For the past decade, the families of those lost on Continental Flight 3407 has relived the nightmare of their loved ones deaths every time an FAA reauthorization bill is presented to Congress.

Whenever a bill comes up, they regroup and plead, once again, to protect tougher requirements for pilot training.

The 3407 families successfully fought for increased aviation safety standards after the National Transportation Safety Board ruled pilot error and fatigue were to blame for the crash in Clarence Center in 2009, killing 50 people.

"Sometimes we say our grandkids will probably be keeping an eye on Washington to make sure things stay the way they are," said Karen Wielinski, whose husband Doug died when the plane crashed into their house.

Within a year after beginning their activism, they succeeded in increasing required copilot flight hours from 250 to 1,500. But the regional airlines fought the law, saying they had to cancel flights to smaller airports because they couldn't get enough qualified pilots.

The threat of the regulations being weakened has been looming almost as long as the requirements have been in place.

The FAA reauthorization bill, which includes those safety standards, has been renewed on a temporary basis five times since 2015, forcing families to go to Washington, D.C. at a moment's notice every time it comes up for review and a vote.

The families are breathing a sigh of relief as there now seems to be bipartisan support for a tentative, five-year FAA bill that would keep the so-called 1,500-hour rule in place.

"It'll be nice to relax a bit. We're always vigilant. We will never stop watching. We hold people accountable. It will be nice though to know we don't have to go every week," said Susan Bourque, whose sister Beverly Eckert died in the crash.

With this five-year deal set to be voted on by Congress as early as Wednesday, families say they're cautiously optimistic that those safety standards will remain in place.

Rep. Brian Higgins said, "I'm confident, cautiously so, but we have to remain vigilant because it's never done until it's done. And things can change, especially in the 11th hour."