S. 3257, Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2026

S. 3257 would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regularly review its policies related to mental health care for pilots and aviation workers and to implement recommendations from the April 2024 report published by the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee. The bill would authorize the FAA to study data gaps to inform the recommendations in the report. The bill also would require the FAA to conduct public awareness campaigns on mental health treatment and report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the campaigns. Lastly, the bill would set aside $15 million each year from 2026 through 2028 from amounts already authorized to be appropriated for those years for the FAA for the purpose of hiring and training additional medical examiners.

Because the $15 million set aside each year for hiring and training would come from an existing authorization of appropriations, CBO does not attribute an increase in spending subject to appropriation to that provision. Based on historical spending for the other activities under the bill, CBO estimates that implementing the public awareness campaign and the regulatory and reporting requirements would cost $4 million over the 2026-2031 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

If the FAA revises or promulgates new regulations as a result of the bill, S. 3257 would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on certain people licensed by the FAA. Although some regulations could reduce the regulatory burden on aviation medical examiners and pilots, others could increase it. For example, the FAA could require additional training or implement new documentation and oversight practices. Because the scope and cost of the mandates would depend on regulations yet to be announced, CBO cannot determine whether the cost of compliance would exceed the threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

The bill would not impose intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

On August 1, 2025, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2591, the Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 11, 2025. Although the bills are similar, S. 3257 does not include the public awareness campaign in its set aside of $15 million for existing authorizations of appropriations and H.R. 2591 does include that campaign in the specified amounts that are set aside. CBO’s estimate of each bill’s budgetary effects reflects that difference.

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Katherine Chou (for the FAA) and Brandon Lever (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.