[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5387 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5387
To amend title 49, United States Code, to make improvements to
operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 14, 2026
Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to make improvements to
operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``DCA Air Safety Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO OPERATIONS AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL
AIRPORT.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Since 2000, Congress has voted to add 64 daily flights
at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (in this
subsection referred to as ``DCA'') despite capacity
constraints.
(2) Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) currently
handles under 30 million passengers annually but has the
designed capacity to handle 55 million passengers annually.
(3) On the night of the midair collision between American
Airlines Flight 5342 and a United States Army H-60 Black Hawk
helicopter on January 29, 2025, at DCA, one air traffic
controller, during an 18-minute period, managed 29 separate
aircraft, including a 5-minute span with 6 takeoffs or
landings.
(b) Improvements.--Section 41718 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(j) Improvements to Operations.--
``(1) Reduction in hourly operations.--
``(A) Assessment.--The Administrator shall conduct
an assessment of the Airport Arrival Rate at DCA. In
conducting such assessment, the Administrator shall
give special consideration to the airspace complexity,
airfield limitations, mixed fleet operations, and
traffic volume at DCA.
``(B) Reduction.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator
shall reduce the Airport Arrival Rate at DCA to no more
than 28 aircraft.
``(2) Interval caps.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall
convert the Airport Arrival Rate at DCA (as reduced under
paragraph (1)(B)) into binding 30-minute interval caps that--
``(A) evenly distribute permitted arrivals and
departures across each hour; and
``(B) prohibit clustering or banking within any
sub-hour.
``(3) Elimination of 30 slot exemptions.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law and subject to the succeeding
provisions of this paragraph, the Administrator shall,
in a manner determined appropriate by the
Administrator, permanently eliminate 30 slot exemptions
under this chapter at DCA (determined as of the date of
enactment of this subsection).
``(B) Minimum number of beyond perimeter slot
exemptions.--At least 26 of the slot exemptions
eliminated under subparagraph (A) shall be beyond
perimeter (as described in section 49109) slot
exemptions.
``(C) Timing.--
``(i) Public notice of proposed list.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this subsection, the Administrator shall
make publicly available a proposed list of the
30 slot exemptions to be eliminated pursuant to
this paragraph.
``(ii) Comment period.--The Administrator
shall provide for a 60-day public comment
period regarding such list beginning on the
date on which such list is made publicly
available under clause (i).
``(iii) Finalized list.--Not later than 120
days after the end of the public comment period
under clause (ii), the Administrator shall make
publicly available the final list of the 30
slot exemptions to be eliminated pursuant to
this paragraph.
``(iv) Phased-in implementation.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subclauses (II) and (III), the
Administrator shall provide for a 5-
year phase-in of the required
elimination of the slot exemptions
under this paragraph, with 6 slot
exemptions being eliminated in each
year during the period of 2028 through
2032.
``(II) Authority to provide for a
1-year delay.--
``(aa) In general.--Subject
to item (bb), if the
Administrator, during any year
of the first 4 years of the 5-
year phase-in period under
subclause (I), determines that
eliminating 1 or more of 6 slot
exemptions required to be
eliminated in such year would
yield no material and
measurable safety improvement
to safety at DCA, the Secretary
may provide for up to a 1-year
delay of the elimination of
such slot exemptions. In no
case may the delay of the
elimination of a slot exemption
for a year under the preceding
sentence be for longer than a
1-year period.
``(bb) Notice of delay.--
Prior to implementing a delay
under item (aa), the
Administrator shall--
``(AA) provide
notice to the public
and the Senators and
Members of the House of
Representatives who
represent States and
districts that fall
within the Washington
DC Metropolitan Special
Flight Rules Area (as
described by the
Federal Aviation
Administration) of the
intent to provide for
such delay; and
``(BB) provide for
a 60-day public comment
period regarding such
delay.
``(III) Final implementation.--The
Administrator shall ensure that the
elimination of the 30 slot exemptions
required under this paragraph is fully
implemented by not later than December
31, 2032.
``(D) Consultation.--In carrying out this
paragraph, the Administrator shall consult with the
Secretary of Transportation and the Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority.
``(E) Review.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, there shall be no judicial review of the
decision of the Administrator with respect to the
elimination of slot exemptions, or any delay in the
elimination of slot exemptions, pursuant to this
paragraph.
``(4) Permanent commission.--
``(A) Establishment.--There is established the
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Slot
Exemption Evaluation Commission (in this section
referred to as the `Commission').
``(B) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed
of the following members:
``(i) The Chairperson of the Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority, or their
designee.
``(ii) The Administrator, or their
designee.
``(iii) The Secretary of Defense, or their
designee.
``(iv) The Governor of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, or their designee.
``(v) The Governor of the State of
Maryland, or their designee.
``(vi) The Mayor of the District of
Columbia, or their designee.
``(C) Duties.--
``(i) In general.--The duties of the
Commission are as follows:
``(I) Study.--The Commission shall
conduct an ongoing study of the
conditions at DCA, including the impact
on safety and operations of future
changes to the amount of slot
exemptions at DCA.
``(II) Reports.--Not later than
December 31, 2028, and not less
frequently than once every 2 years
thereafter, the Commission shall submit
to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate and
the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives a report on the ongoing
study under subparagraph (C)(i)(I),
together with recommendations for such
legislation and administrative action
as the Commission determines
appropriate.
``(ii) Expertise.--In carrying out its
duties under clause (i), the Commission may
solicit information and input from third
parties, including recognized aviation safety
experts, academics, and other airport
authorities legally established by State or
local governments or pursuant to a multi-State
compact.
``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Administrator.--The term `Administrator'
means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration.
``(B) Airport arrival rate.--The term `Airport
Arrival Rate' means a dynamic parameter specifying the
number of arrival aircraft that an airport, in
conjunction with terminal airspace, can accept under
specific conditions throughout any consecutive 60-
minute period.
``(C) DCA.--The term `DCA' means Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport.''.
<all>