AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2022 - 28

GUEST EDITORIAL
Wins for GA
Celebrating our public policy victories
as my time in office comes to a close
BY SEN. JAMES INHOFE
IT IS HARD to believe that this year's EAA AirVenture will be
my last while serving in Congress. We have accomplished a lot
together throughout the years, and it has been my honor to make
your priorities my own during my tenure in the Senate. You know
them well: ensuring Bob Hoover was able to return to flying;
passing the original Pilot's Bill of Rights; securing BasicMed
privileges for thousands of pilots with reforms to the third class
medical process; including volunteer pilots in the Volunteer
Protection Act; and our work developing the future of the aviation
workforce, just to name a few.
As a fellow pilot, I introduced legislation in 2011 to make
things fairer between individual pilots and the massive bureaucracy
of the FAA. Signed into law in 2012, the Pilot's Bill of Rights
leveled the playing field for pilots during FAA enforcement proceedings
and National Transportation Safety Board reviews.
The FAA had to ensure pilots understood their rights during
enforcement proceedings, and pilots were guaranteed access to
information needed to appropriately defend themselves.
We have also enacted critical policy advances such as third
class medical reform, a key provision in my Pilot's Bill of Rights
2 and a huge win for the general aviation community. BasicMed,
as it became known, cuts bureaucratic red tape and allows pilots
to see an aviation medical examiner or their private physician
for medical examinations. Since it took effect in 2017, more than
70,000 pilots have completed the requirements to fly under
BasicMed privileges, while successfully keeping the general
aviation accident rate at its lowest in decades.
It is essential that we do everything we can to educate and
train the next generation of pilots and maintenance professionals.
With this in mind, the 2018 FAA Reauthorization included
my legislation to support the development and spread of curriculum
necessary to maintain and grow the aviation workforce. If
we want to create a better future for our pilots, we must equip
the next generation with the knowledge and resources to learn
more and do their jobs as efficiently as possible.
And we are not finished. On the top of my mind this year
is to provide a safe and smart transition to unleaded fuel so
that pilots can keep flying. We must all work together-the federal
government, fuel producers and distributors, airports, and
pilots-to provide the smoothest transition to unleaded fuels. I
questioned a senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
nominee about this very topic in May. The bottom line-we
must work toward an unleaded alternative that is widely available,
so airports are not unilaterally banning the sale of leaded
fuels before a solution is ready.
One thing is clear-we can accomplish almost anything when
we put our heads together and work on behalf of the aviation community.
We have seen this time and again over the years, and I am
so thankful to have been able to advocate for you here in Congress.
I am looking forward to seeing you at Oshkosh this year!
Republican Sen. JAMES
INHOFE represents the state
of Oklahoma and holds a
commercial pilot certificate.
28
AOPA PILOT / August 2022
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2022

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