H.R. 7613

ALERT Act

Sponsor: Sam Graves

87 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act of 2026 or the ALERT Act

This bill addresses aviation safety by increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology and expanding oversight. As background, ADS-B for broadcasting (Out) and receiving (In) transmits information (e.g., location and weather) among aircraft and air traffic control (ATC).

The bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to enter into an agreement regarding the use of collision prevention technologies on DOD aircraft. The agreement must require the use of ADS-B Out as the default practice for DOD helicopters operating in the national airspace, unless such use would affect operational security. For DOD helicopters that are carrying out special missions in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and are exempt from ADS-B Out transmission requirements, DOD must coordinate with DOT to conduct a safety risk assessment and implement appropriate mitigations.

By December 31, 2031, DOD aircraft (other than certain special mission aircraft) must be equipped with and operating integrated ADS-B In technology.

With respect to civil aircraft, by December 31, 2031, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must generally require aircraft that are currently required to be equipped with ADS-B Out to also be equipped with ADS-B In.

Additionally, among other requirements, the FAA must

  • establish time-on-position limits for supervisory ATC personnel;
  • establish a process to timely notify parties involved in certain near-miss incidents; and
  • evaluate and revise, as necessary, helicopter routes around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Text of the bill

Expand all

I Civil Aviation Matters

II Department of Defense Matters

Sec. 203. Treatment of superseded memorandum of agreement and provision of law Added Apr 9

Where this section came from

Not in the first version (Introduced in House, Feb 20).

  1. Apr 9, 2026 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mar 26 Marked up by House Committee on Armed Services, Mar 26 Reported by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Apr 9 Reported by House Committee on Armed Services, Apr 9 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
What is a markup?

A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.

Effective on the date on which the memorandum of agreement required by section 2656 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 201 of this title, is submitted to the congressional defense committees, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the following shall have no further force or effect:

(1) Section 1046 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note).

(2) The memorandum of agreement between the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration entered into on May 10, 2024.