IIB

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1000

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 16, 1999

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize programs of the Federal Aviation Administration, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Cen4 tury’’.

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Amendments to title 49, United States Code.

Sec. 3. Applicability.

Sec. 4. Administrator defined.

TITLE I—AIRPORT AND AIRWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Subtitle A—Funding

Sec. 101. Airport improvement program.

Sec. 102. Airway facilities improvement program.

Sec. 103. FAA operations.

Sec. 104. AIP formula changes.

Sec. 105. Passenger facility fees.

Sec. 106. Budget submission.

Subtitle B—Airport Development

Sec. 121. Runway incursion prevention devices; emergency call boxes.

Sec. 122. Windshear detection equipment.

Sec. 123. Enhanced vision technologies.

Sec. 124. Pavement maintenance.

Sec. 125. Competition plans.

Sec. 126. Matching share.

Sec. 127. Letters of intent.

Sec. 128. Grants from small airport fund.

Sec. 129. Discretionary use of unused apportionments.

Sec. 130. Designating current and former military airports.

Sec. 131. Contract tower cost-sharing.

Sec. 132. Innovative use of airport grant funds.

Sec. 133. Aviation security program.

Sec. 134. Inherently low-emission airport vehicle pilot program.

Sec. 135. Technical amendments.

Sec. 136. Conveyances of airport property for public airports.

Sec. 137. Intermodal connections.

Sec. 138. State block grant program.

Sec. 139. Engineered materials arresting systems.

Subtitle C—Miscellaneous

Sec. 151. Treatment of certain facilities as airport-related projects.

Sec. 152. Terminal development costs.

Sec. 153. General facilities authority.

Sec. 154. Denial of airport access to certain air carriers.

Sec. 155. Construction of runways.

Sec. 156. Use of recycled materials.
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Sec. 157. Aircraft noise primarily caused by military aircraft.

Sec. 158. Timely announcement of grants.

TITLE II—AIRLINE SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS

Subtitle A—Service to Airports Not Receiving Sufficient Service

Sec. 201. Access to high density airports.

Sec. 202. Funding for air carrier service to airports not receiving sufficient

service.

Sec. 203. Waiver of local contribution.

Sec. 204. Policy for air service to rural areas.

Sec. 205. Determination of distance from hub airport.

Subtitle B—Regional Air Service Incentive Program

Sec. 211. Establishment of regional air service incentive program.

TITLE III—FAA MANAGEMENT REFORM

Sec. 301. Air traffic control system defined.

Sec. 302. Air Traffic Control Oversight Board.

Sec. 303. Chief Operating Officer.

Sec. 304. Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council.

Sec. 305. Environmental streamlining.

Sec. 306. Clarification of regulatory approval process.

Sec. 307. Independent study of FAA costs and allocations.

Sec. 308. Failure to meet rulemaking deadline.

Sec. 309. Federal Procurement Integrity Act.

TITLE IV—FAMILY ASSISTANCE

Sec. 401. Responsibilities of National Transportation Safety Board.

Sec. 402. Air carrier plans.

Sec. 403. Foreign air carrier plans.

Sec. 404. Applicability of Death on the High Seas Act.

TITLE V—SAFETY

Sec. 501. Cargo collision avoidance systems deadlines.

Sec. 502. Records of employment of pilot applicants.

Sec. 503. Whistleblower protection for FAA employees.

Sec. 504. Safety risk mitigation programs.

Sec. 505. Flight operations quality assurance rules.

Sec. 506. Small airport certification.

Sec. 507. Life-limited aircraft parts.

Sec. 508. FAA may fine unruly passengers.

Sec. 509. Report on air transportation oversight system.

Sec. 510. Airplane emergency locators.

Sec. 511. Landfills interfering with air commerce.

Sec. 512. Amendment of statute prohibiting the bringing of hazardous substances aboard an aircraft.

Sec. 513. Airport safety needs.

Sec. 514. Limitation on entry into maintenance implementation procedures.

Sec. 515. Occupational injuries of airport workers.

Sec. 516. Airport dispatchers.

Sec. 517. Improved training for airframe and powerplant mechanics.
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TITLE VI—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

Sec. 601. Protection of employees providing air safety information.

Sec. 602. Civil penalty.

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 701. Duties and powers of Administrator.

Sec. 702. Public aircraft.

Sec. 703. Prohibition on release of offeror proposals.

Sec. 704. Multiyear procurement contracts.

Sec. 705. Federal Aviation Administration personnel management system.

Sec. 706. Nondiscrimination in airline travel.

Sec. 707. Joint venture agreement.

Sec. 708. Extension of war risk insurance program.

Sec. 709. General facilities and personnel authority.

Sec. 710. Implementation of article 83 bis of the Chicago Convention.

Sec. 711. Public availability of airmen records.

Sec. 712. Appeals of emergency revocations of certificates.

Sec. 713. Government and industry consortia.

Sec. 714. Passenger manifest.

Sec. 715. Cost recovery for foreign aviation services.

Sec. 716. Technical corrections to civil penalty provisions.

Sec. 717. Waiver under Airport Noise and Capacity Act.

Sec. 718. Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority.

Sec. 719. Acquisition management system.

Sec. 720. Centennial of Flight Commission.

Sec. 721. Aircraft situational display data.

Sec. 722. Elimination of backlog of equal employment opportunity complaints.

Sec. 723. Newport News, Virginia.

Sec. 724. Grant of easement, Los Angeles, California.

Sec. 725. Regulation of Alaska guide pilots.

Sec. 726. Aircraft repair and maintenance advisory panel.

Sec. 727. Operations of air taxi industry.

Sec. 728. Sense of the Congress concerning completion of comprehensive national airspace redesign.

Sec. 729. Compliance with requirements.

Sec. 730. Aircraft noise levels at airports.

Sec. 731. FAA consideration of certain State proposals.

Sec. 732. Cincinnati-Municipal Blue Ash Airport.

Sec. 733. Aircraft and aircraft parts for use in responding to oil spills.

Sec. 734. Discriminatory practices by computer reservations systems outside

the United States.

Sec. 735. Alkali silica reactivity distress.

Sec. 736. Procurement of private enterprise mapping, charting, and geographic

information systems.

Sec. 737. Land use compliance report.

Sec. 738. National transportation data center of excellence.

Sec. 739. Monroe Regional Airport land conveyance.

Sec. 740. Automated weather forecasting systems.

Sec. 741. Noise study of Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona.

Sec. 742. Nonmilitary helicopter noise.

TITLE VIII—NATIONAL PARKS AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT

Sec. 801. Short title.
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Sec. 802. Findings.

Sec. 803. Air tour management plans for national parks.

Sec. 804. Advisory group.

Sec. 805. Reports.

Sec. 806. Methodologies used to assess air tour noise.

Sec. 807. Exemptions.

Sec. 808. Definitions.

TITLE IX—TRUTH IN BUDGETING

Sec. 901. Short title.

Sec. 902. Budgetary treatment of Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

Sec. 903. Safeguards against deficit spending out of Airport and Airway Trust

Fund.

Sec. 904. Adjustments to discretionary spending limits.

Sec. 905. Applicability.

TITLE X—ADJUSTMENT OF TRUST FUND AUTHORIZATIONS

Sec. 1001. Adjustment of trust fund authorizations.

Sec. 1002. Budget estimates.

Sec. 1003. Sense of the Congress on fully offsetting increased aviation spending.

TITLE XI—EXTENSION OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND

EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY

Sec. 1101. Extension of expenditure authority.

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made

6 to a section or other provision of title 49, United States

7 Code.

8 SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.

9 Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Act

10 and the amendments made by this Act shall apply only

11 to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1999.
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1 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATOR DEFINED.

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad3 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

4 TITLE I—AIRPORT AND AIRWAY

5 IMPROVEMENTS

6 Subtitle A—Funding

7 SEC. 101. AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

9 48103 is amended by striking ‘‘shall be’’ the last place

10 it appears and all that follows through the period at the

11 end and inserting the following: ‘‘shall be—

12 ‘‘(1) $2,410,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

13 ‘‘(2) $2,475,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

14 ‘‘(3) $4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

15 ‘‘(4) $4,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

16 ‘‘(5) $4,250,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

17 ‘‘(6) $4,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

18 (b) OBLIGATIONAL AUTHORITY.—Section 47104(c)

19 is amended by striking ‘‘After’’ and all that follows

20 through ‘‘1999,’’ and inserting ‘‘After September 30,

21 2004,’’.

22 SEC. 102. AIRWAY FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

23 (a) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIA24 TIONS.—Effective September 30, 1999, section 48101(a)

25 is amended by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and

26 inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal

2 year 2000.

3 ‘‘(2) $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

4 ‘‘(3) $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years

5 2002 through 2004.’’.

6 (b) UNIVERSAL ACCESS SYSTEMS.—Section 48101 is

7 amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(d) UNIVERSAL ACCESS SYSTEMS.—Of the amounts

9 appropriated under subsection (a) for fiscal year 2001,

10 $8,000,000 may be used for the voluntary purchase and

11 installation of universal access systems.’’.

12 (c) ALASKA NATIONAL AIR SPACE COMMUNICATIONS

13 SYSTEM.—Section 48101 is further amended by adding

14 at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(e) ALASKA NATIONAL AIR SPACE COMMUNICA16 TIONS SYSTEM.—Of the amounts appropriated under sub17 section (a) for fiscal year 2001, $7,200,000 may be used

18 by the Administrator for the Alaska National Air Space

19 Interfacility Communications System if the Administrator

20 issues a report supporting the use of such funds for the

21 System.’’.

22 (d) AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVATION SYSTEM/

23 AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVING SYSTEM UPGRADE.—

24 Section 48101 is further amended by adding at the end

25 the following:
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1 ‘‘(f) AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVATION SYSTEM/

2 AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVING SYSTEM UPGRADE.—

3 Of the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for fis4 cal years beginning after September 30, 2000, such sums

5 as may be necessary for the implementation and use of

6 upgrades to the current automated surface observation

7 system/automated weather observing system, if the up8 grade is successfully demonstrated.’’.

9 SEC. 103. FAA OPERATIONS.

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM

11 GENERAL FUND.—Effective September 30, 1999, section

12 106(k) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

14 ‘‘There’’;

15 (2) in paragraph (1) (as designated by para16 graph (1) of this subsection) by striking ‘‘the Ad17 ministration’’ and all that follows through the period

18 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘the

19 Administration—

20 ‘‘(A) such sums as may be necessary for

21 fiscal year 2000;

22 ‘‘(B) $6,450,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

23 ‘‘(C) $6,886,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

24 ‘‘(D) $7,357,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(E) $7,860,000,000 for fiscal year

2 2004.’’;

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

4 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—Of the

5 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) for fiscal

6 years 2001 through 2004—

7 ‘‘(A) $450,000 per fiscal year may be used

8 for wildlife hazard mitigation measures and

9 management of the wildlife strike database of

10 the Federal Aviation Administration;

11 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary may

12 be used to fund an office within the Federal

13 Aviation Administration dedicated to supporting

14 infrastructure systems development for both

15 general aviation and the vertical flight industry;

16 ‘‘(C) such sums as may be necessary may

17 be used to revise existing terminal and en route

18 procedures and instrument flight rules to facili19 tate the takeoff, flight, and landing of tiltrotor

20 aircraft and to improve the national airspace

21 system by separating such aircraft from con22 gested flight paths of fixed-wing aircraft;

23 ‘‘(D) such sums as may be necessary may

24 be used to establish helicopter approach proce25 dures using current technologies (such as the
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1 Global Positioning System) to support all2 weather, emergency medical service for trauma

3 patients;

4 ‘‘(E) $3,000,000 per fiscal year may be

5 used to implement the 1998 airport surface op6 erations safety action plan of the Federal Avia7 tion Administration;

8 ‘‘(F) $2,000,000 per fiscal year may be

9 used to support a university consortium estab10 lished to provide an air safety and security

11 management certificate program, working coop12 eratively with United States air carriers; except

13 that funds under this subparagraph—

14 ‘‘(i) may not be used for the construc15 tion of a building or other facility; and

16 ‘‘(ii) may only be awarded on the

17 basis of open competition;

18 ‘‘(G) such sums as may be necessary may

19 be used to develop or improve training pro20 grams (including model training programs and

21 curriculum) for security screeners at airports;

22 and

23 ‘‘(H) such sums as may be necessary for

24 the Secretary to hire additional inspectors in
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1 order to enhance air cargo security programs.’’;

2 and

3 (4) by indenting paragraph (1) (as designated

4 by paragraph (1) of this subsection) and aligning

5 such paragraph (1) with paragraph (2) (as added by

6 paragraph (2) of this subsection).

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM

8 TRUST FUND.—Section 48104 is amended—

9 (1) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating

10 subsection (c) as subsection (b);

11 (2) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated)—

12 (A) by striking the subsection heading and

13 inserting ‘‘GENERAL RULE: LIMITATION ON

14 TRUST FUND AMOUNTS.—’’; and

15 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph

16 (1)—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection

19 (c), the amount’’; and

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal

21 years 1994 through 1998’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘for fiscal year 2000 and each fiscal year

23 thereafter’’; and

24 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2000–

2 2004.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appropriated

4 under section 106(k) for any of fiscal years 2000

5 through 2004 less the amount that would be appro6 priated, but for this subsection, from the Trust

7 Fund for the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of

8 subsection (a) for such fiscal year is greater than

9 the general fund cap, the amount appropriated from

10 the Trust Fund for the purposes of paragraphs (1)

11 and (2) of subsection (a) for such fiscal year shall

12 equal the amount appropriated under section 106(k)

13 for such fiscal year less the general fund cap.

