Legislative Priorities

The aviation industry faces a persistent and growing imbalance between the demand for qualified technical personnel and the supply of individuals entering and completing aviation maintenance career pathways. Addressing this challenge requires more than recruiting new candidates; it also requires removing unnecessary barriers that prevent students, graduates, veterans, apprentices, and experienced workers from efficiently progressing through training, testing, certification, and employment. ATEC’s legislative priorities target these critical pressure points, strengthening the talent pipeline and ensuring qualified individuals can move into the workforce without avoidable delays or administrative obstacles.

Ensure FAA airman certification standards (ACS) are maintained in support of aviation safety and industry workforce needs. The ACS are a product of a highly successful, decades-long collaboration between the FAA and industry stakeholders to clearly define what a person needs to know, say, and do to obtain airman certification. ATEC asked Congress to ensure FAA Reauthorization Act provisions (Sec. 406) are implemented including directing the agency to carry out industry recommendations on maintaining and updating ACS and engaging the ACS working group to continually approve the certification system including training and testing.

Support aviation workforce development by fully funding the FAA workforce grant. In the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill, Congress established the Aviation Workforce Development Grants program, authorizing $10 million in funding for pilot and maintenance workforce development programs. The 2024 reauthorization bill (Sec. 440) allocates $20 million for each of the three programs (pilot, maintenance, and manufacturing) for FY 2025 through 2028. ATEC urges Congress to ensure all appropriated funds are distributed and to appropriate funding at the newly authorized levels to meet workforce demand.

Reappoint industry partners to advance airman certification standards (ACS) and regulatory reforms. In Sec. 406 of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, Congress directed FAA to collaborate with industry to maintain and improve the ACS, a partnership essential to aviation safety and workforce development. FAA’s recent termination of industry committee appointments has stalled progress on this and other key congressional mandates including development of a military transition pathway (Sec. 426), and reforms to reduce barriers to mechanic testing (Sec. 405)—both with fast-approaching deadlines. ATEC urges Congress to press DOT to promptly reappoint committee members so this critical work stays on track.

Expand access to FAA airman testing. Forty percent of aviation technician school graduates do not take the exam necessary for FAA mechanic certification, with testing inaccessibility as a primary obstacle. A shortage of Designated Mechanic Examiners (DMEs) exacerbates the issue, as some FAA offices are reluctant to approve more due to resource constraints. ATEC urges the FAA to approve more testing designees and make policy changes that adopt common examiner qualification requirements and provide DMEs with more flexibility to conduct tests at any part 147 program nationwide.

Promote aviation technical career paths and meet rising workforce demands through expansion of secondary education opportunities. To help meet rising workforce demand and connect participants to high-wage jobs, ATEC—through its partnership with Choose Aerospace—has developed a turnkey curriculum that introduces aviation fundamentals in high schools and helps support registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship pathways into aviation technical careers. ATEC and its members stand ready to work with Congress, community partners, and school districts to implement programs leading to high-wage careers nationwide.

Oppose threats to educational institutions. ATEC opposes legislation that limits aviation technical schools from serving students and veterans, including public, private non-profit, and private proprietary institutions. The industry is facing a massive technical workforce shortage, all FAA-certificated aviation maintenance trainings schools are vital to industry’s growth and prosperity. ATEC asks legislative leaders to oppose any legislation masked rhetorically as student protection aid (e.g., 90-10 rule, borrower defense to repayment, etc.) that instead threatens a vital source of aviation maintenance professionals and negatively impacts aerospace companies looking to hire technical personnel.

Support and fund modernization of the airman certification system for aviation mechanics. Unlike most other airmen, mechanic applicants remain dependent on a paper-based process that requires duplicate form submissions, pen-and-ink entries and signatures, physical mailing, and multiple manual reviews, creating avoidable errors and delays in eligibility determinations and certificate issuance. ATEC urges Congress to provide dedicated funding and direction for the FAA to incorporate mechanic certification into IACRA—or a comparable secure electronic platform—so applications, approvals, test results, temporary certificates, and certification files can be processed electronically.