II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3959 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide assistance for foreign 

civil aviation authorities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 15, 2020 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. MORAN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mrs. CAPITO) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide assistance 

for foreign civil aviation authorities, 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 ‘‘Foreign Civil Aviation 

5 Authority Assistance Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40104(b) of title 49, 

8 United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator shall’’ and 

10 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL ENGAGE5 MENT; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) engage bilaterally and multilaterally, 

8 including with the International Civil Aviation 

9 Organization, on an ongoing basis to bolster 

10 international collaboration, data sharing, and 

11 harmonization of international aviation safety 

12 requirements including through— 

13 ‘‘(i) sharing of continued operational 

14 safety information; 

15 ‘‘(ii) prioritization of pilot training de16 ficiencies, including manual flying skills 

17 and flight crew training, to discourage over 

18 reliance on automation, further bolstering 

19 the components of airmanship; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) prioritizing any other flight crew 

21 training areas that the Administrator be22 lieves will enhance all international avia23 tion safety; and 

24 ‘‘(B) seek to expand technical assistance 

25 provided by the Federal Aviation AdministraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jun 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3959.IS S3959

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1 tion in support of enhancing international avia2 tion safety, including by— 

3 ‘‘(i) promoting and enhancing effec4 tive oversight systems, including oper5 ational safety enhancements identified 

6 through data collection and analysis; 

7 ‘‘(ii) attaining, maintaining, and en8 hancing adherence to international safety 

9 standards by counterpart civil aviation au10 thorities; 

11 ‘‘(iii) minimizing cybersecurity threats 

12 and vulnerabilities across the aviation eco13 system; 

14 ‘‘(iv) supporting the sharing of safety 

15 information, best practices, risk assess16 ments, and mitigations through established 

17 international aviation safety groups; and 

18 ‘‘(v) providing technical assistance on 

19 any other aspect of aviation safety that the 

20 Administrator determines is likely to en21 hance international aviation safety.’’. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—there 

23 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

24 necessary to carry out the amendments made by this sec25 tion. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN AVIATION AUTHORITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40113(e)(1) of title 49, 

3 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘The Admin4 istrator also may provide technical assistance related to 

5 all aviation safety-related training and operational services 

6 in connection with bilateral and multilateral agreements, 

7 including further bolstering the components of airman8 ship.’’ after the first sentence. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 40113(e) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad14 ministrator, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2021 through 2026 to carry out this subsection. 

16 Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence 

17 for any fiscal year shall remain available until ex18 pended.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF IMPROVE20 MENTS TO INTERNATIONAL PILOT TRAINING 

21 TO ADDRESS FLIGHT DECK AUTOMATION 

22 AND HUMAN FACTORS. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the International Or25 ganizations and Programs (IO&P) account of the Depart26 ment of State, $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 


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1 through 2026, to remain available until expended. 

2 Amounts appropriated under the authority of the pre3 ceding sentence should be used for expenditures attrib4 utable to supporting implementation of recommendations 

5 included in the working paper titled, ‘‘Pilot Training Im6 provements to Address Automation Dependency’’ offered 

7 by the United States at the 40th Assembly of the Inter8 national Civil Aviation Organization and related to 

9 human-machine interface. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INTER11 NATIONAL PILOT TRAINING STANDARDS.— 

12 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 

13 findings: 

14 (A) Increased reliance on automation in 

15 commercial aviation risks a degradation of pilot 

16 skills in flight path management using manual 

17 flight control. 

18 (B) Manual flight skills are essential for 

19 pilot confidence and competence. 

20 (C) During the 40th Assembly of the 

21 International Civil Aviation Organization, the 

22 United States, Canada, Peru, and Trinidad and 

23 Tobago presented a working paper titled, ‘‘Pilot 

24 Training Improvements to Address Automation 

25 Dependency’’. 


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1 (D) The working paper outlines rec2 ommendations for the Assembly to mitigate the 

3 consequences of automation dependency, includ4 ing identifying competency requirements for 

5 flight path management using manual flight 

6 control and assessing the need for new or 

7 amended international standards or guidance. 

8 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

9 Congress that, as soon as practicable— 

10 (A) the recommendations included in the 

11 working paper titled, ‘‘Pilot Training Improve12 ments to Address Automation Dependency’’ of13 fered by the United States at the 40th Assem14 bly of the International Civil Aviation Organiza15 tion should be carried out by the Assembly; and 

16 (B) the United States should work with 

17 the International Civil Aviation Organization 

18 and other international aviation safety groups, 

19 further bolstering the components of airman20 ship. 

Æ 


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