II 

Calendar No. 225 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 516 

[Report No. 117–53] 

To plan for and coordinate efforts to integrate advanced air mobility aircraft 

into the national airspace system, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2021 

Mr. MORAN (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

DECEMBER 17, 2021 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To plan for and coordinate efforts to integrate advanced 

air mobility aircraft into the national airspace system, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Air Mobility 

5 Coordination and Leadership Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY WORKING GROUP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor4 tation shall establish an advanced air mobility interagency 

5 working group (in this section referred to as the ‘‘working 

6 group’’). 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) represents a key 

9 area of sustainable transportation and economic growth 

10 for the United States and globally, and that it is impera11 tive that the United States take a leadership role in the 

12 adoption and furtherance of this technology. Therefore, 

13 given the path to initial operations is taking place utilizing 

14 today’s regulatory framework, it is critical that govern15 ment agencies collaborate and focus on taking this vital 

16 industry to the next level. 

17 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the working group es18 tablished under this section is to plan for and coordinate 

19 efforts related to the physical and digital security, safety, 

20 infrastructure, and Federal investment necessary for mat21 uration of the AAM ecosystem in the United States in 

22 order to— 

23 (1) further United States leadership; 

24 (2) grow new transportation options; 

25 (3) amplify economic activity and jobs; 


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1 (4) advance environmental sustainability and 

2 new technologies; and 

3 (5) support emergency preparedness and com4 petitiveness. 

5 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall be com6 prised of at least 1 representative of each of the following 

7 Federal departments and agencies: 

8 (1) Department of Transportation. 

9 (2) Federal Aviation Administration. 

10 (3) National Aeronautics and Space Adminis11 tration. 

12 (4) Department of Commerce 

13 (5) Department of Defense. 

14 (6) Department of Energy. 

15 (7) Department of Homeland Security. 

16 (8) Department of Agriculture. 

17 (9) Department of Labor. 

18 (10) Such other departments or agencies as the 

19 Secretary of Transportation determines appropriate. 

20 (e) COORDINATION.—The working group shall en21 gage with aviation industry and labor stakeholders, certi22 fying organizations, and others determined appropriate by 

23 the Secretary of Transportation, including— 


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1 (1) manufacturers of avionics, AAM aircraft, 

2 propulsion systems, structures, and air traffic man3 agement systems; 

4 (2) operators of AAM aircraft; 

5 (3) air carriers and general aviation operators; 

6 (4) airports; 

7 (5) fixed-based operators; 

8 (6) labor representatives of pilots, air traffic 

9 controllers, and aviation safety inspectors; 

10 (7) State, local, and Tribal officials or public 

11 agencies, with representation of both urban and 

12 rural areas; 

13 (8) first responders; 

14 (9) groups representing environmental interests; 

15 (10) electric utilities, energy providers and mar16 ket operators; 

17 (11) academia with experience working with in18 dustry on new technology and commercialization; 

19 and 

20 (12) training and maintenance providers. 

21 (f) REVIEW AND EXAMINATION.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the working group is established under sub23 section (a), the working group shall complete a review and 

24 examination of, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) the steps which will mature AAM past ini2 tial operations; 

3 (2) the evaluation of physical and digital secu4 rity and safety requirements involved with future air 

5 traffic control concepts which might be considered as 

6 part of evolving AAM to higher levels of traffic den7 sity; 

8 (3) current Federal programs and policies that 

9 could be leveraged to advance the maturation of the 

10 AAM industry; 

11 (4) infrastructure, including aviation, surface 

12 and energy infrastructure, physical and digital secu13 rity, and utilities necessary to accommodate and 

14 support expanded operations of AAM after initial 

15 implementation; 

16 (5) anticipated benefits associated with AAM 

17 aircraft operations, including economic, environ18 mental, emergency response, and transportation ben19 efits; and 

20 (6) other factors that may limit the full poten21 tial of the AAM industry, including community ac22 ceptance of such operations. 

23 (g) AAM NATIONAL STRATEGY.—Based on the re24 view and examination performed under subsection (f), the 


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1 working group shall develop an AAM National Strategy 

2 that includes— 

3 (1) recommendations regarding the safety, se4 curity, infrastructure, air traffic concepts, and other 

5 Federal investment or actions necessary to support 

6 the evolution of early AAM to higher levels of activ7 ity and societal benefit; and 

8 (2) a comprehensive plan detailing the roles and 

9 responsibilities of each Federal department and 

10 agency necessary to facilitate implementing the rec11 ommendations developed under paragraph (1). 

