Nine U.S. lawmakers are urging the Office of Management and Budget to quickly review a notice of proposed rulemaking that would overhaul small aircraft certification regulations. The lawmakers told OMB director Shaun Donovan in recent letters that the release of a proposal to rewrite Part 23 is “a critical step necessary for the FAA to lead technical discussions at a milestone meeting of global aviation authorities on January 5 to 7, 2016….The FAA must move forward now or it risks losing its international leadership.”

The letters were signed by Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) and Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The effort has bipartisan support, the lawmakers said, adding the rewrite will enable timelier introduction of safer technologies and eliminate the prescriptive approach to compliance in favor of a consensus approach. “The FAA has stated this effort will double real-world safety while cutting certification costs in half,” they added.

Congress set a December 15 deadline for the FAA to release a final rule, and the agency indicated that it plans to release the Part 23 rewrite NPRM by year-end.