The Senate has passed two bills aimed at making it easier for pilots to seek mental health care without losing their licenses. The vote came a year after the second season of The Rehearsal focused on the same issue, and the timing has raised questions about whether the show’s influence carried weight.
The Bills That Passed
The first bill seeks to reduce stigma around pilot mental health by funding more mental health examiners and training. The second clarifies which specific medications are banned for pilots who want to fly. Both passed the Senate with unanimous support.
The legislation is now known as the John A. Hauser Mental Health In Aviation Act, named for an aviation student who died by suicide in 2021.
Fielder’s Season Two
Season two of The Rehearsal was a multi-episode look at pilot mental health. Nathan Fielder explored a phenomenon where planes crashed because co-pilots refused to speak up when their pilots were doing something ill-advised or dangerous in the cockpit.
Fielder’s investigation grew into deliberately absurd territory, including the memorable scene of him pretending to be a nursing Sully Sullenberger. But the episodes also shed light on how FAA regulations often push pilots to hide that they need help.
What Fielder Says
Fielder never got his dream of testifying before Congress. But he did note in an interview back in August that one of these two bills had been stalled in the House for years before the show aired.
Former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia, who appears prominently in The Rehearsal, told Fielder that the show may have helped move the conversation forward:
“He was talking to the young staffers, and he said, ‘I think the show pushed them to [do it].’ I guess the young people make all the decisions. He’s like, ‘That’s how it works.’ Anyway, I don’t know if it did anything, but it was nice to hear.”
The Show’s Lasting Mark
The bills passing unanimously suggests real momentum on an issue that has long been hidden. The fact that the legislation bears the name of a young person who died by suicide adds weight to the urgency.
Fielder’s work may not have been the sole cause, but the timing is striking. Whether the show pushed young staffers or simply brought the issue into public view, the result is the same: pilots now have clearer guidance on what medications they can take without losing their licenses.
Key Facts
- The bills passed the Senate unanimously
- Named for John A. Hauser, who died by suicide in 2021
- One bill lifts stigma and funds examiners/training
- The other clarifies banned medications for pilots
- Goglia said young staffers were pushed by the show
The Path Ahead
The bills’ path beyond the Senate is not detailed in the report. The timing of the vote, coming a year after the show aired, is notable.
Whether the show’s influence persists through the remaining steps is unclear.
Final Steps
The bills’ ultimate fate depends on the House and the president’s desk. The vote shows that the issue has reached a new stage.
See the video the story is built around at The A.V. Club.
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