II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3969 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to reform the Federal Aviation 

Administration’s aircraft certification process, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2020 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

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

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to reform the Federal Aviation Administration’s aircraft certification process, 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 ‘‘Aircraft Safety and 

5 Certification Reform Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Safety management system for manufacturers. 


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Sec. 5. Organization designation authorization. 

Sec. 6. Best practices for organization designation authorizations. 

Sec. 7. Review of human factors assumptions. 

Sec. 8. Human factors research. 

Sec. 9. FAA center of excellence for flight automation and human factors in 

aircraft. 

Sec. 10. Certification pilot operational evaluations. 

Sec. 11. FAA continuing education and training. 

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations for scientific and technical advisors. 

Sec. 13. Prohibition on certain performance-based incentives. 

Sec. 14. Safety reporting program. 

Sec. 15. Protection of whistleblowers. 

Sec. 16. Repeal of design and production organization certificate authority. 

Sec. 17. Ensuring appropriate responsibility of aircraft certification and flight 

standards performance objectives and metrics. 

Sec. 18. Review of FAA certification expertise. 

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the FAA. 

5 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (3) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed12 eral Aviation Administration. 

13 SEC. 4. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTUR14 ERS. 

15 (a) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con17 duct a rulemaking proceeding to require that manu18 facturers that hold both a type certificate and a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969

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1 duction certificate issued pursuant to section 44704 

2 of title 49, United States Code, where the United 

3 States is the State of Design and State of Manufac4 ture, have in place a safety management system that 

5 is consistent with the standards established by the 

6 International Civil Aviation Organization for such 

7 systems. 

8 (2) AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE.—Not 

9 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

10 this Act, the Administrator shall establish an avia11 tion rulemaking committee to make recommenda12 tions on the rulemaking to be carried out under 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 (b) FINAL RULE DEADLINE.—Not later than 24 

15 months after establishing the aviation rulemaking com16 mittee under subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall 

17 issue a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding 

18 required under subsection (a). 

19 (c) SURVEILLANCE AND AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 

20 The final rule issued pursuant to subsection (b) shall in21 clude a requirement for the Administrator to implement 

22 a documented surveillance process by defining and plan23 ning inspections, audits, and monitoring activities on a 

24 continuous basis, to ensure that design and production ap25 proval holders of aviation products meet and continue to 


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1 meet safety management system requirements under the 

2 rule. 

3 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATION. 

4 (a) APPROVAL OF ODA UNIT MEMBERS.—Section 

5 44736 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF ODA UNIT MEMBERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 

9 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this sub10 section, each individual who is a new member of an 

11 ODA unit of an ODA holder and performs an au12 thorized function pursuant to a delegation by the 

13 Administrator under section 44702(d) shall be an 

14 employee, a contractor, or the employee of a supplier 

15 of the ODA holder who is approved to be a member 

16 of the unit by the Administrator. The ODA holder 

17 may make provisional appointments of ODA unit 

18 members pending final approval by the Adminis19 trator. The Administrator shall approve or reject ap20 pointments within 120 days. 

21 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In approving appoint22 ments to an ODA unit, the Administrator shall take 

23 into account the technical proficiency and expertise 

24 of individuals. The Administrator shall issue min25 imum qualifications for ODA members that are subVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969

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1 ject to approval by the Administrator pursuant to 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) RESCISSION OF APPROVAL.—The Adminis4 trator may rescind an approval of an appointment to 

5 a ODA unit at any time for any reason the Adminis6 trator considers appropriate. The Administrator 

7 shall develop procedures to provide for proper notice 

8 and opportunity to appeal rescission decisions made 

9 by the Administrator. Such decisions by the Admin10 istrator are not subject to judicial review. 