14 ‘‘(2) GENERAL FUND CAP DEFINED.—In this

15 subsection, the term ‘general fund cap’ means that

16 portion of the amounts appropriated for programs of

17 the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal year

18 1998 that was derived from the general fund of the

19 Treasury.

20 (c) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATING OR EXPENDING

21 AMOUNTS.—Section 48108 is amended by striking sub22 section (c).

23 (d) OFFICE OF AIRLINE INFORMATION.—There is

24 authorized to be appropriated from the Airport and Air25 way Trust Fund to the Secretary $4,000,000 for fiscal
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1 years beginning after September 30, 2000, to fund the ac2 tivities of the Office of Airline Information in the Bureau

3 of Transportation Statistics of the Department of Trans4 portation.

5 SEC. 104. AIP FORMULA CHANGES.

6 (a) DISCRETIONARY FUND.—Section 47115 is

7 amended by striking subsections (g) and (h) and inserting

8 the following:

9 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY FOR LETTERS OF INTENT.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

11 the Secretary shall fulfill intentions to obligate under

12 section 47110(e) with amounts available in the fund

13 established by subsection (a) and, if such amounts

14 are not sufficient for a fiscal year, with amounts

15 made available to carry out sections 47114(c)(1)(A),

16 47114(c)(2), 47114(d), and 47117(e) on a pro rata

17 basis.

18 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—Before apportioning funds

19 under sections 47114(c)(1)(A), 47114(c)(2),

20 47114(d), and 47117(e) of each fiscal year, the Sec21 retary shall determine the amount of funds that will

22 be necessary to fulfill intentions to obligate under

23 section 47110(e) in such fiscal year. If such amount

24 is greater than the amount of funds that will be

25 available in the fund established by subsection (a)
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1 for such fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce the

2 amount to be apportioned under such sections for

3 such fiscal year on a pro rata basis by an amount

4 equal to the difference.’’.

5 (b) AMOUNTS APPORTIONED TO SPONSORS.—

6 (1) AMOUNTS TO BE APPORTIONED.—Effective

7 October 1, 2000, section 47114(c)(1) is amended—

8 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking

9 clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(i) $23.40 for each of the first 50,000 pas12 senger boardings at the airport during the prior cal13 endar year;

14 ‘‘(ii) $15.60 for each of the next 50,000 pas15 senger boardings at the airport during the prior cal16 endar year;

17 ‘‘(iii) $7.80 for each of the next 400,000 pas18 senger boardings at the airport during the prior cal19 endar year;

20 ‘‘(iv) $1.95 for each of the next 500,000 pas21 senger boardings at the airport during the prior cal22 endar year; and

23 ‘‘(v) $1.50 for each additional passenger board24 ing at the airport during the prior calendar year.’’;

25 and
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking

2 ‘‘$500,000 nor more than $22,000,000’’ and in3 serting ‘‘$1,500,000’’.

4 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—Section 47114(c)(1) is

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Sec7 retary shall apportion to an airport sponsor in a fiscal year

8 an amount equal to the amount apportioned to that spon9 sor in the previous fiscal year if the Secretary finds that—

10 ‘‘(i) passenger boardings at the airport were

11 less than 10,000 in the calendar year used to cal12 culate the apportionment;

13 ‘‘(ii) the airport had at least 10,000 passenger

14 boardings in the calendar year prior to the calendar

15 year used to calculate the apportionment; and

16 ‘‘(iii) the cause of the decrease in passenger

17 boardings was a temporary but significant interrup18 tion in service by an air carrier to that airport due

19 to an employment action, natural disaster, or other

20 event unrelated to the demand for air transportation

21 at the airport.

22 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Sec23 retary shall apportion on the first day of the first fiscal

24 year following the official opening of a new airport with

25 scheduled passenger air transportation an amount equal
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1 to the minimum amount set forth in subparagraph (B)

2 to the sponsor of such airport.’’.

3 (c) CARGO ONLY AIRPORTS.—Section

4 47114(c)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘2.5 percent’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘3 percent’’.

6 (d) ENTITLEMENT FOR GENERAL AVIATION AIR7 PORTS.—Effective October 1, 2000, section 47114(d) is

8 amended—

9 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘TO

10 STATES’’ and inserting ‘‘FOR GENERAL AVIATION

11 AIRPORTS’’;

12 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(1) In this’’

13 and inserting ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this’’;

14 (3) by indenting paragraph (1) and aligning

15 paragraph (1) (and its subparagraphs) with para16 graph (2) (as amended by paragraph (2) of this sub17 section); and

18 (4) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(2) APPORTIONMENTS.—The Secretary shall

21 apportion 20 percent of the amount subject to ap22 portionment for each fiscal year as follows:

23 ‘‘(A) To each airport, excluding primary

24 airports but including reliever and nonprimary
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1 commercial service airports, in States the lesser

2 of—

3 ‘‘(i) $200,000; or

‘‘(ii) 1 4 ⁄5 of the most recently published

5 estimate of the 5-year costs for airport im6 provement for the airport, as listed in the

7 national plan of integrated airport systems

8 developed by the Federal Aviation Admin9 istration under section 47103.

10 ‘‘(B) Any remaining amount to States as

11 follows:

12 ‘‘(i) 0.62 percent of the remaining

13 amount to Guam, American Samoa, the

14 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

15 Islands, and the Virgin Islands.

16 ‘‘(ii) Except as provided in paragraph

17 (3), 49.69 percent of the remaining

18 amount for airports, excluding primary air19 ports but including reliever and nonpri20 mary commercial service airports, in States

21 not named in clause (i) in the proportion

22 that the population of each of those States

23 bears to the total population of all of those

24 States.
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1 ‘‘(iii) Except as provided in paragraph

2 (3), 49.69 percent of the remaining

3 amount for airports, excluding primary air4 ports but including reliever and nonpri5 mary commercial service airports, in States

6 not named in clause (i) in the proportion

7 that the area of each of those States bears

8 to the total area of all of those States.’’.

9 (e) USE OF APPORTIONMENTS FOR ALASKA, PUERTO

10 RICO, AND HAWAII.—Section 47114(d)(3) is amended to

11 read as follows:

12 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—An amount apportioned

13 under paragraph (2) to Alaska, Puerto Rico, or Ha14 waii for airports in such State may be made avail15 able by the Secretary for any public airport in those

16 respective jurisdictions.’’.

17 (f) USE OF STATE-APPORTIONED FUNDS FOR SYS18 TEM PLANNING.—Section 47114(d) is amended by adding

19 at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED AIRPORT SYSTEM PLAN21 NING.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), funds made

22 available under this subsection may be used for inte23 grated airport system planning that encompasses

24 one or more primary airports.’’.
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1 (g) FLEXIBILITY IN PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

2 STANDARDS.—

3 Section 47114(d) is further amended by adding at

4 the end the following:

5 ‘‘(5) FLEXIBILITY IN PAVEMENT CONSTRUC6 TION STANDARDS.—The Secretary may permit the

7 use of State highway specifications for airfield pave8 ment construction using funds made available under

9 this subsection at nonprimary airports serving air10 craft that do not exceed 60,000 pounds gross weight

11 if the Secretary determines that—

12 ‘‘(A) safety will not be negatively affected;

13 and

14 ‘‘(B) the life of the pavement will not be

15 shorter than it would be if constructed using

16 Federal Aviation Administration standards.’’.

17 (h) GRANTS FOR AIRPORT NOISE COMPATIBILITY

18 PLANNING.—Section 47117(e)(1) is amended—

19 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘31 percent’’ each place it

21 appears and inserting ‘‘34 percent’’;

22 (B) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘and

23 for carrying out’’ and inserting ‘‘, for carrying

24 out’’; and
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1 (C) by striking the period at the end of the

2 first sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘,

3 and for noise mitigation projects approved in

4 the environmental record of decision for an air5 port development project under this chapter.’’;

6 and

7 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘At least’’

8 and all that follows through ‘‘sponsors of current’’

9 and inserting ‘‘At least 4 percent to sponsors of cur10 rent’’.

11 (i) SUPPLEMENTAL APPORTIONMENT FOR ALAS12 KA.—Effective October 1, 2000, section 47114(e) is

13 amended—

14 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘AL15 TERNATIVE’’ and inserting ‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL’’;

16 (2) in paragraph (1)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘Instead of apportioning

18 amounts for airports in Alaska under’’ and in19 serting ‘‘IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’;

20 (B) by striking ‘‘those airports’’ and in21 serting ‘‘airports in Alaska’’; and

22 (C) by inserting before the period at the

23 end of the first sentence ‘‘and by increasing the

24 amount so determined for each of those airports

25 by three times’’;
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1 (3) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘AUTHORITY

2 FOR DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.—’’ before ‘‘This sub3 section’’;

4 (4) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(3) AIRPORTS ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDS.—An

7 amount apportioned under this subsection may be

8 used for any public airport in Alaska.’’; and

9 (5) by indenting paragraph (1) and aligning

10 paragraph (1) (and its subparagraphs) and para11 graph (2) with paragraph (3) (as amended by para12 graph (4) of this subsection).

13 (j) REPEAL OF APPORTIONMENT LIMITATION ON

14 COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORTS IN ALASKA.—Section

15 47117 is amended by striking subsection (f) and by redes16 ignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g),

17 respectively.

18 SEC. 105. PASSENGER FACILITY FEES.

19 (a) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE HIGHER FEE.—Section

20 40117(b) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary

22 may authorize under this section an eligible agency to im23 pose a passenger facility fee in whole dollar amounts of

24 more than $3 on each paying passenger of an air carrier

25 or foreign air carrier boarding an aircraft at an airport
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1 the agency controls to finance an eligible airport-related

2 project, including making payments for debt service on in3 debtedness incurred to carry out the project, if the Sec4 retary finds—

5 ‘‘(A) that the project will make a significant

6 contribution to improving air safety and security, in7 creasing competition among air carriers, reducing

8 current or anticipated congestion, or reducing the

9 impact of aviation noise on people living near the

10 airport;

11 ‘‘(B) that the project cannot be paid for from

12 funds reasonably expected to be available for the

13 programs referred to in section 48103; and

14 ‘‘(C) that the amount to be imposed is not more

15 than twice that which may be imposed under para16 graph (1).’’.

17 (b) LIMITATION ON APPROVAL OF CERTAIN APPLI18 CATIONS.—Section 40117(d) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

20 (2);

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(4) in the case of an application to impose a

25 fee of more than $3 for a surface transportation or
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1 terminal project, the agency has made adequate pro2 vision for financing the airside needs of the airport,

3 including runways, taxiways, aprons, and aircraft

4 gates.’’.

5 (c) REDUCING APPORTIONMENTS.—Section 47114(f)

6 is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘An amount’’ and inserting the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An amount’’;

10 (2) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to’’ and all

11 that follows through the period at the end and in12 serting the following: ‘‘an amount equal to—

13 ‘‘(A) in the case of a fee of $3 or less, 50

14 percent of the projected revenues from the fee

15 in the fiscal year but not by more than 50 per16 cent of the amount that otherwise would be ap17 portioned under this section; and

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of a fee of more than $3,

19 75 percent of the projected revenues from the

20 fee in the fiscal year but not by more than 75

21 percent of the amount that otherwise would be

22 apportioned under this section.’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REDUCTION.—A re25 duction in an apportionment required by paragraph
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1 (1) shall not take effect until the first fiscal year fol2 lowing the year in which the collection of the fee im3 posed under section 40117 is begun.’’.

4 SEC. 106. BUDGET SUBMISSION.

5 The Administrator shall transmit to the Committee

6 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

7 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

8 of the House of Representatives a copy of the annual

9 budget estimates of the Federal Aviation Administration,

10 including line item justifications, at the same time the an11 nual budget estimates are submitted to the Committees

12 on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Rep13 resentatives.

14 Subtitle B—Airport Development

15 SEC. 121. RUNWAY INCURSION PREVENTION DEVICES;

16 EMERGENCY CALL BOXES.

17 (a) POLICY.—Section 47101(a)(11) is amended by

18 inserting ‘‘(including integrated in-pavement lighting sys19 tems for runways and taxiways and other runway and

20 taxiway incursion prevention devices)’’ after ‘‘technology’’.

21 (b) MAXIMUM USE OF SAFETY FACILITIES.—Section

22 47101(f) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

24 (9); and
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(11) runway and taxiway incursion prevention

5 devices, including integrated in-pavement lighting

6 systems for runways and taxiways.’’.

7 (c) INCLUSION OF UNIVERSAL ACCESS SYSTEMS AND

8 EMERGENCY CALL BOXES AS AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT.—

9 Section 47102(3)(B) is amended—

10 (1) in clause (ii)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and universal access sys12 tems,’’ and inserting ‘‘, universal access sys13 tems, and emergency call boxes,’’; and

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘and integrated in-pave15 ment lighting systems for runways and taxiways

16 and other runway and taxiway incursion pre17 vention devices’’ before the semicolon at the

18 end; and

19 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

20 of clause (iii) the following: ‘‘, including closed cir21 cuit weather surveillance equipment’’.

22 SEC. 122. WINDSHEAR DETECTION EQUIPMENT.

23 Section 47102(3)(B) is further amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (v);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

2 (vi) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

4 ‘‘(vii) windshear detection equip5 ment;’’.

6 SEC. 123. ENHANCED VISION TECHNOLOGIES.

7 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a

8 study of the feasibility of requiring United States airports

9 to install enhanced vision technologies to replace or en10 hance conventional landing light systems over the 10-year

11 period following the date of completion of such study.

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

14 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study

15 conducted under subsection (a), together with such rec16 ommendations as the Administrator considers appropriate.

