John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act

The deadline for the Administrator to update regulations was shortened from 2 years to 18 months after enactment.

Implementation of task group recommendations changed from mandatory ('shall take appropriate action') to discretionary ('may take action, as appropriate'), giving the Administrator more flexibility.

Funding for Office of Aerospace Medicine capacity was shortened from fiscal years 2026-2029 to 2026-2028, and was restructured as an amendment to an existing statute rather than a standalone designation. The public information campaign funding period was also shortened to 2026-2028 and the specific dollar cap of $1.5 million per year was removed.

The annual review of the special issuance process was changed to occur annually only for the first 2 years, then triennially thereafter, reducing the long-term oversight burden.

A new validation subsection requires the Administrator to cite relevant clinical studies and may commission new studies to fill data gaps within 1 year, specifically for ARC recommendation 6.

The list of 'appropriate committees of Congress' was reduced from four (including both Appropriations committees) to two (House Transportation and Senate Commerce only), narrowing which committees receive reports and justifications.

Expansion of medical certificate issuance opportunities now requires that the examining physician has completed enhanced mental health training, adding a prerequisite not present in the introduced version.

The act was renamed from 'Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025' to 'John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act,' and the stakeholder consultation provision was restructured into the existing FAA Reauthorization Act framework rather than standing as a separate paragraph.