Improved Consumer Access to Travel Information Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Improved Consumer Access to Travel 
Information Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION TO ENSURE CONSUMER INFORMATION AND CHOICE 
              IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The continued success of a deregulated airline system 
        requires that consumers have full access to complete 
        information concerning airline fares, routes, and other 
        services.
            (2) The means of distributing information about the 
        products and services of the airline industry are changing; 
        during the past four years, airlines have begun selling a 
        larger percentage of their products and services directly to 
        consumers, and Internet businesses are now offering services 
        that allow consumers to compare prices for these products and 
        services.
            (3) Airline policies with respect to travel agencies, who 
        historically have sold a majority of the airline industry's 
        products and services, threaten the ability of consumers to 
        gather the information necessary to evaluate market prices, 
        routes, and services.
            (4) Further reductions in the number of travel agents and 
        greater marketplace reliance on direct airline sales may result 
        in a marketplace in which consumers lack sufficient information 
        and are thereby forced to pay higher prices.
    (b) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known 
as the ``National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice 
in the Airline Industry'' (hereinafter in this section referred to as 
the ``Commission'').
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) Study.--The Commission shall undertake a study of--
                    (A) consumer access to information about the 
                products and services of the airline industry;
                    (B) the effect on the marketplace of the emergence 
                of new means of distributing such products and 
                services;
                    (C) the effect on consumers of the declining 
                financial condition of travel agents in the United 
                States; and
                    (D) the impediments imposed by the airline industry 
                on distributors of the industry's products and 
                services, including travel agents and Internet-based 
                distributors.
            (2) Policy recommendations.--Based on the results of the 
        study described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall 
        recommend to the President and Congress policies necessary--
                    (A) to ensure full consumer access to complete 
                information concerning airline fares, routes, and other 
                services;
                    (B) to ensure that the means of distributing the 
                products and services of the airline industry, and of 
                disseminating information about such products and 
                services, is adequate to ensure that competitive 
                information is available in the marketplace;
                    (C) to ensure that distributors of the products and 
                services of the airline industry have adequate relief 
                from illegal, anticompetitive practices that occur in 
                the marketplace; and
                    (D) to foster healthy competition in the airline 
                industry and the entry of new entrants.
    (d) Specific Matters To Be Addressed.--In carrying out the study 
authorized under subsection (c)(1), the Commission shall specifically 
address the following:
            (1) Consumer access to information.--With respect to 
        consumer access to information regarding the services and 
        products offered by the airline industry:
                    (A) The state of such access.
                    (B) The effect in the next 5 years of the making of 
                alliances in the airline industry.
                    (C) Whether and to what degree the trends regarding 
                such access will produce benefits to consumers.
            (2) Means of distribution.--With respect to the means of 
        distributing the products and services of the airline industry:
                    (A) The state of such means of distribution.
                    (B) The roles played by travel agencies and 
                Internet-based providers of travel information and 
                services in distributing such products and services.
                    (C) Whether the policies of the United States 
                promote the access of consumers to multiple means of 
                distribution.
            (3) Airline reservation systems.--With respect to airline 
        reservation systems:
                    (A) The rules, regulations, policies, and practices 
                of the industry governing such systems.
                    (B) How trends in such systems will affect 
                consumers, including--
                            (i) the effect on consumer access to flight 
                        reservation information; and
                            (ii) the effect on consumers of the use by 
                        the airline industry of penalties and 
                        promotions to convince distributors to use such 
                        systems, and the degree of consumer awareness 
                        of such penalties and promotions.
            (4) Legal impediments to distributors seeking relief for 
        anticompetitive actions.--The policies of the United States 
        with respect to the legal impediments to distributors seeking 
        relief for anticompetitive actions, including--
                    (A) Federal preemption of civil actions against 
                airlines; and
                    (B) the role of the Department of Transportation in 
                enforcing rules against anticompetitive practices.
    (e) Membership.--
            (1) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 15 
        voting members and 11 nonvoting members as follows:
                    (A) 5 voting members and 1 nonvoting member 
                appointed by the President.
                    (B) 3 voting members and 3 nonvoting members 
                appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    (C) 2 voting members and 2 nonvoting members 
                appointed by the minority leader of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    (D) 3 voting members and 3 nonvoting members 
                appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.
                    (E) 2 voting members and 2 nonvoting members 
                appointed by the minority leader of the Senate
            (2) Qualifications.--Voting members appointed pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall be appointed from among individuals who are 
        experts in economics, service product distribution, or 
        transportation, or any related discipline, and who can 
        represent consumers, passengers, shippers, travel agents, 
        airlines, or general aviation.
            (3) Terms.--Members shall be appointed for the life of the 
        Commission.
            (4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 
        in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
            (5) Travel expenses.--Members shall serve without pay but 
        shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of 
        title 5, United States Code.
            (6) Chairman.--The President, in consultation with the 
        Speaker of the House of Representatives and the majority leader 
        of the Senate, shall designate the Chairman of the Commission 
        from among its voting members.
    (f) Commission Panels.--The Chairman shall establish such panels 
consisting of voting members of the Commission as the Chairman 
determines appropriate to carry out the functions of the Commission.
    (g) Staff.--The Commission may appoint and fix the pay of such 
personnel as it considers appropriate.
    (h) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Commission, the 
head of any department or agency of the United States may detail, on a 
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency 
to the Commission to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 
section.
    (i) Other Staff and Support.--Upon the request of the Commission, 
or a panel of the Commission, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
provide the Commission or panel with professional and administrative 
staff and other support, on a reimbursable basis, to assist the 
Commission or panel in carrying out its responsibilities.
    (j) Obtaining Official Data.--The Commission may secure directly 
from any department or agency of the United States information (other 
than information required by any statute of the United States to be 
kept confidential by such department or agency) necessary for the 
Commission to carry out its duties under this section. Upon request of 
the Commission, the head of that department or agency shall furnish 
such nonconfidential information to the Commission.
    (k) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date on which 
initial appointments of members to the Commission are completed, the 
Commission shall transmit to the President and Congress a report on the 
activities of the Commission, including recommendations made by the 
Commission under subsection (c)(2).
    (l) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the 30th day 
following the date of transmittal of the report under subsection (k). 
All records and papers of the Commission shall thereupon be delivered 
by the Administrator of General Services for deposit in the National 
Archives.
    (m) Applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 
Commission.

Summary: Improved Consumer Access to Travel Information Act - Establishes the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry. Sets forth the Commission's duties, including to: (1) study consumer access to airline industry information on products and services, the effect on consumers of the declining financial condition of travel agents in the United States, and the impediments imposed by the airline industry on distributors of the industry's products and services, including travel agents and Internet-based distributors. And (2) recommend, based on the study results, to the President and Congress policies necessary to ensure full consumer access to complete information concerning airline fares, routes, and other services, that the means of distributing the products and services of the airline industry is adequate to ensure that competitive information is available in the marketplace, and that distributors of such products and services have adequate relief from illegal, anticompetitive practices that occur in the marketplace. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress on the Commission's activities, including any recommendations made by it.