17 (c) INCLUSION OF INSTALLATION AS AIRPORT DE18 VELOPMENT.—Section 47102 is amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (3)(B) (as amended by this

20 Act) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(viii) enhanced vision technologies

22 that are certified by the Administrator of

23 the Federal Aviation Administration and

24 that are intended to replace or enhance
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1 conventional landing light systems; and’’;

2 and

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

4 ‘‘(21) ENHANCED VISION TECHNOLOGIES.—The

5 term ‘enhanced vision technologies’ means laser

6 guidance, ultraviolet guidance, infrared, and cold

7 cathode technologies.’’.

8 (d) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator

10 shall transmit to Congress a schedule for deciding whether

11 or not to certify laser guidance equipment for use as ap12 proach lighting at United States airports and of cold cath13 ode lighting equipment for use as runway and taxiway

14 lighting at United States airports and as lighting at

15 United States heliports.

16 SEC. 124. PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE.

17 (a) REPEAL OF PILOT PROGRAM.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 47132 is repealed.

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

20 for chapter 471 is amended by striking the item re21 lating to section 47132.

22 (b) ELIGIBILITY AS AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT.—Sec23 tion 47102(3) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(H) routine work to preserve and extend

2 the useful life of runways, taxiways, and aprons

3 at airports that are not primary airports, under

4 guidelines issued by the Administrator.’’.

5 SEC. 125. COMPETITION PLANS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47106 is amended by

7 adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(f) COMPETITION PLANS.—

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Beginning in fiscal year

10 2001, no passenger facility fee may be approved for

11 a covered airport under section 40117 and no grant

12 may be made under this subchapter for a covered

13 airport unless the airport has submitted to the Sec14 retary a written competition plan in accordance with

15 this subsection.

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A competition plan under

17 this subsection shall include information on the

18 availability of airport gates and related facilities,

19 leasing and sub-leasing arrangements, gate-use re20 quirements, patterns of air service, gate-assignment

21 policy, financial constraints, airport controls over

22 air- and ground-side capacity, whether the airport

23 intends to build or acquire gates that would be used

24 as common facilities, and airfare levels (as compiled
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1 by the Department of Transportation) compared to

2 other large airports.

3 ‘‘(3) COVERED AIRPORT DEFINED.—In this

4 subsection, the term ‘covered airport’ means a com5 mercial service airport—

6 ‘‘(A) that has more than .25 percent of the

7 total number of passenger boardings each year

8 at all such airports; and

9 ‘‘(B) at which one or two air carriers con10 trol more than 50 percent of the passenger

11 boardings.’’.

12 (b) CROSS REFERENCE.—Section 40117 is amended

13 by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(j) COMPETITION PLANS.—Beginning in fiscal year

15 2001, no eligible agency may impose a passenger facility

16 fee under this section with respect to a covered airport

17 (as such term is defined in section 47106(f)) unless the

18 agency has submitted to the Secretary a written competi19 tion plan in accordance with such section. This subsection

20 does not apply to passenger facility fees in effect before

21 the date of the enactment of this subsection.’’.

22 SEC. 126. MATCHING SHARE.

23 Section 47109(a) is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

25 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively;
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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(2) not more than 90 percent for a project

4 funded by a grant issued to and administered by a

5 State under section 47128, relating to the State

6 block grant program;’’;

7 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

8 (3) (as so redesignated);

9 (4) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (4) (as so redesignated) and inserting ‘‘;

11 and’’; and

12 (5) by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(5) 100 percent in fiscal year 2001 for any

14 project—

15 ‘‘(A) at an airport other than a primary

16 airport; or

17 ‘‘(B) at a primary airport having less than

18 .05 percent of the total number of passenger

19 boardings each year at all commercial service

20 airports.’’.

21 SEC. 127. LETTERS OF INTENT.

22 Section 47110(e) is amended—

23 (1) by striking paragraph (2)(C) and inserting

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) that meets the criteria of section 47115(d)

2 and, if for a project at a commercial service airport

3 having at least 0.25 percent of the boardings each

4 year at all such airports, the Secretary decides will

5 enhance system-wide airport capacity significantly.’’;

6 and

7 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(5) LETTERS OF INTENT.—The Secretary may not

10 require an eligible agency to impose a passenger facility

11 fee under section 40117 in order to obtain a letter of in12 tent under this section.’’.

13 SEC. 128. GRANTS FROM SMALL AIRPORT FUND.

14 (a) SET-ASIDE FOR MEETING SAFETY TERMS IN

15 AIRPORT OPERATING CERTIFICATES.—Section 47116 is

16 amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(e) SET-ASIDE FOR MEETING SAFETY TERMS IN

18 AIRPORT OPERATING CERTIFICATES.—In the first fiscal

19 year beginning after the effective date of regulations

20 issued to carry out section 44706(b) with respect to air21 ports described in section 44706(a)(2), and in each of the

22 next 4 fiscal years, the lesser of $15,000,000 or 20 percent

23 of the amounts that would otherwise be distributed to

24 sponsors of airports under subsection (b)(2) shall be used

25 to assist the airports in meeting the terms established by
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1 the regulations. If the Secretary publishes in the Federal

2 Register a finding that all the terms established by the

3 regulations have been met, this subsection shall cease to

4 be effective as of the date of such publication.’’.

5 (b) NOTIFICATION OF SOURCE OF GRANT.—Section

6 47116 is further amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION OF SOURCE OF GRANT.—When9 ever the Secretary makes a grant under this section, the

10 Secretary shall notify the recipient of the grant, in writing,

11 that the source of the grant is from the small airport

12 fund.’’.

13 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 47116(d) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘In making’’ and inserting the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(1) CONSTRUCTION OF NEW RUNWAYS.—In

18 making’’;

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

20 ‘‘(2) AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT FOR TURBINE

21 POWERED AIRCRAFT.—In making grants to sponsors

22 described in subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall

23 give priority consideration to airport development

24 projects to support operations by turbine powered
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1 aircraft, if the non-Federal share of the project is at

2 least 40 percent.’’; and

3 (3) by aligning the remainder of paragraph (1)

4 (as designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection)

5 with paragraph (2) (as added by paragraph (2) of

6 this subsection).

7 SEC. 129. DISCRETIONARY USE OF UNUSED APPORTION8 MENTS.

9 Section 47117(f) (as redesignated by section 104(j)

10 of this Act) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(f) DISCRETIONARY USE OF APPORTIONMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

13 if the Secretary finds that all or part of an amount

14 of an apportionment under section 47114 is not re15 quired during a fiscal year to fund a grant for which

16 the apportionment may be used, the Secretary may

17 use during such fiscal year the amount not so re18 quired to make grants for any purpose for which

19 grants may be made under section 48103. The find20 ing may be based on the notifications that the Sec21 retary receives under section 47105(f) or on other

22 information received from airport sponsors.

23 ‘‘(2) RESTORATION OF APPORTIONMENTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the fiscal year for

25 which a finding is made under paragraph (1)
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1 with respect to an apportionment is not the last

2 fiscal year of availability of the apportionment

3 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall restore

4 to the apportionment an amount equal to the

5 amount of the apportionment used under para6 graph (1) for a discretionary grant whenever a

7 sufficient amount is made available under sec8 tion 48103.

9 ‘‘(B) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—If res10 toration under this paragraph is made in the

11 fiscal year for which the finding is made or the

12 succeeding fiscal year, the amount restored

13 shall be subject to the original period of avail14 ability of the apportionment under subsection

15 (b). If the restoration is made thereafter, the

16 amount restored shall remain available in ac17 cordance with subsection (b) for the original pe18 riod of availability of the apportionment, plus

19 the number of fiscal years during which a suffi20 cient amount was not available for the restora21 tion.

22 ‘‘(3) NEWLY AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) RESTORED AMOUNTS TO BE UN24 AVAILABLE FOR DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.—Of

25 an amount newly available under section 48103
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1 of this title, an amount equal to the amounts

2 restored under paragraph (2) shall not be avail3 able for discretionary grant obligations under

4 section 47115.

5 ‘‘(B) USE OF REMAINING AMOUNTS.—Sub6 paragraph (A) does not impair the Secretary’s

7 authority under paragraph (1), after a restora8 tion under paragraph (2), to apply all or part

9 of a restored amount that is not required to

10 fund a grant under an apportionment to fund

11 discretionary grants.

12 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS ON OBLIGATIONS APPLY.—

13 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to au14 thorize the Secretary to incur grant obligations

15 under section 47104 for a fiscal year in an amount

16 greater than the amount made available under sec17 tion 48103 for such obligations for such fiscal

18 year.’’.

19 SEC. 130. DESIGNATING CURRENT AND FORMER MILITARY

20 AIRPORTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47118 is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘12’’ and in23 serting ‘‘15 for fiscal year 2000 and 20 for each fis24 cal year thereafter’’;
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1 (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating

2 subsections (d) through (f) as subsections (c)

3 through (e), respectively;

4 (3) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘47117(e)(1)(E)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘47117(e)(1)(B)’’;

7 (B) by striking ‘‘5-fiscal-year periods’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘periods, each not to exceed 5 fiscal

9 years,’’; and

10 (C) by striking ‘‘each such subsequent 5-

11 fiscal-year period’’ and inserting ‘‘each such

12 subsequent period’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(f) DESIGNATION OF GENERAL AVIATION AIR15 PORT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec16 tion, 1 airport of the airports designated under subsection

17 (a) for fiscal year 2000 and 3 airports for each fiscal year

18 thereafter shall be general aviation airports that were

19 former military installations closed or realigned under a

20 section referred to in subsection (a)(1).’’.

21 (b) TERMINAL BUILDING FACILITIES.—Section

22 47118(d) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this sec23 tion) is amended by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘$7,000,000’’.
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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF AIR CARGO TERMINALS.—Sec2 tion 47118(e) (as redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this

3 section) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection heading by striking ‘‘AND

5 HANGARS’’ and inserting ‘‘HANGARS, AND AIR

6 CARGO TERMINALS’’;

7 (2) by striking ‘‘$4,000,000’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘$7,000,000’’; and

9 (3) by inserting after ‘‘hangars’’ the following:

10 ‘‘and air cargo terminals of an area that is 50,000

11 square feet or less’’.

12 SEC. 131. CONTRACT TOWER COST-SHARING.

13 Section 47124(b) is amended by adding at the end

14 the following:

15 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER

16 PILOT PROGRAM.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

18 establish a pilot program to contract for air

19 traffic control services at Level I air traffic con20 trol towers, as defined by the Administrator of

21 the Federal Aviation Administration, that do

22 not qualify for the Contract Tower program es23 tablished under subsection (a) and continued

24 under paragraph (1) (hereafter in this para-
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1 graph referred to as the ‘Contract Tower Pro2 gram’).

3 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In car4 rying out the pilot program established under

5 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall—

6 ‘‘(i) utilize for purposes of cost-benefit

7 analyses, current, actual, site-specific data,

8 forecast estimates, or airport master plan

9 data provided by a facility owner or oper10 ator and verified by the Administrator;

11 ‘‘(ii) approve for participation only fa12 cilities willing to fund a pro rata share of

13 the operating costs of the air traffic con14 trol tower to achieve a one-to-one benefit15 to-cost ratio, as required for eligibility

16 under the Contract Tower Program; and

17 ‘‘(iii) approve for participation no

18 more than two facilities willing to fund up

19 to 50 percent, but not less than 25 per20 cent, of construction costs for an air traffic

21 control tower built by the airport operator

22 and for each of such facilities the Federal

23 share of construction cost does not exceed

24 $1,100,000.
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1 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY.—In selecting facilities to

2 participate in the program under this para3 graph, the Administrator shall give priority to

4 the following:

5 ‘‘(i) Air traffic control towers that are

6 participating in the Contract Tower Pro7 gram but have been notified that they will

8 be terminated from such program because

9 the Administration has determined that

10 the benefit-to-cost ratio for their continu11 ation in such program is less than 1.0.

12 ‘‘(ii) Air traffic control towers that

13 the Administrator determines have a ben14 efit-to-cost ratio of at least .85.

15 ‘‘(iii) Air traffic control towers of the

16 Federal Aviation Administration that are

17 closed as a result of the air traffic control18 lers strike in 1981.

19 ‘‘(iv) Air traffic control towers that

20 are located at airports or points at which

21 an air carrier is receiving compensation

22 under the essential air service program

23 under this chapter.

24 ‘‘(v) Air traffic control towers located

25 at airports that are prepared to assume
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1 partial responsibility for maintenance

2 costs.

3 ‘‘(vi) Air traffic control towers that

4 are located at airports with safety or oper5 ational problems related to topography,

6 weather, runway configuration, or mix of

7 aircraft.

8 ‘‘(D) COSTS EXCEEDING BENEFITS.—If

9 the costs of operating an air traffic tower under

10 the pilot program established under this para11 graph exceed the benefits, the airport sponsor

12 or State or local government having jurisdiction

13 over the airport shall pay the portion of the

14 costs that exceed such benefit.

15 ‘‘(E) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appro16 priated pursuant to section 106(k), not to ex17 ceed $6,000,000 per fiscal year may be used to

18 carry out this paragraph.’’.

19 SEC. 132. INNOVATIVE USE OF AIRPORT GRANT FUNDS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is

21 amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘§ 47135. Innovative financing techniques

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

24 may approve applications for not more than 25 airport

25 development projects for which grants received under this
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1 subchapter may be used for innovative financing tech2 niques. Such projects shall be located at airports that each

3 year have less than .25 percent of the total number of

4 passenger boardings each year at all commercial service

5 airports.

6 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of grants made under

7 this section shall be to provide information on the benefits

8 and difficulties of using innovative financing techniques

9 for airport development projects.

10 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) NO GUARANTEES.—In no case shall the

12 implementation of an innovative financing technique

13 under this section be used in a manner giving rise

14 to a direct or indirect guarantee of any airport debt

15 instrument by the United States Government.