11 ‘‘(4) RECORDS AND REPORTS.—An ODA holder 

12 shall maintain, for a period to be determined by the 

13 Administrator— 

14 ‘‘(A) any data, applications, records, or 

15 manuals required by the ODA holder’s ap16 proved procedures manual, as determined by 

17 the Administrator; 

18 ‘‘(B) the names, responsibilities, qualifica19 tions, and example signature of each member of 

20 the ODA unit who performs an authorized 

21 function pursuant to a delegation by the Ad22 ministrator under section 44702(d); 

23 ‘‘(C) training records for ODA unit mem24 bers and ODA administrators; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) any other data, applications, records, 

2 or manuals determined appropriate by the Ad3 ministrator. 

4 ‘‘(5) AUDITS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

6 shall perform a periodic audit of each ODA unit 

7 and its procedures. 

8 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—An audit required under 

9 subparagraph (A) shall be performed with re10 spect to an ODA holder once every 3 years (or 

11 more frequently as determined appropriate by 

12 the Administrator). 

13 ‘‘(C) RECORDS.—The ODA holder shall 

14 maintain, for a period to be determined by the 

15 Administrator, a record of— 

16 ‘‘(i) each audit conducted under this 

17 paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) any corrective actions resulting 

19 from each such audit. 

20 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL AVIATION SAFETY ADVISORS.—For 

21 ODA holders that are manufacturers that hold both a type 

22 and a production certificate for transport category air23 planes with a maximum takeoff gross weight greater than 

24 150,000 pounds and manufacturers of engines for such 

25 airplanes, the Administrator shall assign FAA aviation 


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1 safety engineers or inspectors with appropriate expertise 

2 to be advisors to the ODA unit members that are author3 ized to make findings of compliance on behalf of the Ad4 ministrator. Advisors shall communicate with assigned 

5 unit members on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are 

6 knowledgeable of relevant FAA policies and acceptable 

7 methods of compliance and shall monitor their perform8 ances to ensure consistency with those policies. 

9 ‘‘(f) COMMUNICATION WITH THE FAA.—Neither the 

10 Administrator nor an ODA holder may prohibit an ODA 

11 unit member from communicating with, or seeking the ad12 vice of, the Administrator or FAA staff.’’. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2022, 

14 the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate commit15 tees of Congress a report on the implementation of sub16 sections (d) through (f) of section 44736 of title 49, 

17 United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 6. BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZATION DESIGNA19 TION AUTHORIZATIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 213 of the FAA Reau21 thorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254, 132 Stat. 

22 3249) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking subsection (g); 

24 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

25 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; 


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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(c) BEST PRACTICES REVIEW.—In addition to con4 ducting the survey required under subsection (b), the 

5 Panel shall conduct a review of all ODA holders to identify 

6 and develop best practices. At a minimum, the best prac7 tices shall address preventing and deterring instances of 

8 undue pressure on or by an ODA unit member, within an 

9 ODA, or by an ODA holder, or instances of perceived reg10 ulatory coziness or other failures to maintain independ11 ence between the FAA and an ODA holder or ODA unit 

12 member. In carrying out such review, the Panel shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) examine other government regulated indus14 tries to gather lessons learned, procedures, or proc15 esses that address undue pressure of employees, per16 ceived regulatory coziness, or other failures to main17 tain independence; 

18 ‘‘(2) identify ways to improve communications 

19 between an ODA Administrator, ODA unit mem20 bers, and FAA engineers and inspectors, consistent 

21 with section 44736(g) of title 49, United States 

22 Code, in order to enable direct communication of 

23 technical concerns that arise during a certification 

24 project without fear of reprisal to the ODA Adminis25 trator or ODA unit member; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) examine the FAA Designee Program, in2 cluding the assignment of FAA advisors to des3 ignees, to determine which components of the pro4 gram may improve the FAA’s oversight of ODA 

5 units, ODA unit members, and the ODA program.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para7 graph (2))— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig9 nating paragraphs (4) through (6) as para10 graphs (3) through (5), respectively; 

11 (B) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by 

12 subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (C) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), 

15 by striking the period at the end and inserting 

16 ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) the results of the review conducted under 

19 subsection (c).’’; and 

20 (5) by inserting after subsection (g) (as redesig21 nated by paragraph (2)), the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES ADOPTION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date on which the Administrator receives 

25 the report required under subsection (e), the AdminVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969

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1 istrator shall establish best practices for all ODA 

2 holders and require such practices, as appropriate, 

3 to be incorporated into each ODA holder’s approved 

4 procedures manual. 

