ALERT Act

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) to regulate aviation and airspace, which are inherently interstate in nature. The bill's requirements for aircraft tracking and communication fall within this power, as they directly affect the safety and efficiency of interstate and international air travel.

Bill of Rights · passes

No provision of the Bill of Rights is infringed. The requirement to equip aircraft with ADS-B technology does not implicate the First, Second, Third, Fifth (except as separately analyzed), Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth Amendments. Regarding the Fourth Amendment, aircraft operating in public navigable airspace have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their location and identity, especially when broadcast for safety purposes. The Supreme Court has held that surveillance of movements on public roads does not constitute a search (United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276 (1983)), and the same logic applies to public airspace.

Individual liberty · passes · severity: minor

The bill imposes a modest equipment mandate on aircraft owners, but the government has a compelling constitutional justification: preventing mid-air collisions and enhancing aviation safety. The restriction is narrowly tailored to achieve that goal, and the burden on individual freedom is minimal compared to the public benefit. This is a reasonable exercise of the police power inherent in the commerce power.

Decentralization · passes

The action passes all four questions of the decentralization test. (1) An individual or family cannot handle aviation safety across the national airspace system. (2) A local community or county cannot manage air traffic control or collision avoidance across multiple jurisdictions. (3) A state cannot regulate aircraft operating across state lines or in federal airspace. (4) Consolidation at the federal level is the minimum necessary because the subject matter is inherently national in scope. The Tenth Amendment is not violated because the federal government is acting within its enumerated powers.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not bypass due process. It requires the FAA to engage in rulemaking, which includes notice-and-comment procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act, providing fair notice and opportunity to be heard. The equipment mandate does not constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment. The Supreme Court has consistently held that reasonable safety regulations that do not deprive the owner of all economically viable use of property are not takings (Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978)). The requirement is incremental (applying to aircraft already required to have ADS-B Out) and provides a compliance deadline of 2031, minimizing economic impact.