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S 4293 116th Congress Senate Transportation and Public Works Aviation and airports Cardiovascular and respiratory health Emergency medical services and trauma care Health promotion and preventive care Health technology, devices, supplies Infectious and parasitic diseases Transportation employees Transportation safety and security

MIDDLE Act of 2020

Introduced: July 23, 2020 Introduced by: Merkley, Jeff Democratic · Oregon See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 23, 2020
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Jul 23, 2020
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Maintaining Important Distance During Lengthy Epidemics Act of 2020 or the MIDDLE Act of 2020

This bill prohibits air carriers, during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency, from (1) permitting adjacent seats to another occupied seat to be filled on a passenger aircraft, (2) passing along the cost of any seat switch undertaken by such air carriers in order to comply with the prohibitions, and (3) permitting a passenger or crewmember to board a passenger aircraft if the passenger or crewmember is not wearing a mask.

The Federal Aviation Administration must issue guidance for appropriate exceptions to the prohibitions based on federal public health guidance.

What's happening now July 23, 2020

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 7741 Related bill MIDDLE Act of 2020
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 4293: MIDDLE Act of 2020. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-4293/
MLA
"S. 4293: MIDDLE Act of 2020." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-4293/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 4293, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-4293/.
Markdown link
[S. 4293: MIDDLE Act of 2020](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-4293/)
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