5 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND COMMENT PERIOD.—The Ad6 ministrator shall publish the established best prac7 tices for public notice and comment for not fewer 

8 than 60 days prior to requiring the practices, as ap9 propriate, be incorporated into each ODA holder’s 

10 approved procedures manual. 

11 ‘‘(i) SUNSET.—The Panel shall terminate on the ear12 lier of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the date of submission of the report under 

14 subsection (e); or 

15 ‘‘(2) the date that is 2 years after the date on 

16 which the Panel is first convened under subsection 

17 (a).’’. 

18 (b) PROCEDURES MANUAL.—Section 44736(b)(3) of 

19 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

21 after the semicolon at the end; 

22 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(G) ensure the ODA holders procedures 

2 manual contains procedures and policies based 

3 on best practices established by the Adminis4 trator of the FAA to mitigate undue pressure 

5 and regulatory coziness or other failures to 

6 maintain independence.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. REVIEW OF HUMAN FACTORS ASSUMPTIONS. 

8 (a) HUMAN FACTORS IN CERTIFICATION.—Not later 

9 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Administrator shall initiate a review and may, after such 

11 review and as necessary, revise existing regulations, in12 cluding, but not limited to, sections 25.1302, 25.1309, and 

13 25.1322 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and sup14 porting policies, guidelines, and advisory circulars, to inte15 grate and emphasize human factors and human system 

16 integration, particularly those related to pilot and aircraft 

17 interfaces. 

18 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Ad19 ministrator shall— 

20 (1) review existing assumptions on pilot rec21 ognition and response, including response to safety22 significant failure conditions, as part of the certifi23 cation process; 

24 (2) validate such assumptions with applicable 

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1 tors experts, and as necessary modify the existing 

2 assumptions; 

3 (3) ensure that when carrying out the certifi4 cation of a new aircraft type, including an amended 

5 or supplemental type, the cumulative impact that 

6 new technologies may have on pilot response are 

7 properly assessed through system safety assessments 

8 or otherwise; 

9 (4) ensure that any action carried out under 

10 this section accounts for the necessary adjustments 

11 to system safety assessments, pilot procedures and 

12 training needs, and design requirements; and 

13 (5) notify other international regulators that 

14 certify transport-category airplane type designs of 

15 the review and encourage them to evaluate any regu16 latory changes to their processes and address any 

17 changes, if applicable. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after com19 pleting the review required under subsection (a), the Ad20 ministrator shall submit a report to the appropriate com21 mittees of Congress detailing the results of the review and 

22 what revisions or other changes were made as a result of 

23 such review. 


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1 SEC. 8. HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH. 

2 (a) AUTOMATION HUMAN FACTORS.—Not later than 

3 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad4 ministrator, in consultation with aircraft manufacturers, 

5 operators, and pilots, and in coordination with the Admin6 istrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis7 tration, shall develop a research plan to address the inte8 gration of human factors in the design and certification 

9 of aircraft that are intended for use in air transportation. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the plan re11 quired under this section, the Administrator shall— 

12 (1) establish goals for research and continuing 

13 education in areas of study relevant to advancing 

14 technology, improving design engineering and certifi15 cation practices, and facilitating better under16 standing of human factors concepts in the context of 

17 the growing development and reliance on automation 

18 in aircraft operations, including, but not limited to, 

19 the development of tools to validate pilot recognition 

20 and response assumptions and diagnostic tools to 

21 improve the clarity of failure indications presented 

22 to pilots; 

23 (2) take into consideration and leverage any ex24 isting or planned research that is conducted by, or 

25 conducted in partnership with, the FAA; 

26 (3) focus on— 


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1 (A) preventing a recurrence of the types of 

2 recent accidents that have involved large trans3 port category airplanes designed and manufac4 tured in the United States; and 

5 (B) increasingly complex aircraft systems 

6 and designs. 