16 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF TECHNIQUES.—In this section,

17 innovative financing techniques are limited to—

18 ‘‘(A) payment of interest;

19 ‘‘(B) commercial bond insurance and other

20 credit enhancement associated with airport

21 bonds for eligible airport development; and

22 ‘‘(C) flexible non-Federal matching re23 quirements.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

2 subchapter I of chapter 471 is amended by adding at the

3 end the following:

‘‘47135. Innovative financing techniques.’’.

4 SEC. 133. AVIATION SECURITY PROGRAM.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is

6 further amended by adding the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 47136. Aviation security program

8 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—To improve security at

9 public airports in the United States, the Secretary of

10 Transportation shall carry out not less than one project

11 to test and evaluate innovative aviation security systems

12 and related technology.

13 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the

14 Secretary shall give the highest priority to a request from

15 an eligible sponsor for a grant to undertake a project

16 that—

17 ‘‘(1) evaluates and tests the benefits of innova18 tive aviation security systems or related technology,

19 including explosives detection systems, for the pur20 pose of improving aviation security, including air21 craft physical security, access control, and passenger

22 and baggage screening; and

23 ‘‘(2) provides testing and evaluation of airport

24 security systems and technology in an operational,

25 test bed environment.
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1 ‘‘(c) MATCHING SHARE.—Notwithstanding section

2 47109, the United States Government’s share of allowable

3 project costs for a project under this section shall be 100

4 percent.

5 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

6 establish such terms and conditions as the Secretary de7 termines appropriate for carrying out a project under this

8 section, including terms and conditions relating to the

9 form and content of a proposal for a project, project assur10 ances, and schedule of payments.

11 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE SPONSOR DEFINED.—In this section,

12 the term ‘eligible sponsor’ means a nonprofit corporation

13 composed of a consortium of public and private persons,

14 including a sponsor of a primary airport, with the nec15 essary engineering and technical expertise to successfully

16 conduct the testing and evaluation of airport and aircraft

17 related security systems.

18 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

19 amounts made available to the Secretary under section

20 47115 in a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make available

21 not less than $5,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out

22 this section.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

24 subchapter I of chapter 471 is further amended by adding

25 at the end the following:

‘‘47136. Aviation security program.’’.
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1 SEC. 134. INHERENTLY LOW-EMISSION AIRPORT VEHICLE

2 PILOT PROGRAM.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is

4 further amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘§ 47137. Inherently low-emission airport vehicle

6 pilot program

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

8 shall carry out a pilot program at not more than 10 public9 use airports under which the sponsors of such airports

10 may use funds made available under section 48103 for use

11 at such airports to carry out inherently low-emission vehi12 cle activities. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

13 subchapter, inherently low-emission vehicle activities shall

14 for purposes of the pilot program be treated as eligible

15 for assistance under this subchapter.

16 ‘‘(b) LOCATION IN AIR QUALITY NONATTAINMENT

17 AREAS.—A public-use airport shall be eligible for partici18 pation in the pilot program only if the airport is located

19 in an air quality nonattainment area (as defined in section

20 171(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7501(d)).

21 ‘‘(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting from

22 among applicants for participation in the pilot program,

23 the Secretary shall give priority consideration to appli24 cants that will achieve the greatest air quality benefits

25 measured by the amount of emissions reduced per dollar

26 of funds expended under the pilot program.
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1 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The sponsor of a public-use

3 airport carrying out inherently low-emission vehicle

4 activities under the pilot program may use not to ex5 ceed 10 percent of the amounts made available for

6 expenditure at the airport in a fiscal year under the

7 pilot program to receive technical assistance in car8 rying out such activities.

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM.—To the max10 imum extent practicable, a sponsor shall use an eli11 gible consortium (as defined in section 5506 of this

12 title) in the region of the airport to receive technical

13 assistance described in paragraph (1).

14 ‘‘(e) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S SHARE.—Not15 withstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the

16 United States Government’s share of the costs of a project

17 carried out under the pilot program shall be 50 percent.

18 ‘‘(f) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Not more than

19 $2,000,000 may be expended under the pilot program at

20 any single public-use airport.

21 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18

22 months after the date of the enactment of this section,

23 the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Trans24 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa25 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
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1 Transportation of the Senate a report containing an eval2 uation of the effectiveness of the pilot program.

3 ‘‘(h) INHERENTLY LOW-EMISSION VEHICLE ACTIV4 ITY DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘inherently low5 emission vehicle activity’ means—

6 ‘‘(1) the construction of infrastructure facilities

7 necessary for the use of vehicles that are certified as

8 inherently low-emission vehicles under title 40 of the

9 Code of Federal Regulations, that are labeled in ac10 cordance with section 88.312–93(c) of such title,

11 and that are located or primarily used at public-use

12 airports;

13 ‘‘(2) the payment of that portion of the cost of

14 acquiring such vehicles that exceeds the cost of ac15 quiring other vehicles that would be used for the

16 same purpose; or

17 ‘‘(3) the acquisition of technological equipment

18 necessary for the use of vehicles described in para19 graph (1).’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

21 subchapter I of chapter 471 is further amended by adding

22 at the end the following:

‘‘47137. Inherently low-emission airport vehicle pilot program.’’.

23 SEC. 135. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

24 (a) CONTINUATION OF PROJECT FUNDING.—Section

25 47108 is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(e) CHANGE IN AIRPORT STATUS.—In the event

2 that the status of a primary airport changes to a nonpri3 mary airport at a time when a terminal development

4 project under a multiyear agreement under subsection (a)

5 is not yet completed, the project shall remain eligible for

6 funding from discretionary funds under section 47115 at

7 the funding level and under the terms provided by the

8 agreement, subject to the availability of funds.’’.

9 (b) PASSENGER FACILITY FEE WAIVER FOR CER10 TAIN CLASS OF CARRIERS OR FOR SERVICE TO AIRPORTS

11 IN ISOLATED COMMUNITIES.—Section 40117(i) is

12 amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

14 (1);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

18 ‘‘(3) may permit a public agency to request that

19 collection of a passenger facility fee be waived for—

20 ‘‘(A) passengers enplaned by any class of

21 air carrier or foreign air carrier if the number

22 of passengers enplaned by the carrier in the

23 class constitutes not more than 1 percent of the

24 total number of passengers enplaned annually

25 at the airport at which the fee is imposed; or
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1 ‘‘(B) passengers traveling to an airport—

2 ‘‘(i) that has fewer than 2,500 pas3 senger boardings each year and receives

4 scheduled passenger service; and

5 ‘‘(ii) in a community which has a pop6 ulation of less than 10,000 and is not con7 nected by a land highway to the land-con8 nected National Highway System within a

9 State.’’.

10 SEC. 136. CONVEYANCES OF AIRPORT PROPERTY FOR PUB11 LIC AIRPORTS.

12 (a) PROJECT GRANT ASSURANCES.—Section

13 47107(h) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including an assur14 ance with respect to disposal of land by an airport owner

15 or operator under subsection (c)(2)(B) without regard to

16 whether or not the assurance or grant was made before

17 December 29, 1987)’’ after ‘‘1987’’.

18 (b) CONVEYANCES OF UNITED STATES GOVERN19 MENT LAND.—Section 47125(a) is amended by adding at

20 the end the following: ‘‘The Secretary may only release

21 an option of the United States for a reversionary interest

22 under this subsection after providing notice and an oppor23 tunity for public comment. The Secretary shall publish in

24 the Federal Register any decision of the Secretary to re-
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1 lease a reversionary interest and the reasons for the deci2 sion.’’.

3 (c) REQUESTS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—Section

4 47151 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(d) REQUESTS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—Except with

6 respect to a request made by another department, agency,

7 or instrumentality of the executive branch of the United

8 States Government, such a department, agency, or instru9 mentality shall give priority consideration to a request

10 made by a public agency (as defined in section 47102)

11 for surplus property described in subsection (a) for use

12 at a public airport.’’.

13 (d) NOTICE AND PUBLIC COMMENT; PUBLICATION

14 OF DECISIONS.—Section 47153(a) is amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, after pro16 viding notice and an opportunity for public com17 ment,’’ after ‘‘if the Secretary decides’’; and

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

19 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION OF DECISIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall publish in the Federal Register any deci21 sion to waive a term under paragraph (1) and the

22 reasons for the decision.’’.

23 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—Section 47153 is amended by

24 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In deciding whether to

2 waive a term required by section 47152 or add another

3 term, the Secretary shall consider the current and future

4 needs of the users of the airport.’’.

5 (f) REFERENCES TO GIFTS.—Chapter 471 is

6 amended—

7 (1) in section 47151—

8 (A) in subsection (a)—

9 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph

10 (1) by striking ‘‘give’’ and inserting ‘‘con11 vey to’’; and

12 (ii) in paragraph (2) by striking

13 ‘‘gift’’ and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

14 (B) in subsection (b)—

15 (i) by striking ‘‘giving’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘conveying’’; and

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘gift’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘conveyance’’; and

19 (C) in subsection (c)—

20 (i) in the subsection heading by strik21 ing ‘‘GIVEN’’ and inserting ‘‘CONVEYED’’;

22 and

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘given’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘conveyed’’;

25 (2) in section 47152—
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1 (A) in the section heading by striking

2 ‘‘gifts’’ and inserting ‘‘conveyances’’; and

3 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)

4 by striking ‘‘gift’’ and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

5 (3) in section 47153(a)(1)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘gift’’ each place it appears

7 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’; and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘given’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘conveyed’’; and

10 (4) in the analysis for such chapter by striking

11 the item relating to section 47152 and inserting the

12 following:

‘‘47152. Terms of conveyances.’’.

13 SEC. 137. INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS.

14 (a) AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT POLICY.—Section

15 47101(a)(5) is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(5) to encourage the development of inter17 modal connections between airports and other trans18 portation modes and systems to promote economic

19 development in a way that will serve States and local

20 communities efficiently and effectively;’’.

21 (b) AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT DEFINED.—Section

22 47102(3) is further amended by adding at the end the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(I) constructing, reconstructing, or im25 proving an airport, or purchasing capital equip-
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1 ment for an airport, for the purpose of transfer2 ring passengers, cargo, or baggage between the

3 airport and ground transportation modes.’’.

4 SEC. 138. STATE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

5 Section 47128(a) is amended by striking ‘‘9 quali6 fied’’ and inserting ‘‘10 qualified’’.

7 SEC. 139. ENGINEERED MATERIALS ARRESTING SYSTEMS.

8 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 47102(3)(B) (as amended

9 by this Act) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(ix) engineered materials arresting

12 systems as described in the Advisory Cir13 cular No. 150/5220–22 published by the

14 Federal Aviation Administration on August

15 21, 1998.’’.

16 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Administrator shall initiate

17 a rulemaking proceeding to consider revisions to part 139

18 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to improve run19 way safety through the use of engineered materials arrest20 ing systems, longer runways, and such other techniques

21 as the Administrator considers appropriate.

22 Subtitle C—Miscellaneous

23 SEC. 151. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AS AIR24 PORT-RELATED PROJECTS.

25 Section 40117(a)(3)(E) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ and inserting a comma;

2 and

3 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert4 ing the following: ‘‘(including structural foundations

5 and floor systems, exterior building walls and load6 bearing interior columns or walls, windows, door and

7 roof systems, and building utilities (including heat8 ing, air conditioning, ventilation, plumbing, and elec9 trical service)), and aircraft fueling facilities adja10 cent to the gate.’’.

11 SEC. 152. TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS.

12 (a) WITH RESPECT TO PASSENGER FACILITY

13 CHARGES.—Section 40117(a)(3) is further amended—

14 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), (D),

15 and (E) as subparagraphs (D), (E), and (F), respec16 tively; and

17 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(C) for costs of terminal development re20 ferred to in subparagraph (B) incurred after

21 August 1, 1986, at an airport that did not have

22 more than .25 percent of the total annual pas23 senger boardings in the United States in the

24 most recent calendar year for which data is

25 available and at which total passenger
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1 boardings declined by at least 16 percent be2 tween calendar year 1989 and calendar year

3 1997;’’.

4 (b) REPAYING BORROWED MONEY.—Section

5 47119(a) is amended—

6 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘0.05’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘0.25’’; and

9 (B) by striking ‘‘between January 1, 1992,

10 and October 31, 1992,’’ and inserting ‘‘between

11 August 1, 1986, and September 30, 1990, or

12 between June 1, 1991, and October 31, 1992,’’;

13 and

14 (2) in paragraph (1)(B) by striking ‘‘an airport

15 development project outside the terminal area at

16 that airport’’ and inserting ‘‘any needed airport de17 velopment project affecting safety, security, or ca18 pacity’’.

19 (c) NONHUB AIRPORTS.—Section 47119(c) is amend20 ed by striking ‘‘0.05’’ and inserting ‘‘0.25’’.

21 (d) NONPRIMARY COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIR22 PORTS.—Section 47119 is amended by adding at the end

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(d) DETERMINATION OF PASSENGER BOARDING AT

25 COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORT.—For the purpose of de-
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1 termining whether an amount may be distributed for a

2 fiscal year from the discretionary fund in accordance with

3 subsection (b)(2)(A) to a commercial service airport, the

4 Secretary shall make the determination of whether or not

5 a public airport is a commercial service airport on the

6 basis of the number of passenger boardings and type of

7 air service at the public airport in the calendar year that

8 includes the first day of such fiscal year or the preceding

9 calendar year, whichever is more beneficial to the air10 port.’’.

11 SEC. 153. GENERAL FACILITIES AUTHORITY.

12 (a) CONTINUATION OF ILS INVENTORY PROGRAM.—

13 Section 44502(a)(4)(B) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 1995 and

15 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2000

16 through 2002’’; and

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘under new or existing con18 tracts’’ after ‘‘including acquisition’’.

