S. 2503

ROTOR Act

Sponsor: Ted Cruz

21 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act or the ROTOR 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 information) between aircraft and air traffic control.

Under the bill, aircraft must generally operate with ADS-B In equipment to provide the aircraft with location information of other aircraft and traffic advisories. Current law does not require this equipment.

Current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations allow aircraft performing a sensitive government mission to be excepted from requirements for using ADS-B Out equipment. This bill limits which flights may be considered sensitive government missions (e.g., not training flights) and requires additional reporting and notifications for the exception.

The Government Accountability Office must review the use of the ADS-B Out exception and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Transportation must annually audit FAA oversight of operations that use the exception.

Further, the bill repeals a 2025 law that exempts certain military helicopters from the ADS-B Out requirements for the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

The bill also requires

  • the OIG of the Army to audit the Army’s coordination with the FAA,
  • the FAA to establish an office to coordinate airspace usage of military aircraft and review the safety of flight operations and routes around airports, and
  • the FAA to enter into memoranda of understanding with military agencies for safety information sharing.

Text of the bill

Expand all
Sec. 2. Definitions Added Nov 18, 2025

Where this section came from

Not in the first version (Introduced in Senate, Jul 29, 2025).

  1. Nov 18, 2025 · Reported to Senate Marked up by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Oct 21, 2025 Reported by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Nov 18, 2025 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
  2. Dec 17, 2025 · Engrossed in Senate S.Amdt. 4070: In the nature of a substitute. Official page ›
What changed in the text

… 2 unchanged passages …

(2) ADS–B In. The term ADS–B In means onboard avionics equipment that receives and processes Automatic Dependent Surveillance - – Broadcast transmissions that are broadcast in accordance with sections 91.225 and 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), and other aviation advisory information from ground stations, that provides the aircraft with awareness to the location of other aircraft and traffic advisories.

… 18 unchanged passages …

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.

In this Act:

(1) Administrator. The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

(2) ADS–B In. The term ADS–B In means onboard avionics equipment that receives and processes Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast transmissions that are broadcast in accordance with sections 91.225 and 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), and other aviation advisory information from ground stations, that provides the aircraft with awareness to the location of other aircraft and traffic advisories.

(3) ADS–B Out. The term ADS–B Out—

(A) has the meaning given such term in section 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and

(B) broadcasts information from the aircraft in accordance with sections 91.225 and 91.227 of such title 14 (or any successor regulations).

(4) Affected aircraft. The term affected aircraft means any aircraft that is required to operate in accordance with section 91.225 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.

(5) Appropriate committees of Congress. The term appropriate committees of Congress means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

(6) Cabinet member. The term Cabinet Member means an individual who is the head (including an acting head) of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of State, the Department of Transportation, the Department of the Treasury, or the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other individual who occupies a position designated by the President as a Cabinet-level position.

(7) FAA. The term FAA means the Federal Aviation Administration.

(8) National Capital Region; NCR. The terms National Capital Region and NCR mean the geographic area located within the boundaries of—

(A) the District of Columbia;

(B) Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in the State of Maryland;

(C) Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the City of Alexandria in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and

(D) all cities and other units of government within the geographic areas described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).

(9) Powered-lift. The term powered-lift—

(A) has the meaning given such term in section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation); and

(B) includes vertical-lift flight mode and wing-borne flight mode, as such terms are defined in section 194.103 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

(10) Rotorcraft. The term rotorcraft has the meaning given such term in section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

(11) Transport airplane. The term transport airplane has the meaning given such term in section 44741(i) of title 49, United States Code.

(12) Unmanned aircraft system. The term unmanned aircraft system has the meaning given such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.