7 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the plan re8 quired under this section, the Administrator shall, to the 

9 maximum extent practicable, work with the Center of Ex10 cellence for Technical Training and Human Performance 

11 and the Center of Excellence focused on flight automation 

12 and human factors in aircraft that are intended for use 

13 in air transportation established under section 9. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

16 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

17 SEC. 9. FAA CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR FLIGHT AUTO18 MATION AND HUMAN FACTORS IN AIRCRAFT. 

19 (a) CENTER.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall de21 velop a Center of Excellence focused on flight auto22 mation and human factors in aircraft that are in23 tended for use in air transportation. 

24 (2) DUTIES.—The Center for Excellence 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) promote and facilitate collaboration 

2 among academia, the FAA, and the aircraft 

3 and airline industries, including aircraft, en4 gine, and equipment manufacturers, air car5 riers, and representatives of the airline pilot 

6 community; 

7 (B) establish goals for research and con8 tinuing education in areas of study relevant to 

9 advancing technology, improving engineering 

10 practices, and facilitating better understanding 

11 of human factors concepts in the context of the 

12 growing development and reliance on automa13 tion in commercial aircraft; and 

14 (C) examine issues related to human sys15 tem integration and flight crew and aircraft 

16 interfaces. 

17 (3) AVOIDING DUPLICATION OF WORK.—In es18 tablishing the Center of Excellence, the Adminis19 trator shall ensure the work of the Center of Excel20 lence does not duplicate or overlap with the work of 

21 any other established center of excellence. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

24 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION PILOT OPERATIONAL EVALUA2 TIONS. 

3 (a) CERTIFICATION OPERATIONAL EVALUATIONS.— 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, the Administrator shall revise existing policies for 

6 manufacturers of large transport category airplanes that 

7 are expected to be operated for scheduled passenger air 

8 transportation to ensure that pilot operational evaluations 

9 for airplanes that are in the process of being certified use 

10 pilots from foreign and domestic air carriers that are ex11 pected to operate such airplanes. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The air carrier pilots used for 

13 such evaluations shall include a representative sample of 

14 such carriers’ pilots with respect to levels of experience. 

15 SEC. 11. FAA CONTINUING EDUCATION AND TRAINING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 445 of title 49, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘§ 44519. Certification personnel continuing edu20 cation and training 

21 ‘‘(a) OFFICE.—Not later than 120 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 

23 FAA shall establish an Office of Continuing Education. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—The Office of Continuing Education 

25 shall administer a continuing education and training pro26 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The purpose of the 

2 continuing education and training program shall be to pro3 vide continuing education and training to FAA personnel 

4 who hold positions involving aircraft and flight standards 

5 certification, including engineers and inspectors. 

6 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—In administering the continuing 

7 education and training program, the Office of Continuing 

8 Education shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) in consultation with outside experts, de10 velop— 

11 ‘‘(A) an education and training curriculum 

12 on current and new aircraft technologies, 

13 project management, and the roles and respon14 sibilities associated with oversight of designees; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) best practices for compliance with 

17 FAA regulations; and 

18 ‘‘(2) hire and manage a staff of qualified indi19 viduals to educate and train FAA personnel de20 scribed in subsection (c) using the education and 

21 training curriculum and best practices developed 

22 under paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator, 

25 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 


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1 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated under the 

2 preceding sentence for any fiscal year shall remain avail3 able until expended. 

4 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF FAA.—In this section, the term 

5 ‘FAA’ means the Federal Aviation Administration.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The analysis for chapter 

7 445 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by insert8 ing after the item relating to section 44518 the following: 

‘‘44519. Certification personnel continuing education and training.’’. 