19 (b) LORAN-C NAVIGATION FACILITIES.—Section

20 44502(a) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(5) MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADE OF LORAN22 C NAVIGATION FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall

23 maintain and upgrade Loran-C navigation facilities

24 throughout the transition period to satellite-based

25 navigation.’’.
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1 SEC. 154. DENIAL OF AIRPORT ACCESS TO CERTAIN AIR

2 CARRIERS.

3 Section 44706 is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(g) INCLUDED CHARTER AIR TRANSPORTATION.—

6 For the purposes of subsection (a)(2), a scheduled pas7 senger operation includes charter air transportation for

8 which the general public is provided in advance a schedule

9 containing the departure location, departure time, and ar10 rival location of the flights.

11 ‘‘(h) AUTHORITY TO PRECLUDE SCHEDULED PAS12 SENGER OPERATIONS.—The Administrator shall permit

13 an airport that will be subject to certification under sub14 section (a)(2) to preclude scheduled passenger operations

15 (including public charter operations described in sub16 section (g)) at the airport if the airport notifies the Ad17 ministrator, in writing, that it does not intend to obtain

18 an airport operating certificate.’’.

19 SEC. 155. CONSTRUCTION OF RUNWAYS.

20 Notwithstanding any provision of law that specifically

21 restricts the number of runways at a single international

22 airport, the Secretary of Transportation may obligate

23 funds made available under chapters 471 and 481 of title

24 49, United States Code, for any project to construct a new

25 runway at such airport, unless this section is expressly re26 pealed.
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1 SEC. 156. USE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS.

2 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a

3 study of the use of recycled materials (including recycled

4 pavements, waste materials, and byproducts) in pavement

5 used for runways, taxiways, and aprons and the specifica6 tion standards in tests necessary for the use of recycled

7 materials in such pavement. The primary focus of the

8 study shall be on the long term physical performance, safe9 ty implications, and environmental benefits of using recy10 cled materials in aviation pavement.

11 (b) CONTRACTING.—The Administrator may carry

12 out the study under this section by entering into a con13 tract with a university of higher education with expertise

14 necessary to carry out the study.

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

17 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study

18 conducted under this section together with recommenda19 tions concerning the use of recycled materials in aviation

20 pavement.

21 (d) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated pursu22 ant to section 106(k), not to exceed $1,500,000 in the ag23 gregate may be used to carry out this section.
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1 SEC. 157. AIRCRAFT NOISE PRIMARILY CAUSED BY MILI2 TARY AIRCRAFT.

3 Section 47504(c) is amended by adding at the end

4 the following:

5 ‘‘(6) AIRCRAFT NOISE PRIMARILY CAUSED BY

6 MILITARY AIRCRAFT.—The Administrator may make

7 a grant under this subsection for a project even if

8 the purpose of the project is to mitigate the effect

9 of noise primarily caused by military aircraft at an

10 airport.’’.

11 SEC. 158. TIMELY ANNOUNCEMENT OF GRANTS.

12 The Secretary of Transportation shall announce the

13 making of grants with funds made available under section

14 48103 of title 49, United States Code, in a timely fashion

15 after receiving necessary documentation for the making of

16 such grants from the Administrator.

17 TITLE II—AIRLINE SERVICE

18 IMPROVEMENTS

19 Subtitle A—Service to Airports Not

20 Receiving Sufficient Service

21 SEC. 201. ACCESS TO HIGH DENSITY AIRPORTS.

22 (a) PHASEOUT OF SLOT RULE FOR O’HARE,

23 LAGUARDIA, AND KENNEDY AIRPORTS.—Section 41714

24 is amended by adding at the end the following:

25 ‘‘(j) PHASEOUT OF SLOT RULE FOR O’HARE,

26 LAGUARDIA, AND KENNEDY AIRPORTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) O’HARE AIRPORT.—The slot rule shall be

2 of no force and effect at O’Hare International

3 Airport—

4 ‘‘(A) effective March 1, 2000—

5 ‘‘(i) with respect to a regional jet air6 craft providing air transportation between

7 O’Hare International Airport and a small

8 hub or nonhub airport—

9 ‘‘(I) if the operator of the re10 gional jet aircraft was not providing

11 such air transportation during the

12 week of June 15, 1999; or

13 ‘‘(II) if the level of air transpor14 tation to be provided between such

15 airports by the operator of the re16 gional jet aircraft during any week

17 will exceed the level of air transpor18 tation provided by such operator be19 tween such airports during the week

20 of June 15, 1999; and

21 ‘‘(ii) with respect to any aircraft pro22 viding foreign air transportation;

23 ‘‘(B) effective March 1, 2001, with respect

24 to any aircraft operating before 2:45 post

25 meridiem and after 8:15 post meridiem; and
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1 ‘‘(C) effective March 1, 2002, with respect

2 to any aircraft.

3 ‘‘(2) LAGUARDIA AND KENNEDY.—The slot rule

4 shall be of no force and effect at LaGuardia Airport

5 or John F. Kennedy International Airport—

6 ‘‘(A) effective March 1, 2000, with respect

7 to a regional jet aircraft providing air transpor8 tation between LaGuardia Airport or John F.

9 Kennedy International Airport and a small hub

10 or nonhub airport—

11 ‘‘(I) if the operator of the re12 gional jet aircraft was not providing

13 such air transportation during the

14 week of June 15, 1999; or

15 ‘‘(II) if the level of air transpor16 tation to be provided between such

17 airports by the operator of the re18 gional jet aircraft during any week

19 will exceed the level of air transpor20 tation provided by such operator be21 tween such airports during the week

22 of June 15, 1999; and

23 ‘‘(B) effective January 1, 2007, with re24 spect to any aircraft.’’.
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1 (b) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS FROM SLOT RULE.—

2 Section 41714 is amended by striking subsections (e) and

3 (f) and inserting the following:

4 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS FROM SLOT RULE.—

5 ‘‘(1) SLOT EXEMPTIONS FOR AIRPORTS NOT RE6 CEIVING SUFFICIENT SERVICE.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

8 chapter 491, the Secretary may by order grant

9 exemptions from the slot rule for Ronald

10 Reagan Washington National Airport and

11 O’Hare International Airport to enable air car12 riers to provide nonstop air transportation

13 using jet aircraft that comply with the stage 3

14 noise levels of part 36 of title 14, Code of Fed15 eral Regulations, between the airport and a

16 small hub or nonhub airport that the Secretary

17 determines has (i) insufficient air carrier serv18 ice to and from Reagan National Airport or

19 O’Hare International Airport, as the case may

20 be, or (ii) unreasonably high airfares.

21 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF SLOT EXEMPTIONS TO

22 BE GRANTED.—

23 ‘‘(i) REAGAN NATIONAL.—

24 ‘‘(I) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF EX25 EMPTIONS.—No more than 2 exemp-
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1 tions from the slot rule per hour and

2 no more than 6 exemptions from the

3 slot rule per day may be granted

4 under this paragraph for Ronald

5 Reagan Washington National Airport.

6 ‘‘(II) MAXIMUM DISTANCE OF

7 FLIGHTS.—An exemption from the

8 slot rule may be granted under this

9 paragraph for Ronald Reagan Wash10 ington National Airport only if the

11 flight utilizing the exemption begins

12 or ends within 1,250 miles of such

13 airport and a stage 3 aircraft is used

14 for such flight.

15 ‘‘(ii) O’HARE AIRPORT.—20 exemp16 tions from the slot rule per day shall be

17 granted under this paragraph for O’Hare

18 International Airport.

19 ‘‘(2) SLOT EXEMPTIONS AT O’HARE FOR NEW

20 ENTRANT AIR CARRIERS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

22 grant 30 exemptions from the slot rule to en23 able new entrant air carriers to provide air

24 transportation at O’Hare International Airport

25 using stage 3 aircraft.
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1 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—In

2 granting exemptions under this paragraph, the

3 Secretary shall give priority consideration to an

4 application from an air carrier that, as of June

5 15, 1999, operated or held fewer than 20 slots

6 at O’Hare International Airport.

7 ‘‘(3) INSUFFICIENT APPLICATIONS.—If, on the

8 180th day following the date of the enactment of the

9 Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st

10 Century, the Secretary has not granted all of the ex11 emptions from the slot rule made available under

12 this subsection at an airport because an insufficient

13 number of eligible applicants have submitted appli14 cations for the exemptions, the Secretary may grant

15 the remaining exemptions at the airport to any air

16 carrier applying for the exemptions for the provision

17 of any type of air transportation. An exemption

18 granted under paragraph (1) or (2) pursuant to this

19 paragraph may be reclaimed by the Secretary for

20 issuance in accordance with the terms of paragraph

21 (1) or (2), as the case may be, if subsequent applica22 tions under paragraph (1) or (2), as the case maybe,

23 so warrant.

24 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ADDITIONAL

25 SLOT EXEMPTIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—An air carrier interested

2 in obtaining an exemption from the slot rule under

3 subsection (e) shall submit to the Secretary an appli4 cation for the exemption. No application may be

5 submitted to the Secretary under subsection (e) be6 fore the last day of the 30-day period beginning on

7 the date of the enactment of the Aviation Invest8 ment and Reform Act for the 21st Century.

9 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF EFFECTIVENESS.—An exemp10 tion from the slot rule granted under subsection (e)

11 shall remain in effect only while the air carrier for

12 whom the exemption is granted continues to provide

13 the air transportation for which the exemption is

14 granted.

15 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN COMMUTER AIR

16 CARRIERS.—The Secretary shall treat all commuter

17 air carriers that have cooperative agreements, in18 cluding code share agreements with other air car19 riers, equally for determining eligibility for exemp20 tions from the slot rule under subsection (e) regard21 less of the form of the corporate relationship be22 tween the commuter air carrier and the other air

23 carrier.’’.

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41714(h) is amend2 ed by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(5) NONHUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘nonhub

4 airport’ means an airport that each year has less

5 than .05 percent of the total annual boardings in the

6 United States.

7 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL JET AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘re8 gional jet aircraft’ means a 2-engine jet aircraft with

9 a design capacity of 70 or fewer seats, manufactured

10 after January 1, 1992, that has an effective per11 ceived noise level on takeoff not exceeding 83 deci12 bels when measured according to the procedures de13 scribed in part 36 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu14 lations.

15 ‘‘(7) SLOT RULE.—The term ‘slot rule’ means

16 the requirements of subparts K and S of part 93 of

17 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

18 ‘‘(8) SMALL HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘small

19 hub airport’ means an airport that each year has at

20 least .05 percent, but less than .25 percent, of the

21 total annual boardings in the United States.

22 ‘‘(9) UNREASONABLY HIGH AIRFARE.—The

23 term ‘unreasonably high airfare’, as used with re24 spect to an airport, means that the airfare listed in

25 the table entitled ‘Top 1,000 City-Pair Market Sum-
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1 marized by City’, contained in the Domestic Airline

2 Fares Consumer Report of the Department of

3 Transportation, for one or more markets for which

4 the airport is a part of has an average yield listed

5 in such table that is more than 19 cents.’’.

6 (2) REGULATORY DEFINITION OF LIMITED IN7 CUMBENT CARRIER.—The Secretary shall modify the

8 definition of the term ‘‘limited incumbent carrier’’ in

9 subpart S of part 93 of title 14, Code of Federal

10 Regulations, to require an air carrier or commuter

11 operator to hold or operate fewer than 20 slots (in12 stead of 12 slots) to meet the criteria of the defini13 tion. For purposes of this section, such modification

14 shall be treated as in effect on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act.

16 (d) PROHIBITION ON SLOT WITHDRAWALS.—Section

17 41714(b) is amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (2)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘at O’Hare International

20 Airport’’ after ‘‘a slot’’; and

21 (B) by striking ‘‘if the withdrawal’’ and all

22 that follows before the period; and

23 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(4) CONVERSION OF SLOTS.—Effective March

2 1, 2000, slots at O’Hare International Airport allo3 cated to an air carrier as of June 15, 1999, to pro4 vide foreign air transportation shall be made avail5 able to such carrier to provide interstate or intra6 state air transportation.’’.

7 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 41714(c)

8 is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘SLOTS FOR NEW ENTRANTS.—

10 ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘If the’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘SLOTS FOR NEW ENTRANTS.—If the’’; and

12 (2) by striking paragraph (2).

13 (f) AMENDMENTS REFLECTING PHASEOUT OF SLOT

14 RULE FOR CERTAIN AIRPORTS.—Effective January 1,

15 2007, section 41714 is amended—

16 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), (f),

17 (g), (h), and (i);

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (j) as

19 subsections (a) and (b), respectively;

20 (3) in the heading for subsection (a) (as so re21 designated) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL RULES FOR’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—

24 ‘‘(1) NONHUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘nonhub

25 airport’ means an airport that each year has less
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1 than .05 percent of the total annual boardings in the

2 United States.

3 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL JET AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘re4 gional jet aircraft’ means a 2-engine jet aircraft with

5 a design capacity of 70 or fewer seats, manufactured

6 after January 1, 1992, that has an effective per7 ceived noise level on takeoff not exceeding 83 deci8 bels when measured according to the procedures de9 scribed in part 36 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu10 lations.

11 ‘‘(3) SLOT.—The term ‘slot’ means a reserva12 tion for an instrument flight rule takeoff or landing

13 by an air carrier or an aircraft in air transpor14 tation.’’.

15 ‘‘(4) SLOT RULE.—The term ‘slot rule’ means

16 the requirements of subparts K and S of part 93 of

17 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (pertaining to

18 slots at high density airports).

19 ‘‘(5) SMALL HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘small

20 hub airport’ means an airport that each year has at

21 least .05 percent, but less than .25 percent, of the

22 total annual boardings in the United States.

