FAA Research, Engineering, and Development Reform Act of 1996

Summary: FAA Research, Engineering, and Development Reform Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to:  (1) authorize appropriations for FY 1997 for specified aviation programs; and (2) instruct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to consider the advice of a certain research advisory committee in establishing research and development priorities. 
Earmarks the research and development appropriations authorized for the support of all FAA research and development activities falling within the categories of basic and applied research and development, including the design and development of prototypes in accordance with specified classifications. 
Mandates that:  (1) the President's annual FAA budget request include all research and development activities within a single budget category; and (2) all FAA activities within the categories of basic and applied research and development be placed within such category. 
Directs the research advisory committee in the FAA to review annually the Administrator's appropriation allocation among major research and development activities, and give advice and recommendations on whether such allocation is appropriate to meet certain needs and objectives. 
Amends the guidelines for the national aviation research plan with respect to the goals, priorities, and resources of research and development activities. 
Directs the FAA to develop, implement, and maintain a disciplined acquisition management system, based on specified operational principles.  Authorizes the FAA to implement its own proposed acquisition management system which the Congress recognizes as substantially compatible with such principles.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``FAA Research, Engineering, and 
Development Reform Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (1)(J);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2)(J) 
        and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) for fiscal year 1997--
                    ``(A) $10,000,000 for system development and 
                infrastructure projects and activities;
                    ``(B) $39,911,000 for capacity and air traffic 
                management technology projects and activities;
                    ``(C) $20,371,000 for communications, navigation, 
                and surveillance projects and activities;
                    ``(D) $6,411,000 for weather projects and 
                activities;
                    ``(E) $6,000,000 for airport technology projects 
                and activities;
                    ``(F) $37,978,000 for aircraft safety technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(G) $36,045,000 for system security technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(H) $23,682,000 for human factors and aviation 
                medicine projects and activities;
                    ``(I) $3,800,000 for environment and energy 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(J) $1,500,000 for innovative/cooperative 
                research projects and activities; and
                    ``(K) such sums as may be necessary for other 
                research, engineering, and development activities 
                described in the President's fiscal year 1997 budget 
                request to the Congress under the category 
                `Engineering, development, test, and evaluation' of 
                Facilities and Equipment.''.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH PRIORITIES AND BUDGETING.

    (a) Section 48102(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
            (2) by striking ``Availability for Research.--(1)'' and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``Research Priorities.--(1) The 
        Administrator shall consider the advice and recommendations of 
        the research advisory committee established by section 44508 of 
        this title in establishing priorities among major categories of 
        research and development activities carried out by the Federal 
        Aviation Administration.
    ``(2)''.
    (b) Section 48102(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(c) Designation of Activities.--(1) The amounts appropriated 
under subsection (a) are for the support of all research and 
development activities carried out by the Federal Aviation 
Administration that fall within the categories of basic research, 
applied research, and development, including the design and development 
of prototypes, in accordance with the classifications of the Office of 
Management and Budget Circular A-11 (Budget Formulation/Submission 
Process).
    ``(2) The President's annual budget request for the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall include all research and development 
activities within a single budget category. All of the activities 
carried out by the Administration within the categories of basic 
research, applied research, and development, as classified by the 
Office of Management and Budget Circular A-11, shall be placed in this 
single budget category.''.
    (c) Section 44508(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new 
        subparagraph:
            ``(D) annually review the allocation made by the 
        Administrator of the amounts authorized by section 48102(a) of 
        this title among the major categories of research and 
        development activities carried out by the Administration and 
        provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator on 
        whether such allocation is appropriate to meet the needs and 
        objectives identified under subparagraph (A).''.