9 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR SCI10 ENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ADVISORS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad12 ministrator, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

13 through 2030 for salaries of specialized technical per14 sonnel with expertise in new and emerging technologies 

15 for such personnel to advise the Administrator on the de16 velopment of technical standards for new technologies and 

17 operations to be implemented in the FAA’s regulatory and 

18 certification programs. Amounts appropriated under the 

19 preceding sentence for any fiscal year shall remain avail20 able until expended. 

21 SEC. 13. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PERFORMANCE-BASED 

22 INCENTIVES. 

23 Section 106(l) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PERFORMANCE2 BASED INCENTIVES.—No employee of the Adminis3 tration shall be given an award, financial incentive, 

4 other compensation, or recognition as a result of ac5 tions to meet performance goals related to meeting 

6 schedules or quotas for certificates issued under sec7 tion 44704.’’. 

8 SEC. 14. SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, in order to improve safety 

11 in the individual certification application review process 

12 and potential trends relating to safety concerns, the Ad13 ministrator shall maintain a safety reporting program for 

14 FAA employees to anonymously and voluntarily report in15 stances where they have identified safety concerns during 

16 the certification process. 

17 (b) SAFETY REPORTING PROGRAM REQUIRE18 MENTS.—In maintaining the safety reporting program 

19 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall ensure the 

20 following: 

21 (1) The FAA maintains a reporting culture that 

22 encourages engineers and other appropriate FAA 

23 employees to voluntarily report when they believe an 

24 aspect of an aircraft design may be noncompliant, 

25 nonconforming, or unsafe. 


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1 (2) The safety reporting program is non-puni2 tive and anonymous. 

3 (3) The Administrator thoroughly reviews safe4 ty reports to determine whether there is a hazard, 

5 defect, noncompliance, nonconformance, or process 

6 error. 

7 (4) The Administrator thoroughly reviews safe8 ty reports to determine whether potential weaknesses 

9 in the aircraft certification processes led to safety 

10 concerns being raised regarding aircraft, engine, 

11 propeller, and appliance designs, including systems, 

12 components, parts, and materials. 

13 (5) If the Administrator determines that a haz14 ard, defect, noncompliance, nonconformance, or 

15 process error exists, the root cause is identified and 

16 appropriate action is taken to remedy the defect, 

17 noncompliance, nonconformance, or process error. 

18 (c) OUTCOMES.—Results of safety report reviews 

19 under this section may be used to— 

20 (1) improve— 

21 (A) safety systems, hazard control, and 

22 risk reduction; 

23 (B) certification systems; 

24 (C) FAA oversight; and 

25 (D) compliance and conformance; and 


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1 (2) implement lessons learned. 

2 (d) REPORT FILING.—The Administrator shall estab3 lish requirements for when in the certification process re4 ports may be filed, which may include certification mile5 stones, timelines, or other decision-making points, with the 

6 goals of ensuring that identified issues can be timely ad7 dressed and fostering open dialogue between applicants 

8 and FAA employees throughout the certification process. 

9 (e) INTEGRATION WITH OTHER SAFETY REPORTING

10 PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall harmonize the safe11 ty reporting program maintained under subsection (a) 

12 with other internal safety reporting programs the FAA 

13 maintains. 

14 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

16 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the appro17 priate committees of Congress a report on the effective18 ness of the safety reporting program maintained under 

19 subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 15. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

21 Section 42121(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

24 (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, 


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1 and moving the margins of such subparagraphs 2 

2 ems to the right; 

3 (2) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AIR4 LINE’’; 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘No air carrier’’ and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) AIR CARRIERS.—No air carrier’’; and 

8 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS.—No aircraft, 

10 engine, or propeller manufacturer that holds a cer11 tificate issued pursuant to section 44704 of title 49, 

12 United States Code, or contractor of, subcontractor 

13 of, or supplier to, such a manufacturer may dis14 charge an employee or otherwise discriminate 

15 against an employee with respect to compensation, 

16 terms, conditions, or privileges of employment be17 cause the employee (or any person acting pursuant 