23 ‘‘(6) UNREASONABLY HIGH AIRFARE.—The

24 term ‘unreasonably high airfare’, as used with re25 spect to an airport, means that the airfare listed in
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1 the table entitled ‘Top 1,000 City-Pair Market Sum2 marized by City’, contained in the Domestic Airline

3 Fares Consumer Report of the Department of

4 Transportation, for one or more markets for which

5 the airport is a part of has an average yield listed

6 in such table that is more than 19 cents.’’.

7 SEC. 202. FUNDING FOR AIR CARRIER SERVICE TO AIR8 PORTS NOT RECEIVING SUFFICIENT SERV9 ICE.

10 (a) FUNDING FOR AIRPORTS NOT RECEIVING SUFFI11 CIENT SERVICE.—Chapter 417 is amended by adding at

12 the end the following:

13 ‘‘§ 41743. Airports not receiving sufficient service

14 ‘‘(a) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of

15 Transportation may use amounts made available under

16 this section—

17 ‘‘(1) to provide assistance to an air carrier to

18 subsidize service to and from an underserved airport

19 for a period not to exceed 3 years;

20 ‘‘(2) to provide assistance to an underserved

21 airport to obtain jet aircraft service (and to promote

22 passenger use of that service) to and from the un23 derserved airport; and

24 ‘‘(3) to provide assistance to an underserved

25 airport to implement such other measures as the
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1 Secretary, in consultation with such airport, con2 siders appropriate to improve air service both in

3 terms of the cost of such service to consumers and

4 the availability of such service, including improving

5 air service through marketing and promotion of air

6 service and enhanced utilization of airport facilities.

7 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY CRITERIA FOR ASSISTING AIRPORTS

8 NOT RECEIVING SUFFICIENT SERVICE.—In providing as9 sistance to airports under subsection (a), the Secretary

10 shall give priority to those airports for which a community

11 will provide, from local sources (other than airport reve12 nues), a portion of the cost of the activity to be assisted.

13 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

14 definitions apply:

15 ‘‘(1) UNDERSERVED AIRPORT.—The term ‘un16 derserved airport’ means a nonhub airport or small

17 hub airport (as such terms are defined in section

18 41731) that—

19 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines is not re20 ceiving sufficient air carrier service; or

21 ‘‘(B) has unreasonably high airfares.

22 ‘‘(2) UNREASONABLY HIGH AIRFARE.—The

23 term ‘unreasonably high airfare’, as used with re24 spect to an airport, means that the airfare listed in

25 the table entitled ‘Top 1,000 City-Pair Market Sum-
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1 marized by City’, contained in the Domestic Airline

2 Fares Consumer Report of the Department of

3 Transportation, for one or more markets for which

4 the airport is a part of has an average yield listed

5 in such table that is more than 19 cents.

6 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO MAKE AGREEMENTS AND

7 INCUR OBLIGATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make

9 agreements and incur obligations from the Airport

10 and Airway Trust Fund to provide assistance under

11 this section. An agreement by the Secretary under

12 this subsection is a contractual obligation of the

13 Government to pay the Government’s share of the

14 compensation. Contract authority made available by

15 this paragraph shall be subject to an obligation limi16 tation.

17 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS MADE AVAILABLE.—There shall

18 be available to the Secretary out of the Fund not

19 more than $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

20 through 2004 to incur obligations under this section.

21 Amounts made available under this section shall re22 main available until expended.’’.

23 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

24 chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:

‘‘41743. Airports not receiving sufficient service.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. WAIVER OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.

2 Section 41736(b) is amended by adding at the end

3 the following:

4 ‘‘Paragraph (4) shall not apply to any place for which a

5 proposal was approved or that was designated as eligible

6 under this section in the period beginning on October 1,

7 1991, and ending on December 31, 1997.’’.

8 SEC. 204. POLICY FOR AIR SERVICE TO RURAL AREAS.

9 Section 40101(a) is amended by adding at the end

10 the following:

11 ‘‘(16) ensuring that consumers in all regions of

12 the United States, including those in small commu13 nities and rural and remote areas, have access to af14 fordable, regularly scheduled air service.’’.

15 SEC. 205. DETERMINATION OF DISTANCE FROM HUB AIR16 PORT.

17 The Secretary of Transportation shall not deny as18 sistance with respect to a place under subchapter II of

19 chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, solely on the

20 basis that the place is located within 70 highway miles

21 of a hub airport (as defined by section 41731 of such title)

22 if the most commonly used highway route between the

23 place and the hub airport exceeds 70 miles.
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1 Subtitle B—Regional Air Service

2 Incentive Program

3 SEC. 211. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL AIR SERVICE IN4 CENTIVE PROGRAM.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 417 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—REGIONAL AIR SERVICE

8 INCENTIVE PROGRAM

9 ‘‘§ 41761. Purpose

10 ‘‘The purpose of this subchapter is to improve service

11 by jet aircraft to underserved markets by providing assist12 ance, in the form of Federal credit instruments, to com13 muter air carriers that purchase regional jet aircraft for

14 use in serving those markets.

15 ‘‘§ 41762. Definitions

16 ‘‘In this subchapter, the following definitions apply:

17 ‘‘(1) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘air carrier’

18 means any air carrier holding a certificate of public

19 convenience and necessity issued by the Secretary of

20 Transportation under section 41102.

21 ‘‘(2) AIRCRAFT PURCHASE.—The term ‘aircraft

22 purchase’ means the purchase of commercial trans23 port aircraft, including spare parts normally associ24 ated with the aircraft.
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1 ‘‘(3) CAPITAL RESERVE SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—

2 The term ‘capital reserve subsidy amount’ means the

3 amount of budget authority sufficient to cover esti4 mated long-term cost to the United States Govern5 ment of a Federal credit instrument, calculated on

6 a net present value basis, excluding administrative

7 costs and any incidental effects on government re8 ceipts or outlays in accordance with provisions of the

9 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661

10 et seq.).

11 ‘‘(4) COMMUTER AIR CARRIER.—The term

12 ‘commuter air carrier’ means an air carrier that pri13 marily operates aircraft designed to have a max14 imum passenger seating capacity of 75 or less in ac15 cordance with published flight schedules.

16 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The

17 term ‘Federal credit instrument’ means a secured

18 loan, loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to

19 be made under this subchapter.

20 ‘‘(6) FINANCIAL OBLIGATION.—The term ‘fi21 nancial obligation’ means any note, bond, debenture,

22 or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in con23 nection with the financing of an aircraft purchase,

24 other than a Federal credit instrument.
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1 ‘‘(7) LENDER.—The term ‘lender’ means any

2 non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined

3 by section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code of Federal

4 Regulations (or any successor regulation) known as

5 Rule 144A(a) of the Security and Exchange Com6 mission and issued under the Security Act of 1933

7 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.)), including—

8 ‘‘(A) a qualified retirement plan (as de9 fined in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue

10 Code of 1986) that is a qualified institutional

11 buyer; and

12 ‘‘(B) a governmental plan (as defined in

13 section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer.

15 ‘‘(8) LINE OF CREDIT.—The term ‘line of cred16 it’ means an agreement entered into by the Sec17 retary with an obligor under section 41763(d) to

18 provide a direct loan at a future date upon the oc19 currence of certain events.

20 ‘‘(9) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘loan guar21 antee’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the

22 Secretary under section 41763(c) to pay all or part

23 of any of the principal of and interest on a loan or

24 other debt obligation issued by an obligor and fund25 ed by a lender.
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1 ‘‘(10) NEW ENTRANT AIR CARRIER.—The term

2 ‘new entrant air carrier’ means an air carrier that

3 has been providing air transportation according to a

4 published schedule for less than 5 years, including

5 any person that has received authority from the Sec6 retary to provide air transportation but is not pro7 viding air transportation.

8 ‘‘(11) NONHUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘nonhub

9 airport’ means an airport that each year has less

10 than .05 percent of the total annual boardings in the

11 United States.

12 ‘‘(12) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘obligor’ means a

13 party primarily liable for payment of the principal of

14 or interest on a Federal credit instrument, which

15 party may be a corporation, partnership, joint ven16 ture, trust, or governmental entity, agency, or in17 strumentality.

18 ‘‘(13) REGIONAL JET AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘re19 gional jet aircraft’ means a civil aircraft—

20 ‘‘(A) powered by jet propulsion; and

21 ‘‘(B) designed to have a maximum pas22 senger seating capacity of not less than 30 nor

23 more than 75.

24 ‘‘(14) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘secured

25 loan’ means a direct loan funded by the Secretary in
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1 connection with the financing of an aircraft purchase

2 under section 41763(b).

3 ‘‘(15) SMALL HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘small

4 hub airport’ means an airport that each year has at

5 least .05 percent, but less than .25 percent, of the

6 total annual boardings in the United States.

7 ‘‘(16) UNDERSERVED MARKET.—The term ‘un8 derserved market’ means a passenger air transpor9 tation market (as defined by the Secretary) that—

10 ‘‘(A) is served (as determined by the Sec11 retary) by a nonhub airport or a small hub air12 port;

13 ‘‘(B) is not within a 40-mile radius of an

14 airport that each year has at least .25 percent

15 of the total annual boardings in the United

16 States; and

17 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines does not

18 have sufficient air service.

19 ‘‘§ 41763. Federal credit instruments

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this section, the Sec21 retary of Transportation may enter into agreements with

22 one or more obligors to make available Federal credit in23 struments, the proceeds of which shall be used to finance

24 aircraft purchases.

25 ‘‘(b) SECURED LOANS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A secured loan under

3 this section with respect to an aircraft purchase

4 shall be on such terms and conditions and con5 tain such covenants, representatives, warran6 ties, and requirements (including requirements

7 for audits) as the Secretary determines appro8 priate.

9 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No secured

10 loan may be made under this section—

11 ‘‘(i) that extends to more than 50 per12 cent of the purchase price (including the

13 value of any manufacturer credits, post14 purchase options, or other discounts) of

15 the aircraft, including spare parts, to be

16 purchased; or

17 ‘‘(ii) that, when added to the remain18 ing balance on any other Federal credit in19 struments made under this subchapter,

20 provides more than $100,000,000 of out21 standing credit to any single obligor.

22 ‘‘(C) FINAL PAYMENT DATE.—The final

23 payment on the secured loan shall not be due

24 later than 18 years after the date of execution

25 of the loan agreement.
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1 ‘‘(D) SUBORDINATION.—The secured loan

2 may be subordinate to claims of other holders

3 of obligations in the event of bankruptcy, insol4 vency, or liquidation of the obligor as deter5 mined appropriate by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(E) FEES.—The Secretary, subject to ap7 propriations, may establish fees at a level suffi8 cient to cover all or a portion of the costs to the

9 United States Government of making a secured

10 loan under this section. The proceeds of such

11 fees shall be deposited in an account to be used

12 by the Secretary for the purpose of admin13 istering the program established under this sub14 chapter and shall be available upon deposit

15 until expended.

16 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.—

17 ‘‘(A) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall es18 tablish a repayment schedule for each secured

19 loan under this section based on the projected

20 cash flow from aircraft revenues and other re21 payment sources.

22 ‘‘(B) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan

23 repayments of principal and interest on a se24 cured loan under this section shall commence
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1 no later than 3 years after the date of execution

2 of the loan agreement.

3 ‘‘(3) PREPAYMENT.—

4 ‘‘(A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUE.—After

5 satisfying scheduled debt service requirements

6 on all financial obligations and secured loans

7 and all deposit requirements under the terms of

8 any trust agreement, bond resolution, or similar

9 agreement securing financial obligations, the se10 cured loan may be prepaid at anytime without

11 penalty.

12 ‘‘(B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI13 NANCING.—The secured loan may be prepaid at

14 any time without penalty from proceeds of refi15 nancing from non-Federal funding sources.

16 ‘‘(c) LOAN GUARANTEES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan guarantee under

18 this section with respect to a loan made for an air19 craft purchase shall be made in such form and on

20 such terms and conditions and contain such cov21 enants, representatives, warranties, and require22 ments (including requirements for audits) as the

23 Secretary determines appropriate.

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No loan guarantee

25 shall be made under this section—
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1 ‘‘(A) that extends to more than the unpaid

2 interest and 50 percent of the unpaid principal

3 on any loan;

4 ‘‘(B) that, for any loan or combination of

5 loans, extends to more than 50 percent of the

6 purchase price (including the value of any man7 ufacturer credits, post-purchase options, or

8 other discounts) of the aircraft, including spare

9 parts, to be purchased with the loan or loan

10 combination;

11 ‘‘(C) on any loan with respect to which

12 terms permit repayment more than 15 years

13 after the date of execution of the loan; or

14 ‘‘(D) that, when added to the remaining

15 balance on any other Federal credit instruments

16 made under this subchapter, provides more

17 than $100,000,000 of outstanding credit to any

18 single obligor.

19 ‘‘(3) FEES.—The Secretary, subject to appro20 priations, may establish fees at a level sufficient to

21 cover all or a portion of the costs to the United

22 States Government of making a loan guarantee

23 under this section. The proceeds of such fees shall

24 be deposited in an account to be used by the Sec25 retary for the purpose of administering the program
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1 established under this subchapter and shall be avail2 able upon deposit until expended.

3 ‘‘(d) LINES OF CREDIT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require5 ments of this subsection, the Secretary may enter

6 into agreements to make available lines of credit to

7 one or more obligors in the form of direct loans to

8 be made by the Secretary at future dates on the oc9 currence of certain events for any aircraft purchase

10 selected under this section.

11 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A line of credit under

13 this subsection with respect to an aircraft pur14 chase shall be on such terms and conditions and

15 contain such covenants, representatives, war16 ranties, and requirements (including require17 ments for audits) as the Secretary determines

18 appropriate.