12 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com13 pletion of the review and examination performed under 

14 subsection (f), the working group shall submit to the ap15 propriate committees of Congress a report— 

16 (1) detailing the review and examination per17 formed under subsection (f); and 

18 (2) providing the AAM National Strategy, in19 cluding the plan and associated recommendations, 

20 developed under subsection (g). 

21 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY; AAM.—The terms 

23 ‘‘advanced air mobility’’ and ‘‘AAM’’ mean an air 

24 transportation system that moves people and cargo 

25 between places using new aircraft designs including 


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1 electric aircraft and electric vertical take-off and 

2 landing aircraft (eVTOL), which are integrated into 

3 existing airspace operations as well as operated in 

4 local, regional, intraregional, rural, and urban envi5 ronments, and which may include unmanned or re6 motely piloted vehicles. 

7 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con9 gress’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 

13 the Senate; 

14 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

15 the Senate; 

16 (D) the Committee on Transportation and 

17 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

18 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of 

19 the House of Representatives; and 

20 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the House of Representatives. 

22 (3) ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘electric 

23 aircraft’’ means any fixed-wing airplane, rotorcraft, 

24 or VTOL aircraft with a fully electric or hybrid (fuel 


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1 and electric) driven propulsion system used for 

2 flight. 

3 (4) VERTICAL TAKE-OFF AND LANDING; 

4 VTOL.—The terms ‘‘vertical take-off and landing’’ 

5 and ‘‘VTOL’’ mean an aircraft with lift/thrust units 

6 used to generate powered lift and control and with 

7 more than two lift/thrust units used to provide lift 

8 during vertical take-off or landing. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Air Mobility 

11 Coordination and Leadership Act’’. 

12 SEC. 2. ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY WORKING GROUP. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor15 tation shall establish an advanced air mobility interagency 

16 working group (in this section referred to as the ‘‘working 

17 group’’). 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

19 that Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) represents a key area 

20 of sustainable transportation and economic growth for the 

21 United States and globally, and that it is imperative that 

22 the United States take a leadership role in the adoption 

23 and furtherance of this technology. Therefore, given the path 

24 to initial operations is taking place utilizing today’s regu25 latory framework, it is critical that government agencies 


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1 collaborate and focus on taking this vital industry to the 

2 next level through policy and investment in energy, infra3 structure, security and transportation. The focus of the 

4 working group is interagency coordination to enable the 

5 maturation and growth of AAM. 

6 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the working group es7 tablished under this section is to plan for and coordinate 

8 efforts related to safety, infrastructure, physical security 

9 and cybersecurity, and Federal investment necessary for 

10 maturation of the AAM ecosystem, particularly passenger11 carrying aircraft, in the United States in order to— 

12 (1) further United States leadership; 

13 (2) grow new transportation options; 

14 (3) amplify economic activity and jobs; 

15 (4) advance environmental sustainability and 

16 new technologies; and 

17 (5) support emergency preparedness and com18 petitiveness. 

19 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall be com20 prised of at least 1 representative of each of the following 

21 Federal departments and agencies: 

22 (1) Department of Transportation. 

23 (2) Federal Aviation Administration. 

24 (3) National Aeronautics and Space Administra25 tion. 


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1 (4) Department of Commerce 

2 (5) Department of Defense. 

3 (6) Department of Energy. 

4 (7) Department of Homeland Security. 

5 (8) Department of Agriculture. 

6 (9) Department of Labor. 

7 (10) Federal Communications Commission. 

8 (11) Such other departments or agencies as the 

9 Secretary of Transportation determines appropriate. 

10 (e) COORDINATION.—The working group shall engage 

11 with State, local, and Tribal governments, industry and 

12 labor stakeholders, stakeholder associations, and others de13 termined appropriate by the Secretary of Transportation, 

14 including— 

15 (1) manufacturers of avionics, AAM use aircraft, 

16 propulsion systems, structures, and air traffic man17 agement systems; 

18 (2) air carriers, commercial operators, general 

19 aviation operators and future AAM operators; 

20 (3) airports; 

21 (4) fixed-based operators, as defined in FAA Ad22 visory Circular 150/5190-7; 

23 (5) certified labor representatives for pilots asso24 ciations, air traffic control specialists employed by 


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1 the Federal Aviation Administration, and aviation 

2 safety inspectors; 

3 (6) State, local, and Tribal officials or public 

4 agencies, with representation from both urban and 

5 rural areas; 

6 (7) first responders; 

7 (8) groups representing environmental interests; 

8 (9) electric utilities, energy providers and market 

9 operators of electricity; 

10 (10) academia with experience working with in11 dustry on new technology and commercialization; 

12 (11) groups representing the telecommunications 

13 industry; and 

14 (12) aviation training and maintenance pro15 viders. 

