The Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025: A Half-Measure That Falls Short
Pilots for HIMS Reform · September 11, 2025
The passage of the Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025 (H.R. 2591) on September 9 was met with cautious optimism in the aviation community. This bipartisan bill, led by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), finally acknowledges what pilots and air traffic controllers have faced for decades: a broken FAA medical certification system that punishes honesty about mental health. By pushing for updated regulations under 14 CFR Part 67, more trained aviation medical examiners (AMEs), and a public campaign to reduce stigma, the act takes aim at the fear that keeps aviators silent about depression, anxiety, or other challenges. It allocates $13.74 million annually from 2026 to 2028 to train AMEs and $1.5 million for awareness efforts—steps that could help pilots seek care without risking their wings.
At Pilots for HIMS Reform, we’ve fought tirelessly to expose how the FAA’s Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) program and its medical certification process crush pilots’ careers and lives. We welcome any spotlight on this issue, but let’s be clear: the Mental Health in Aviation Act is a half-measure—a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. It scratches the surface of disclosure and initial treatment but leaves the HIMS program’s systemic failures untouched, abandoning pilots to a nightmare of bureaucracy and abuse.
The act’s focus is narrow: streamline special issuance certifications, reclassify medications, and train more AMEs. These are critical for encouraging pilots to come forward, but they don’t address what happens next. Once a pilot enters HIMS, they’re trapped in a maze of endless monitoring, vague standards, and crippling costs. Pilots face tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses for evaluations, therapy, and random drug tests—often for minor or misdiagnosed issues. False positives, conflicting evaluator opinions, and arbitrary denials can ground aviators for years, with no clear path to return.
The HIMS program, meant to support recovery from substance abuse, has morphed into a punitive catch-all that ensnares pilots for seeking routine mental health care. This act ignores these realities, offering no reforms to HIMS’ lack of transparency, due process, or accountability.
We’ve heard from countless pilots whose stories reveal the human toll: careers derailed, savings drained, families broken, and trust in the FAA destroyed. HIMS operates like a black box, with evaluators wielding unchecked power and no standardized protocols to prevent overreach. The act’s funding for more AMEs doesn’t fix the program’s inequities, like disproportionate scrutiny on diverse pilots or the psychological harm of indefinite surveillance.
It’s a start, but it’s nowhere near enough.
Pilots for HIMS Reform demands real change: transparent HIMS decisions, strict time limits on monitoring, cost relief for pilots, and appeals to independent third parties. The Senate must strengthen this bill to tackle HIMS head-on, not just tinker with certifications. We call on lawmakers, the FAA, and our aviation allies to join us in pushing for a system that supports pilots’ mental health without sacrificing their livelihoods.
The Mental Health in Aviation Act shows reform is possible, but without dismantling HIMS’ failures, it leaves pilots stranded in the same broken system. We won’t stop fighting until fairness, science, and compassion guide the FAA’s approach to mental health and substance abuse for all pilots.
Pilots for HIMS Reform is a pilot-led movement for transparency, fairness, and justice in the FAA’s HIMS program. Join us at pilotsforhimsreform.org to demand real reform.