19 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—

20 ‘‘(i) TOTAL AMOUNT.—The amount of

21 any line of credit shall not exceed 50 per22 cent of the purchase price (including the

23 value of any manufacturer credits, post24 purchase options, or other discounts) of

25 the aircraft, including spare parts.
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1 ‘‘(ii) 1–YEAR DRAWS.—The amount

2 drawn in any year shall not exceed 20 per3 cent of the total amount of the line of

4 credit.

5 ‘‘(C) DRAWS.—Any draw on the line of

6 credit shall represent a direct loan.

7 ‘‘(D) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The line

8 of credit shall be available not more than 5

9 years after the aircraft purchase date.

10 ‘‘(E) RIGHTS OF THIRD-PARTY CREDI11 TORS.—

12 ‘‘(i) AGAINST UNITED STATES GOV13 ERNMENT.—A third-party creditor of the

14 obligor shall not have any right against the

15 United States Government with respect to

16 any draw on the line of credit.

17 ‘‘(ii) ASSIGNMENT.—An obligor may

18 assign the line of credit to one or more

19 lenders or to a trustee on the lender’s be20 half.

21 ‘‘(F) SUBORDINATION.—A direct loan

22 under this subsection may be subordinate to

23 claims of other holders of obligations in the

24 event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation
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1 of the obligor as determined appropriate by the

2 Secretary.

3 ‘‘(G) FEES.—The Secretary, subject to ap4 propriations, may establish fees at a level suffi5 cient to cover all of a portion of the costs to the

6 United States Government of providing a line of

7 credit under this subsection. The proceeds of

8 such fees shall be deposited in an account to be

9 used by the Secretary for the purpose of admin10 istering the program established under this sub11 chapter and shall be available upon deposit

12 until expended.

13 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT.—

14 ‘‘(A) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish a repayment schedule for each direct

16 loan under this subsection.

17 ‘‘(B) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan

18 repayments of principal or interest on a direct

19 loan under this subsection shall commence no

20 later than 3 years after the date of the first

21 draw on the line of credit and shall be repaid,

22 with interest, not later than 18 years after the

23 date of the first draw.

24 ‘‘(e) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into an

25 agreement under this section to make available a Federal
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1 credit instrument, the Secretary, in consultation with the

2 Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall

3 determine an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount

4 for the Federal credit instrument based on such credit

5 evaluations as the Secretary deems necessary.

6 ‘‘(f) CONDITIONS.—Subject to subsection (h), the

7 Secretary may only make a Federal credit instrument

8 available under this section if the Secretary finds that—

9 ‘‘(1) the aircraft to be purchased with the Fed10 eral credit instrument is a regional jet aircraft need11 ed to improve the service and efficiency of operation

12 of a commuter air carrier or new entrant air carrier;

13 ‘‘(2) the commuter air carrier or new entrant

14 air carrier enters into a legally binding agreement

15 that requires the carrier to use the aircraft to pro16 vide service to underserved markets; and

17 ‘‘(3) the prospective earning power of the com18 muter air carrier or new entrant air carrier, together

19 with the character and value of the security pledged,

20 including the collateral value of the aircraft being

21 acquired and any other assets or pledges used to se22 cure the Federal credit instrument, furnish—

23 ‘‘(A) reasonable assurances of the air car24 rier’s ability and intention to repay the Federal
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1 credit instrument within the terms established

2 by the Secretary—

3 ‘‘(i) to continue its operations as an

4 air carrier; and

5 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that the Secretary

6 determines to be necessary, to continue its

7 operations as an air carrier between the

8 same route or routes being operated by the

9 air carrier at the time of the issuance of

10 the Federal credit instrument; and

11 ‘‘(B) reasonable protection to the United

12 States.

13 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON COMBINED AMOUNT OF FED14 ERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENTS.—The Secretary shall not

15 allow the combined amount of Federal credit instruments

16 available for any aircraft purchase under this section to

17 exceed—

18 ‘‘(1) 50 percent of the cost of the aircraft pur19 chase; or

20 ‘‘(2) $100,000,000 for any single obligor.

21 ‘‘(h) REQUIREMENT.—Subject to subsection (i), no

22 Federal credit instrument may be made under this section

23 for the purchase of any regional jet aircraft that does not

24 comply with the stage 3 noise levels of part 36 of title
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1 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on Jan2 uary 1, 1999.

3 ‘‘(i) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—No Federal credit instru4 ment shall be made by the Secretary under this section

5 for the purchase of a regional jet aircraft unless the com6 muter air carrier or new entrant air carrier enters into

7 a legally binding agreement that requires the carrier to

8 provide scheduled passenger air transportation to the un9 derserved market for which the aircraft is purchased for

10 a period of not less than 36 consecutive months after the

11 date that aircraft is placed in service.

12 ‘‘§ 41764. Use of Federal facilities and assistance

13 ‘‘(a) USE OF FEDERAL FACILITIES.—To permit the

14 Secretary of Transportation to make use of such expert

15 advice and services as the Secretary may require in car16 rying out this subchapter, the Secretary may use available

17 services and facilities of other agencies and instrumental18 ities of the United States Government—

19 ‘‘(1) with the consent of the appropriate Fed20 eral officials; and

21 ‘‘(2) on a reimbursable basis.

22 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE.—The head of each appropriate de23 partment or agency of the United States Government shall

24 exercise the duties and powers of that head in such man-
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1 ner as to assist in carrying out the policy specified in sec2 tion 41761.

3 ‘‘(c) OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary shall make avail4 able to the Comptroller General of the United States such

5 information with respect to any Federal credit instrument

6 made under this subchapter as the Comptroller General

7 may require to carry out the duties of the Comptroller

8 General under chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code.

9 ‘‘§ 41765. Administrative expenses

10 ‘‘In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary shall

11 use funds made available by appropriations to the Depart12 ment of Transportation for the purpose of administration,

13 in addition to the proceeds of any fees collected under this

14 subchapter, to cover administrative expenses of the Fed15 eral credit instrument program under this subchapter.

16 ‘‘§ 41766. Funding.

17 ‘‘Of the amounts appropriated under section 106(k)

18 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004, such sums

19 as may be necessary may be used to carry out this sub20 chapter, including administrative expenses.

21 ‘‘§ 41767. Termination

22 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE FEDERAL CREDIT IN23 STRUMENTS.—The authority of the Secretary of Trans24 portation to issue Federal credit instruments under sec-
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1 tion 41763 shall terminate on the date that is 5 years

2 after the date of the enactment of this subchapter.

3 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER

4 PROGRAM FOR EXISTING FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRU5 MENTS.—On and after the termination date, the Secretary

6 shall continue to administer the program established

7 under this subchapter for Federal credit instruments

8 issued under this subchapter before the termination date

9 until all obligations associated with such instruments have

10 been satisfied.’’.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

12 chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—REGIONAL AIR SERVICE INCENTIVE PROGRAM

‘‘Sec.

‘‘41761. Purpose.

‘‘41762. Definitions.

‘‘41763. Federal credit instruments.

‘‘41764. Use of Federal facilities and assistance.

‘‘41765. Administrative expenses.

‘‘41766. Funding.

‘‘41767. Termination.’’.

14 TITLE III—FAA MANAGEMENT

15 REFORM

16 SEC. 301. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM DEFINED.

17 Section 40102(a) is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through

19 (41) as paragraphs (6) through (42), respectively;

20 and
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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(5) ‘air traffic control system’ means the com4 bination of elements used to safely and efficiently

5 monitor, direct, control, and guide aircraft in the

6 United States and United States-assigned airspace,

7 including—

8 ‘‘(A) allocated electromagnetic spectrum

9 and physical, real, personal, and intellectual

10 property assets making up facilities, equipment,

11 and systems employed to detect, track, and

12 guide aircraft movement;

13 ‘‘(B) laws, regulations, orders, directives,

14 agreements, and licenses;

15 ‘‘(C) published procedures that explain re16 quired actions, activities, and techniques used

17 to ensure adequate aircraft separation; and

18 ‘‘(D) trained personnel with specific tech19 nical capabilities to satisfy the operational, en20 gineering, management, and planning require21 ments for air traffic control.’’.

22 SEC. 302. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OVERSIGHT BOARD.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 is amended by

25 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 113. Air Traffic Control Oversight Board

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

3 the Department of Transportation an ‘Air Traffic Control

4 Oversight Board’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Over5 sight Board’).

6 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—

7 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Oversight Board

8 shall be composed of nine members, as follows:

9 ‘‘(A) Six members shall be individuals who

10 are not otherwise Federal officers or employees

11 and who are appointed by the President, by and

12 with the advice and consent of the Senate.

13 ‘‘(B) One member shall be the Secretary of

14 Transportation or, if the Secretary so des15 ignates, the Deputy Secretary of the Transpor16 tation.

17 ‘‘(C) One member shall be the Adminis18 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

19 ‘‘(D) One member shall be an individual

20 who is appointed by the President, by and with

21 the advice and consent of the Senate, from

22 among individuals who are the leaders of their

23 respective unions of air traffic control system

24 employees.

25 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the

2 Oversight Board described in paragraph (1)(A)

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(i) have a fiduciary responsibility to

5 represent the public interest;

6 ‘‘(ii) be citizens of the United States;

7 and

8 ‘‘(iii) be appointed without regard to

9 political affiliation and solely on the basis

10 of their professional experience and exper11 tise in one or more of the following areas:

12 ‘‘(I) Management of large service

13 organizations.

14 ‘‘(II) Customer service.

15 ‘‘(III) Management of large pro16 curements.

17 ‘‘(IV) Information and commu18 nications technology.

19 ‘‘(V) Organizational development.

20 ‘‘(VI) Labor relations.

21 At least three members of the Oversight Board

22 appointed under paragraph (1)(A) should have

23 knowledge of, or a background in, aviation. At

24 least one of such members should have a back25 ground in managing large organizations suc-
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1 cessfully. In the aggregate, such members

2 should collectively bring to bear expertise in all

3 of the areas described in subclauses (I) through

4 (VI) of clause (iii).

5 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITIONS.—No member of the

6 Oversight Board described in paragraph (1)(A)

7 may—

8 ‘‘(i) have a pecuniary interest in, or

9 own stock in or bonds of, an aviation or

10 aeronautical enterprise;

11 ‘‘(ii) engage in another business re12 lated to aviation or aeronautics; or

13 ‘‘(iii) be a member of any organization

14 that engages, as a substantial part of its

15 activities, in activities to influence aviation16 related legislation.

17 ‘‘(C) TERMS FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

18 REPRESENTATIVES.—A member appointed

19 under paragraph (1)(D) shall be appointed for

20 a term of 3 years, except that the term of such

21 individual shall end whenever the individual no

22 longer meets the requirements of paragraph

23 (1)(D).

24 ‘‘(D) TERMS FOR NONFEDERAL OFFICERS

25 OR EMPLOYEES.—A member appointed under
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1 paragraph (1)(A) shall be appointed for a term

2 of 5 years, except that of the members first ap3 pointed under paragraph (1)(A)—

4 ‘‘(i) two members shall be appointed

5 for a term of 3 years;

6 ‘‘(ii) two members shall be appointed

7 for a term of 4 years; and

8 ‘‘(iii) two members shall be appointed

9 for a term of 5 years.

10 ‘‘(E) REAPPOINTMENT.—An individual

11 may not be appointed under paragraph (1)(A)

12 to more than two 5-year terms on the Oversight

13 Board.

14 ‘‘(F) VACANCY.—Any vacancy on the Over15 sight Board shall be filled in the same manner

16 as the original appointment. Any member ap17 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the

18 expiration of the term for which the member’s

19 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed

20 for the remainder of that term.

21 ‘‘(3) ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—During

23 the entire period that an individual appointed

24 under subparagraph (A) or (D) of paragraph

25 (1) is a member of the Oversight Board, such
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1 individual shall be treated as serving as an offi2 cer or employee referred to in section 101(f) of

3 the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 for pur4 poses of title I of such Act, except that section

5 101(d) of such Act shall apply without regard

6 to the number of days of service in the position.

7 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTIONS ON POST-EMPLOY8 MENT.—For purposes of section 207(c) of title

9 18, an individual appointed under subparagraph

10 (A) or (D) of paragraph (1) shall be treated as

11 an employee referred to in section

12 207(c)(2)(A)(i) of such title during the entire

13 period the individual is a member of the Board,

14 except that subsections (c)(2)(B) and (f) of sec15 tion 207 of such title shall not apply.

16 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—At the time the President

17 nominates an individual for appointment as a

18 member of the Oversight Board under para19 graph (1)(D), the President may waive for the

20 term of the member any appropriate provision

21 of chapter 11 of title 18, to the extent such

22 waiver is necessary to allow the member to par23 ticipate in the decisions of the Board while con24 tinuing to serve as a full-time Federal employee

25 or a representative of employees. Any such
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1 waiver shall not be effective unless a written in2 tent of waiver to exempt such member (and ac3 tual waiver language) is submitted to the Sen4 ate with the nomination of such member.

5 ‘‘(4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Oversight

6 Board shall constitute a quorum. A majority of

7 members present and voting shall be required for the

8 Oversight Board to take action.

9 ‘‘(5) REMOVAL.—Any member of the Oversight

10 Board appointed under subparagraph (A) or (D) of

11 paragraph (1) may be removed for cause by the

12 President.

13 ‘‘(6) CLAIMS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the

15 Oversight Board appointed under subparagraph

16 (A) or (D) of paragraph (1) shall have no per17 sonal liability under Federal law with respect to

18 any claim arising out of or resulting from an

19 act or omission by such member within the

20 scope of service as a member of the Oversight

21 Board.

22 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—This para23 graph shall not be construed—

24 ‘‘(i) to affect any other immunity or

25 protection that may be available to a mem-
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1 ber of the Oversight Board under applica2 ble law with respect to such transactions;

3 ‘‘(ii) to affect any other right or rem4 edy against the United States under appli5 cable law; or

6 ‘‘(iii) to limit or alter in any way the

7 immunities that are available under appli8 cable law for Federal officers and employ9 ees.

