H.R. 6222 · 119th Congress

ROTOR Act

Introduced on Nov 20, 2025 by Robert F. Onder, Jr. (R-MO-3). 32 cosponsors, 20 of them from another party. Latest action (Nov 21, 2025): Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Stage
Introduced
Introduced
Nov 20, 2025
Cosponsors
32
20 from the other party
Policy area
Transportation and Public Works
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. 2Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To require all aircraft to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In, to improve aviation safety, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Advisory bodies
  • Aviation and airports
  • Computers and information technology
  • Congressional oversight
  • Department of Transportation
  • Employment and training programs
  • Federal officials
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Labor-management relations
  • Public-private cooperation
  • Transportation safety and security

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Nov 20, 2025). Public domain.

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 for the exception.

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

Further, the bill repeals a 2018 law that prohibits DOT from requiring certain military aircraft to install or use ADS-B equipment.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Robert F. Onder, Jr.R-MO-3Sponsor

Democrats · 20

Republicans · 12

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Nov 20, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Nov 20, 2025Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4853)
  3. Nov 20, 2025Introduced in House
  4. Nov 20, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  5. Nov 20, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  6. Nov 21, 2025 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION5 reports
    $675K reported (all issues)
  2. THE BOEING COMPANY5 reports
    $8.1M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: THE BOEING COMPANY$9B in contracts, FY2026AI match · 99%
  3. The Sherwin-Williams Company5 reports
    $870K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY$4.9M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  4. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES3 reports
    $3.3M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES INC$12.3K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  5. Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (d/b/a Airlines for America)3 reports
    $3.3M reported (all issues)
  6. Alaska Airlines, Inc.3 reports
    $1.5M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.$4.6M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  7. Greenville-Spartanburg Airport3 reports
    $45K reported (all issues)
  8. NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION3 reports
  9. NJASAP)3 reports
    $30K reported (all issues)
  10. RELIABLE ROBOTICS CORPORATION3 reports
    $360K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: RELIABLE ROBOTICS CORPORATION$2.4M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  11. Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn.)3 reports
    $30K reported (all issues)
  12. AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION2 reports
    $506K reported (all issues)
  13. AMERICAN AIRLINES INC.2 reports
    Federal contractor: AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC$8M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  14. COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA2 reports
    $861K reported (all issues)
  15. Delta Air Lines, Inc.2 reports
    Federal contractor: DELTA AIR LINES, INC.$8.9M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  16. HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC.2 reports
    $160K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC$619.5K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  17. JOBY AERO2 reports
    $320K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: JOBY AERO INCAI match · 100%
  18. Jeppesen ForeFlight2 reports
    $80K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: JEPPESEN FOREFLIGHT, INC.$41.4M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  19. RTX CORPORATION2 reports
    $8.3M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: RTX CORPORATION$3.9B in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  20. UNITED AIRLINES, INC.2 reports
    Federal contractor: UNITED AIRLINES, INC.$11.9M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  21. AIRBUS AMERICAS, INC.1 report
    Federal contractor: AIRBUS AMERICAS CUSTOMER SERVICES, INC$179.7K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 98%
  22. AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL-NORTH AMERICA1 report
    $727.9K reported (all issues)
  23. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS1 report
    $715K reported (all issues)
  24. Rhode Island Airport Corporation1 report
    $20K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.