Aeromedical Reform Now Codified
A huge number of EAA members and other aviators will now be free from many of the expenses and hassles of the current FAA medical certification system under legislation signed today by President Obama that reforms that system. The provision was included in an FAA funding extension that replaces a short-term funding measure that expired today.
“It’s important to celebrate this moment, which has been a long time coming and resulted from an incredible amount of work over the past five years,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO/Chairman. “EAA was a leader in getting this done because it was the right thing to do for members, working in cooperation with fellow aviation organizations, congressional leaders, and others to persistently pursue this path against many challenges. This win is for everyone who loves recreational flight.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), a longtime pilot and EAA member who authored the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 that contained the medical reform language, will be in Oshkosh to discuss the new law. Sen. Inhofe will speak on Saturday, July 30 at 10 a.m. in Forum Pavilion 1. Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Todd Rokita (R-IN), who led the effort in the House, are also expected to attend AirVenture.
The aeromedical reform was indicated as a top advocacy priority for EAA members for a number of years, and led to EAA and AOPA initially petitioning the FAA for changes in the third-class medical certification process. The goal was to reduce the unnecessary regulatory and expense barriers that pushed aviators out of recreational flying and kept potential pilots from engaging in aviation. This new law, which will fully take effect within the next 12 months, surpasses the initial petition request by including more pilots and aircraft.
“This gives a tremendous win to celebrate at Oshkosh this year,” Pelton said. “The aeromedical reform, along with the announcements of the initial STC for reduced avionics costs and the recent clarified and improved hangar use policy within the past three months, shows that EAA gets it done for its members with hard work and solid relationships with policymakers.”
“We did it together! Medical reforms are now the law, and that’s a big win for general aviation. It has taken years of commitment and hard work to make these reforms a reality," said AOPA president Mark Baker. "AOPA and EAA started the current reform effort back in 2012 when we petitioned the FAA for a medical exemption but the terms of that petition were much more limited than what pilots will get under the new reform law. This is something our entire community can get excited about. The reforms are now law and that means we’re in the home stretch when it comes to getting more pilots flying without compelling them to repeatedly go through the expensive and burdensome medical certification process. But there’s more work to do to ensure that the law is translated into regulations that make sense and work in the real world.”
(Source: EAA news release)
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