Washington, DC—The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) praised the U.S. Senate for its overwhelming passage of the Small Airplane Revitalization Act on October 4. The bill, which was introduced in May by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would require the FAA to implement the recommendations of the FAA’s Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) by December 31, 2015. The ARC’s goal is to double safety and cut certification costs in half for light general aviation (GA) airplanes. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which passed a slightly different version of the legislation by a 411-0 vote in July.

“GAMA is very grateful to Senators Klobuchar and Murkowski for expertly shepherding this legislation through the Senate, as well as the tremendous support of the bill’s bipartisan co-sponsors and the leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. “For far too long, outdated and overly burdensome regulations have impeded GA manufacturers from bringing new, safety-enhancing products to market, and this bill will help correct this problem.”

The Senate legislation will now go back to the House for consideration of the Senate-passed version. The House is expected to accept the Senate changes and send the legislation to President Obama for his signature.