16 (f) REVIEW AND EXAMINATION.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the working group is established under subsection (a), 

18 the working group shall complete a review and examination 

19 of, at a minimum— 

20 (1) the steps that will mature AAM past initial 

21 operations; 

22 (2) the evaluation of air traffic control and man23 agement concepts that might be considered as part of 

24 evolving AAM to higher levels of traffic density; 


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1 (3) current Federal programs and policies that 

2 could be leveraged to advance the maturation of the 

3 AAM industry; 

4 (4) infrastructure, including aviation, surface, 

5 energy, and telecommunications infrastructure, phys6 ical security and cybersecurity, and utilities nec7 essary to accommodate and support expanded oper8 ations of AAM after initial implementation; 

9 (5) steps needed to ensure a robust domestic sup10 ply chain; 

11 (6) anticipated benefits associated with AAM 

12 aircraft operations, including economic, environ13 mental, emergency response, and transportation bene14 fits; 

15 (7) the interests, roles, and responsibilities of 

16 Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments affected 

17 by AAM aircraft operations; and 

18 (8) other factors that may limit the full potential 

19 of the AAM industry, including community accept20 ance or restrictions of such operations. 

21 (g) AAM NATIONAL STRATEGY.—Based on the review 

22 and examination performed under subsection (f), the work23 ing group shall develop an AAM National Strategy that in24 cludes— 


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1 (1) recommendations regarding the safety, secu2 rity, infrastructure, air traffic concepts, and other 

3 Federal investment or actions necessary to support 

4 the evolution of early AAM to higher levels of activity 

5 and societal benefit; and 

6 (2) a comprehensive plan detailing the roles and 

7 responsibilities of each Federal department and agen8 cy, and of State, local, and Tribal governments, nec9 essary to facilitate implementing the recommenda10 tions developed under paragraph (1). 

11 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com12 pletion of the review and examination performed under sub13 section (f), the working group shall submit to the appro14 priate committees of Congress a report— 

15 (1) detailing the review and examination per16 formed under subsection (f); and 

17 (2) providing the AAM National Strategy, in18 cluding the plan and associated recommendations, de19 veloped under subsection (g). 

20 (i) EVALUATION OF TERMINATION OF WORKING

21 GROUP.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

22 the working group submits the report required under sub23 section (h), the Secretary of Transportation shall evaluate 

24 and decide whether to terminate the working group and 


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1 shall notify the appropriate committees of Congress of such 

2 decision. 

3 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY; AAM.—The terms 

5 ‘‘advanced air mobility’’ and ‘‘AAM’’ mean an air 

6 transportation system that moves people and cargo 

7 between places using innovative aircraft designs (such 

8 as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)) and new 

9 technologies (such as electric or hybrid (fuel and elec10 tric) driven propulsion), which are integrated into ex11 isting airspace operations as well as operated in 

12 local, regional, intraregional, rural, and urban envi13 ronments, and which may include remotely piloted or 

14 autonomous aircraft. 

15 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

16 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate; 

20 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

21 Senate; 

22 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (D) the Committee on Transportation and 

25 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

2 House of Representatives; and 

3 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 (3) VERTICAL TAKE-OFF AND LANDING; VTOL.— 

6 The terms ‘‘vertical take-off and landing’’ and 

7 ‘‘VTOL’’ mean an aircraft with lift/thrust units used 

8 to generate powered lift and control and with more 

9 than two lift/thrust units used to provide lift during 

10 vertical take-off or landing. 

11 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

14 the United States shall— 

15 (1) conduct a study on the interests, roles, and 

16 responsibilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

17 governments affected by AAM aircraft and operations; 

18 and 

19 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of Con20 gress a report on the study, including the Comptroller 

21 General’s findings and conclusions. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study re23 quired under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 

24 review the following: 


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1 (1) The state of the law as of the enactment of 

2 this Act with respect to Federal authority over oper3 ations of AAM aircraft systems in the national air4 space system. 

5 (2) The state of the law as of the enactment of 

6 this Act with respect to State, local, and Tribal au7 thority over operations of AAM aircraft in the na8 tional airspace system. 

9 (3) Potential gaps between authorities under 

10 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

11 (4) Proposals to facilitate the safe and finan12 cially viable growth and development of the AAM in13 dustry and integration of AAM aircraft into the na14 tional airspace system. 


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Calendar No. 225 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 516 

[Report No. 117–53] 

A BILL 

To plan for and coordinate efforts to integrate adspace system, and for other purposes. vanced air mobility aircraft into the national airDECEMBER 17, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


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