I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 903

To establish a commission to review the Federal Aviation Administration.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 2001

Mr. WOLF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To establish a commission to review the Federal Aviation

Administration.

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 ‘‘Commission for Com5 prehensive Review of the Federal Aviation Administration

6 Act’’.

7 SEC. 2. COMMISSION.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com9 mission to be known as the Commission for Comprehen10 sive Review of the Federal Aviation Administration (re11 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’).
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1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Commission

2 shall be—

3 (1) to review existing and alternative options

4 for organizational structure of air traffic services, in5 cluding a government corporation and incentive

6 based fees for services;

7 (2) to provide recommendations for any nec8 essary changes in structure of the Federal Aviation

9 Administration so that it will be able to support the

10 future growth in the national aviation and airport

11 system; except that the Commission may only rec12 ommend changes to the structure and organization

13 of the Federal Aviation Administration that are

14 within the existing structure of the Federal Govern15 ment;

16 (3) to review air traffic management system

17 performance and to identify appropriate levels of

18 cost accountability for air traffic management serv19 ices;

20 (4) to review aviation safety and make rec21 ommendations for the long-term improvement of

22 safety; and

23 (5) to make additional recommendations that

24 would advance more efficient and effective Federal

25 Aviation Administration for the benefit of the gen-
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1 eral traveling public and the aviation transportation

2 industry.

3 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

4 (1) APPOINTMENTS.—The Commission shall be

5 composed of 24 members appointed by the President

6 as follows:

7 (A) 8 individuals with no personal or busi8 ness financial interest in the airline or aero9 space industry to represent the traveling public.

10 Of these, 1 shall be a nationally recognized ex11 pert in finance, 1 in corporate management and

12 1 in human resources management.

13 (B) 6 individuals from the airline industry.

14 Of these, 1 shall be from a major national air

15 carrier, 1 from an unaffiliated regional air car16 rier, 1 from a cargo air carrier, 1 from the Air17 craft Owners and Pilots Association, and 1

18 from the National Association of State Aviation

19 Officials.

20 (C) 3 individuals representing labor and

21 professional associations. Of these, 1 shall be

22 from National Air Traffic Controllers Associa23 tion, 1 from the Air Line Pilots Association,

24 and 1 from the Professional Airways Systems

25 Specialists.
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1 (D) 2 individuals representing airports and

2 airport authorities. Of these, 1 shall be rep3 resent a large hub airport.

4 (E) 1 individual representing the aerospace

5 and aircraft manufacturers industries.

6 (F) 1 individual from the Department of

7 Defense.

8 (G) 1 individual from the National Aero9 nautics and Space Administration.

10 (H) 2 individuals from the Department of

11 Transportation. Of these, 1 shall be from the

12 Federal Aviation Administration and 1 from the

13 Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

14 (2) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed

15 for a term of 18 months.

16 (d) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission may conduct

17 its first meeting as soon as a majority of the members

18 of the Commission are appointed.

19 (e) HEARINGS AND CONSULTATION.—

20 (1) HEARINGS.—The Commission shall take

21 such testimony and solicit and receive such com22 ments from the public and other interested parties

23 as it considers appropriate, shall conduct at least 2

24 public hearings after affording adequate notice to
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1 the public thereof, and may conduct such additional

2 hearings as may be necessary.

3 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Commission shall

4 consult on a regular and frequent basis with the

5 Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of De6 fense, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

7 Transportation, the Committee on Appropriations

8 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and

9 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc10 ture, the Committee on Appropriations and the

11 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of

12 Representatives.

13 (3) FACA NOT TO APPLY.—The Commission

14 shall not be considered an advisory committee for

15 purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

16 U.S.C. App.).

17 (f) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND STAFF.—The Fed18 eral Aviation Administration may give the Commission ap19 propriate access to relevant documents and personnel and

20 shall make available, consistent with the authority to with21 hold commercial and other proprietary information under

22 section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly

23 known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), cost data

24 associated with the acquisition and operation of air traffic

25 service systems. Any member of the Commission who re-
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1 ceives commercial or other proprietary data from the Fed2 eral Aviation Administration shall be subject to the provi3 sions of section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, per4 taining to unauthorized disclosure of such information.

5 (g) TRAVEL AND PER DIEM.—Each member of the

6 Commission shall be paid actual travel expenses, and per

7 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses when away from such

8 member’s usual place of residence, in accordance with sec9 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

10 (h) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL FROM THE FEDERAL

11 AVIATION ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator of the

12 Federal Aviation Administration shall make available to

13 the Commission such staff, administrative services, and

14 other personnel assistance as may reasonably be required

15 to enable the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

16 under this section.

17 SEC. 3. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

18 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days

19 after receiving the final report of the Commission and in

20 no event more than 1 year after the date of the enactment

21 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, after con22 sulting the Secretary of Defense, shall transmit a report

23 to the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation, Appropriations, and Finance of the Senate and the

25 Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Appro-
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1 priations, and Ways and Means of the House of Rep2 resentatives.

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall include in the

4 report to Congress under subsection (a) a final report of

5 findings and recommendations of the Commission under

6 section 2(b), including any necessary changes to current

7 law to carry out these recommendations in the form of

8 proposed legislation.

9 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

11 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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