Aviation advocates and victims’ families watched in shock and disappointment as the House failed to pass an air safety bill last week seeking to address some of the failures that led to last year’s deadly midair crash over Washington.
As that shock wears off, those advocates of the bill are now pointing fingers, in part, at the Pentagon for pulling its support for the legislation, the Senate-passed “ROTOR Act,” just one day before the vote. Longtime observers say it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“I’ve seen this playbook from DOD multiple times,” said a Senate staff member, granted anonymity to discuss the politics involving the ROTOR Act. The staffer said it was typical of the Defense Department to cite nonspecific national security concerns even when the legislation advances broader public safety goals.
For its part, DOD said in a statement to POLITICO that it continues to “advance shared goals of aviation safety and accountability within” the “ROTOR Act” and reiterated its concerns about national security and budget issues.