    (d) Section 44501(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ``15-year'' and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``5-year'';
            (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
    ``(B) The plan shall--
            ``(i) provide estimates by year of the schedule, cost, and 
        work force levels for each active and planned major research 
        and development project under sections 40119, 44504, 44505, 
        44507, 44509, 44511-44513, and 44912 of this title, including 
        activities carried out under cooperative agreements with other 
        Federal departments and agencies;
            ``(ii) specify the goals and the priorities for allocation 
        of resources among the major categories of research and 
        development activities, including the rationale for the 
        priorities identified;
            ``(iii) identify the allocation of resources among long-
        term research, near-term research, and development activities; 
        and
            ``(iv) highlight the research and development activities 
        that address specific recommendations of the research advisory 
        committee established under section 44508 of this title, and 
        document the recommendations of the committee that are not 
        accepted, specifying the reasons for nonacceptance.''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3) by inserting ``, including a 
        description of the dissemination to the private sector of 
        research results and a description of any new technologies 
        developed'' after ``during the prior fiscal year''.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM GUIDANCE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) considerable effort and expenditure has been devoted 
        since 1981 to the modernization of the National Airspace 
        System, with limited results;
            (2) long-standing management, organizational, and cultural 
        impediments at the Federal Aviation Administration have led to 
        cost overruns, schedule delays, program terminations, and other 
        wasteful inefficiencies;
            (3) a lack of coordination between the technology 
        developers and operational sections of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration has led to research, engineering, and 
        development programs that are unbalanced because they either 
        are too technology driven or have operational requirements that 
        are unrealistic or unwarranted;
            (4) the research, engineering, and development functions of 
        the Federal Aviation Administration have been carried out 
        without the benefit of critical management education and 
        competencies;
            (5) the failure to employ contemporary management 
        techniques and industry best practices has led to inadequate 
        contractor oversight and poor risk management; and
            (6) significant improvements in modernizing the National 
        Airspace System will require fundamental changes in the Federal 
        Aviation Administration's acquisition management system and in 
        the orientation of the officials who implement the system.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``affordable'' means having life-cycle costs 
        that are in consonance with the long-range funding and 
        operational design plans for the National Airspace System;
            (2) the term ``evolutionary acquisition'' means an 
        acquisition strategy in which a core capability is fielded with 
        a modular structure that allows for changes as requirements are 
        refined;
            (3) the term ``life-cycle costs'' means the total costs to 
        the Federal Government of a system over its useful life, 
        including the costs of research, development, acquisition, 
        support, and disposal;
            (4) the term ``nondevelopmental'' means not requiring 
        significant further development to be made usefully 
        operational; and
            (5) the term ``pre-planned product improvement'' means an 
        acquisition strategy that defers technically difficult or 
        unknown system requirements to mitigate risks or to field a 
        system that incorporates design considerations that facilitate 
        future changes.
    (c) Operational Principles.--The Federal Aviation Administration 
shall develop, implement, and maintain a disciplined acquisition 
management system that facilitates the transforming of broadly stated 
requirements into affordable, operationally effective and suitable 
products and services to meet the needs of users of the National 
Airspace System. Such acquisition management system shall be based on 
and incorporate the following principles:
            (1) The employment and integration of--
                    (A) a process to establish and validate 
                requirements;
                    (B) full life-cycle acquisition management; and
                    (C) planning, programming, and budgeting.
            (2) Full involvement of both acquisition and operational 
        Federal Aviation Administration personnel in the processes 
        described in paragraph (1) (A), (B), and (C).
            (3) Early and continuous involvement of National Airspace 
        System operators and users, advisory committees, and industry 
        vendors and experts in establishing and stabilizing sound, 
        realistic operational requirements.
            (4) Assignment of acquisition officials based on 
        demonstrated leadership, professionalism, and proven 
        acquisition management competencies, consistent with their 
        positional responsibility and authority.
            (5) Full life-cycle, event-driven acquisition strategies 
        which explicitly link major interim program decisions and 
        contractual commitments to demonstrated accomplishments in 
        research, engineering, and development.
            (6) The balancing of system design requirements and 
        constraints based on cost-benefit sensitivity analysis.
            (7) Consideration of maximum practicable use of 
        nonmaterial, nondevelopmental, or commercial solutions before 
        embarking on protracted research, engineering, and development 
        activities by the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (8) Consideration of evolutionary acquisition and pre-
        planned product improvement strategies to mitigate risks and 
        expeditiously field products and services.
            (9) Use of contemporary management techniques and industry 
        best practices to--
                    (A) compare the current status of a program to 
                where it should be;
                    (B) reassess the goals of a program and the plans 
                for achieving those goals;
                    (C) assess program risks and strategies for 
                mitigating those risks; and
                    (D) assess whether the program is affordable.
    (d) Document of April 1, 1996.--The Congress recognizes that the 
acquisition management system set forth in the document dated April 1, 
1996, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, is substantially 
compatible with the principles stated in subsection (c) of this 
section. The Federal Aviation Administration may implement that 
proposed system as a suitable compliance with the requirements of this 
section, and may modify elements of that system to the extent that 
those modifications conform with the principles stated in subsection 
(c) of this section.