The House has rejected a bipartisan Senate aviation safety bill that was in response to the January 2025 midair collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The House's 264-133 vote Tuesday on the ROTOR Act – just one short of the two-thirds majority required for passage under suspension of the rules, which is used for legislation expected to easily pass, Roll Call reported. 

The Defense Department had raised national security concerns about the bill on Monday.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz introduced the ROTOR Act, which would require all aircraft to be equipped with specific location transmission technology, known as ADS-B In, and repeal certain military exemptions from the technology requirements. The Senate had passed the bill by unanimous consent.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike D. Rogers, Republicans, urged opposition on the floor on Monday. On Tuesday, 132 Republicans opposed the bill, and Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas was the only member of her party opposed to the bill.

Fletcher posted on X on Tuesday that she has been voting against bills brought to the House floor under suspension of the rules this year because "to the extent that these kinds of bills suggest that Congress is working & functioning as it should, I am using my no vote to make clear that this Congress is failing to perform its most essential function: preserving and protecting the people of this country and our sacred Constitution."

Cruz was on the House floor with House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of the vote to try to whip members in favor of the bill, then released a statement after it failed to pass.

The Pentagon said on Monday that the bill would “create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities.”

Graves and Rogers brought up concerns about the bill on the floor, noting the lack of House committee consideration of the bill. 

They were part of a bipartisan group that released their own legislation last week, called the ALERT Act, that they said was more “comprehensive,” and criticized the Senate bill for taking a “premature” and “overly prescriptive” approach.

Graves on Tuesday committed to a markup of the ALERT Act “as soon as next week.”

“If the ROTOR Act is not approved by the House today, I commit to the supporters of that legislation, to the accident victims’ families, and to the aviation community, that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will mark up the ALERT Act as soon as next week and work with our colleagues in the Senate to get this right,” Graves said. “Safety will always be my number one priority, which is why it is vital that we address the NTSB’s recommendations in a timely manner.”

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy had supported the ROTOR Act, saying before the vote that the bill could have prevented the crash if it had been law at the time.

"The ROTOR Act would've saved lives; unlike claims that this is 'emotional legislation,' the FAA had over two decades to Act and failed to do so," Homendy posted on X on Tuesday. "Had they acted, we wouldn't be here today; families would have their loved ones. How many more people need to die before we Act?"