18 to a request of the employee)— 

19 ‘‘(A) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

20 about to provide (with any knowledge of the 

21 employer) or cause to be provided to the em22 ployer or Federal Government information re23 lating to any violation or alleged violation of 

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1 sion of Federal law relating to aircraft, engine, 

2 or propeller manufacturer safety (including 

3 parts or components provided by contractors, 

4 subcontractors, or suppliers) under this subtitle 

5 or any other law of the United States; 

6 ‘‘(B) has filed, caused to be filed, or is 

7 about to file (with any knowledge of the em8 ployer) or cause to be filed a proceeding relat9 ing to any violation or alleged violation of any 

10 order, regulation, or standard of the Federal 

11 Aviation Administration or any other provision 

12 of Federal law, relating to aircraft, engine, or 

13 propeller manufacturer safety (including parts 

14 or components provided by contractors, sub15 contractors, or suppliers) under this subtitle or 

16 any other law of the United States; 

17 ‘‘(C) testified or is about to testify in such 

18 a proceeding; or 

19 ‘‘(D) assisted or participated or is about to 

20 assist or participate in such a proceeding.’’. 

21 SEC. 16. REPEAL OF DESIGN AND PRODUCTION ORGANIZA22 TION CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44704 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘air2 worthiness certificates, and design and 

3 production organization certificates’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘and airworthiness certificates’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) by striking subsection (e). 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 44702(a) 

8 of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the matter 

9 preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘design organization 

10 certificates,’’. 

11 SEC. 17. ENSURING APPROPRIATE RESPONSIBILITY OF AIR12 CRAFT CERTIFICATION AND FLIGHT STAND13 ARDS PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES AND 

14 METRICS. 

15 (a) REPEALS.—Sections 211 and 221 of the FAA Re16 authorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 44701 note) are re17 pealed. 

18 (b) CONFORMING REPEALS.—Paragraphs (8) and (9) 

19 of section 202(c) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 

20 (49 U.S.C. 44701 note) are repealed. 

21 SEC. 18. REVIEW OF FAA CERTIFICATION EXPERTISE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, and without duplicating any 

24 recently completed or ongoing reviews, the Administrator 

25 shall initiate a review of— 


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1 (1) the inspectors, engineers, managers, and ex2 ecutives in the FAA who are responsible for the cer3 tification of the design, manufacture, and operation 

4 of aircraft intended for air transportation for pur5 poses of determining whether the FAA has the ex6 pertise and capability to adequately understand the 

7 safety implications of, and oversee the adoption of, 

8 new or innovative technologies, materials, and proce9 dures that designers and manufacturers of such air10 craft may adopt or introduce; 

11 (2) the Chief Scientific and Technical Advisors 

12 program to determine whether the program should 

13 be enhanced or expanded to bolster and support the 

14 FAA’s aircraft certification and safety programs, 

15 particularly with respect to understanding the safety 

16 implications of new or innovative technologies, mate17 rials, aircraft, and procedures, that designers and 

18 manufacturers of such aircraft may adopt or intro19 duce; and 

20 (3) the FAA’s compensation policies for aircraft 

21 certification engineers relative to those of industry to 

22 determine whether compensation is adequate to at23 tract personnel with adequate experience. 

24 (b) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not later than 

25 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969

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1 ministrator shall complete the review required by sub2 section (a). 

3 (c) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days after the 

4 completion of the review required by subsection (a), the 

5 Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of 

6 Congress on the results of the review and any other related 

7 review. The briefing shall include the following: 

8 (1) An analysis of the FAA’s ability to hire 

9 safety inspectors, engineers, managers, executives, 

10 scientists, and technical advisors, who have the req11 uisite expertise to oversee new developments in aero12 space design and manufacturing. 

13 (2) A plan for the FAA to improve the overall 

14 expertise of the FAA’s personnel who are responsible 

15 for the oversight of the design and manufacture of 

16 aircraft. 

17 (3) Recommendations for such legislation, if 

18 any, as the Administrator determines necessary to 

19 carry out the plan required under paragraph (2). 

Æ 


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