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS