Washington DC - The House of Representatives rejected an aviation safety bill that was designed to reduce the risk of midair collisions after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon dropped its support for the legislation.

The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act was introduced last July as a response to the deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025.

New rules would have mandated that all aircraft and helicopters use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), a technology allowing each aircraft to more precisely share its location.

It would have also closed a loophole allowing the Pentagon to fly aircraft domestically without properly communicating its location to civilian air traffic.

"American skies must be as safe as possible, and our duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are," Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who introduced the bill, said in a statement last year.

"One of the most important parts of this bill is the requirement that all aircraft, military and civilian, use both ADS-B Out and ADS-B In. We will not wait for another accident to happen before we finally protect American skies."

While the bill enjoyed bipartisan support and was initially approved by the Senate in a unanimous vote in December, the Defense Department expressed strong reservations.

On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell warned that it could lead to unspecified "operational security risks."

Ultimately, the legislation failed to reach the two-thirds majority threshold, mainly due to Republican opposition.

"The ROTOR Act would've saved lives," National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said when it became clear the bill would fall short. "How many more people need to die before we act?"