10 ‘‘(c) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—

11 ‘‘(1) OVERSIGHT.—The Oversight Board shall

12 oversee the Federal Aviation Administration in its

13 administration, management, conduct, direction, and

14 supervision of the air traffic control system.

15 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Oversight Board

16 shall ensure that appropriate confidentiality is main17 tained in the exercise of its duties.

18 ‘‘(d) SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Oversight

19 Board shall have the following specific responsibilities:

20 ‘‘(1) STRATEGIC PLANS.—To review, approve,

21 and monitor achievements under a strategic plan of

22 the Federal Aviation Administration for the air traf23 fic control system, including the establishment of—

24 ‘‘(A) a mission and objectives;
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1 ‘‘(B) standards of performance relative to

2 such mission and objectives, including safety,

3 efficiency, and productivity; and

4 ‘‘(C) annual and long-range strategic

5 plans.

6 ‘‘(2) MODERNIZATION AND IMPROVEMENT.—To

7 review and approve—

8 ‘‘(A) methods of the Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration to accelerate air traffic control

10 modernization and improvements in aviation

11 safety related to air traffic control; and

12 ‘‘(B) procurements of air traffic control

13 equipment by the Federal Aviation Administra14 tion in excess of $100,000,000.

15 ‘‘(3) OPERATIONAL PLANS.—To review the

16 operational functions of the Federal Aviation Admin17 istration, including—

18 ‘‘(A) plans for modernization of the air

19 traffic control system;

20 ‘‘(B) plans for increasing productivity or

21 implementing cost-saving measures; and

22 ‘‘(C) plans for training and education.

23 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT.—To—
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1 ‘‘(A) review and approve the Administra2 tor’s appointment of a Chief Operating Officer

3 under section 106(r);

4 ‘‘(B) review the Administrator’s selection,

5 evaluation, and compensation of senior execu6 tives of the Federal Aviation Administration

7 who have program management responsibility

8 over significant functions of the air traffic con9 trol system;

10 ‘‘(C) review and approve the Administra11 tor’s plans for any major reorganization of the

12 Federal Aviation Administration that would im13 pact on the management of the air traffic con14 trol system;

15 ‘‘(D) review and approve the Administra16 tor’s cost accounting and financial management

17 structure and technologies to help ensure effi18 cient and cost-effective air traffic control oper19 ation; and

20 ‘‘(E) review the performance and coopera21 tion of managers responsible for major acquisi22 tion projects, including the ability of the man23 agers to meet schedule and budget targets.

24 ‘‘(5) BUDGET.—To—
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1 ‘‘(A) review and approve the budget re2 quest of the Federal Aviation Administration

3 related to the air traffic control system pre4 pared by the Administrator;

5 ‘‘(B) submit such budget request to the

6 Secretary of Transportation; and

7 ‘‘(C) ensure that the budget request sup8 ports the annual and long-range strategic plans.

9 The Secretary shall submit the budget request referred to

10 in paragraph (5)(B) for any fiscal year to the President

11 who shall submit such request, without revision, to the

12 Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and

13 Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the

14 Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

15 and Appropriations of the Senate, together with the Presi16 dent’s annual budget request for the Federal Aviation Ad17 ministration for such fiscal year.

18 ‘‘(e) REPORTING OF OVERTURNING OF BOARD DECI19 SIONS.—If the Secretary or Administrator overturns a de20 cision of the Oversight Board, the Secretary or Adminis21 trator, as appropriate shall report such action to the Presi22 dent, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

23 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on

24 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

25 ‘‘(f) BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the

3 Oversight Board who—

4 ‘‘(i) appointed under subsection

5 (b)(1)(A); or

6 ‘‘(ii) appointed under subsection

7 (b)(1)(D) and is not otherwise a Federal

8 officer or employee,

9 shall be compensated at a rate of $30,000 per

10 year. All other members shall serve without

11 compensation for such service.

12 ‘‘(B) CHAIRPERSON.—Notwithstanding

13 subparagraph (A), the chairperson of the Over14 sight Board shall be compensated at a rate of

15 $50,000 per year.

16 ‘‘(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the

18 Oversight Board shall be allowed travel ex19 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist20 ence, at rates authorized for employees of agen21 cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,

22 to attend meetings of the Oversight Board and,

23 with the advance approval of the chairperson of

24 the Oversight Board, while otherwise away from

25 their homes or regular places of business for
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1 purposes of duties as a member of the Over2 sight Board.

3 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—The Oversight Board shall

4 include in its annual report under subsection

5 (g)(3)(A) information with respect to the travel

6 expenses allowed for members of the Oversight

7 Board under this paragraph.

8 ‘‘(3) STAFF.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The chairperson of

10 the Oversight Board may appoint and terminate

11 any personnel that may be necessary to enable

12 the Board to perform its duties.

13 ‘‘(B) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOY14 EES.—Upon request of the chairperson of the

15 Oversight Board, a Federal agency shall detail

16 a United States Government employee to the

17 Oversight Board without reimbursement. Such

18 detail shall be without interruption or loss of

19 civil service status or privilege.

20 ‘‘(4) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND

21 INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—The chairperson of the

22 Oversight Board may procure temporary and inter23 mittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5,

24 United States Code.

25 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) CHAIR.—

2 ‘‘(A) TERM.—The members of the Over3 sight Board shall elect for a 2-year term a

4 chairperson from among the members ap5 pointed under subsection (b)(1)(A).

6 ‘‘(B) POWERS.—Except as otherwise pro7 vided by a majority vote of the Oversight

8 Board, the powers of the chairperson shall

9 include—

10 ‘‘(i) establishing committees;

11 ‘‘(ii) setting meeting places and times;

12 ‘‘(iii) establishing meeting agendas;

13 and

14 ‘‘(iv) developing rules for the conduct

15 of business.

16 ‘‘(2) MEETINGS.—The Oversight Board shall

17 meet at least quarterly and at such other times as

18 the chairperson determines appropriate.

19 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—

20 ‘‘(A) ANNUAL.—The Oversight Board shall

21 each year report with respect to the conduct of

22 its responsibilities under this title to the Presi23 dent, the Committee on Transportation and In24 frastructure of the House of Representatives,
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1 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

2 Transportation of the Senate.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORT.—Upon a de4 termination by the Oversight Board under sub5 section (c)(1) that the organization and oper6 ation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s

7 air traffic control system are not allowing the

8 Federal Aviation Administration to carry out its

9 mission, the Oversight Board shall report such

10 determination to the Committee on Transpor11 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce,

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

14 ‘‘(C) COMPTROLLER GENERAL’S RE15 PORT.—Not later than April 30, 2004, the

16 Comptroller General of the United States shall

17 transmit to the Committee on Transportation

18 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa19 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,

20 and Transportation of the Senate a report on

21 the success of the Oversight Board in improving

22 the performance of the air traffic control sys23 tem.’’.
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

2 for chapter 1 is amended by adding at the end the

3 following:

‘‘113. Air Traffic Control Oversight Board.’’.

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall take effect on the date of the en7 actment of this Act.

8 (2) INITIAL NOMINATIONS TO AIR TRAFFIC

9 CONTROL OVERSIGHT BOARD.—The President shall

10 submit the initial nominations of the air traffic con11 trol oversight board to the Senate not later than 3

12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (3) EFFECT ON ACTIONS PRIOR TO APPOINT14 MENT OF OVERSIGHT BOARD.—Nothing in this sec15 tion shall be construed to invalidate the actions and

16 authority of the Federal Aviation Administration

17 prior to the appointment of the members of the Air

18 Traffic Control Oversight Board.

19 SEC. 303. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.

20 Section 106 is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(r) CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

24 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be a

25 Chief Operating Officer for the air traffic con-
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1 trol system to be appointed by the Adminis2 trator, with approval of the Air Traffic Control

3 Oversight Board established by section 113.

4 The Chief Operating Officer shall report di5 rectly to the Administrator and shall be subject

6 to the authority of the Administrator.

7 ‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Oper8 ating Officer shall have a demonstrated ability

9 in management and knowledge of or experience

10 in aviation.

11 ‘‘(C) TERM.—The Chief Operating Officer

12 shall be appointed for a term of 5 years.

13 ‘‘(D) REMOVAL.—The Chief Operating Of14 ficer shall serve at the pleasure of the Adminis15 trator, except that the Administrator shall

16 make every effort to ensure stability and con17 tinuity in the leadership of the air traffic con18 trol system.

19 ‘‘(E) VACANCY.—Any individual appointed

20 to fill a vacancy in the position of Chief Oper21 ating Officer occurring before the expiration of

22 the term for which the individual’s predecessor

23 was appointed shall be appointed for the re24 mainder of that term.
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1 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT.—

2 The Administrator and the Chief Operating Officer,

3 in consultation with the Air Traffic Control Over4 sight Board, shall enter into an annual performance

5 agreement that sets forth measurable organization

6 and individual goals for the Chief Operating Officer

7 in key operational areas. The agreement shall be

8 subject to review and renegotiation on an annual

9 basis.

10 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT.—The

11 Chief Operating Officer shall prepare and submit to

12 the Secretary of Transportation and Congress an

13 annual management report containing such informa14 tion as may be prescribed by the Secretary.’’.

15 SEC. 304. FEDERAL AVIATION MANAGEMENT ADVISORY

16 COUNCIL.

17 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 106(p)(2)(C) is amended

18 to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(C) 13 members representing aviation in20 terests, appointed by—

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of initial appointments

22 to the Council, the President by and with

23 the advice and consent of the Senate; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of subsequent ap2 pointments to the Council, the Secretary of

3 Transportation.’’.

4 (b) TERMS OF MEMBERS.—Section 106(p)(6)(A)(i)

5 is amended by striking ‘‘by the President’’.

6 SEC. 305. ENVIRONMENTAL STREAMLINING.

7 (a) COORDINATED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROC8 ESS.—

9 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.—

10 The Secretary shall develop and implement a coordi11 nated environmental review process for aviation in12 frastructure projects that require—

13 (A) the preparation of an environmental

14 impact statement or environmental assessment

15 under the National Environmental Policy Act of

16 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), except that the

17 Secretary may decide not to apply this section

18 to the preparation of an environmental assess19 ment under such Act; or

20 (B) the conduct of any other environ21 mental review, analysis, opinion, or issuance of

22 an environmental permit, license, or approval by

23 operation of Federal law.

24 (2) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The coordinated envi2 ronmental review process for each project shall

3 ensure that, whenever practicable (as specified

4 in this section), all environmental reviews, anal5 yses, opinions, and any permits, licenses, or ap6 provals that must be issued or made by any

7 Federal agency for the project concerned shall

8 be conducted concurrently and completed within

9 a cooperatively determined time period. Such

10 process for a project or class of project may be

11 incorporated into a memorandum of under12 standing between the Department of Transpor13 tation and Federal agencies (and, where appro14 priate, State agencies).

15 (B) ESTABLISHMENT OF TIME PERIODS.—

16 In establishing the time period referred to in

17 subparagraph (A), and any time periods for re18 view within such period, the Department and all

19 such agencies shall take into account their re20 spective resources and statutory commitments.

21 (b) ELEMENTS OF COORDINATED ENVIRONMENTAL

22 REVIEW PROCESS.—For each project, the coordinated en23 vironmental review process established under this section

24 shall provide, at a minimum, for the following elements:
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1 (1) FEDERAL AGENCY IDENTIFICATION.—The

2 Secretary shall, at the earliest possible time, identify

3 all potential Federal agencies that—

4 (A) have jurisdiction by law over environ5 mental-related issues that may be affected by

6 the project and the analysis of which would be

7 part of any environmental document required

8 by the National Environmental Policy Act of

9 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or

10 (B) may be required by Federal law to

11 independently—

12 (i) conduct an environmental-related

13 review or analysis; or

14 (ii) determine whether to issue a per15 mit, license, or approval or render an opin16 ion on the environmental impact of the

17 project.

18 (2) TIME LIMITATIONS AND CONCURRENT RE19 VIEW.—The Secretary and the head of each Federal

20 agency identified under paragraph (1)—

21 (A)(i) shall jointly develop and establish

22 time periods for review for—

23 (I) all Federal agency comments with

24 respect to any environmental review docu25 ments required by the National Environ-
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1 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

2 4321 et seq.) for the project; and

3 (II) all other independent Federal

4 agency environmental analyses, reviews,

5 opinions, and decisions on any permits, li6 censes, and approvals that must be issued

7 or made for the project,

8 whereby each such Federal agency’s review

9 shall be undertaken and completed within such

10 established time periods for review; or

11 (ii) may enter into an agreement to estab12 lish such time periods for review with respect to

13 a class of project; and

14 (B) shall ensure, in establishing such time

15 periods for review, that the conduct of any such

16 analysis, review, opinion, and decision is under17 taken concurrently with all other environmental

18 reviews for the project, including the reviews re19 quired by the National Environmental Policy

20 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); except

21 that such review may not be concurrent if the

22 affected Federal agency can demonstrate that

23 such concurrent review would result in a signifi24 cant adverse impact to the environment or sub25 stantively alter the operation of Federal law or
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1 would not be possible without information de2 veloped as part of the environmental review

3 process.

4 (3) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Time peri5 ods for review established under this section shall be

6 consistent with the time periods established by the

7 Council on Environmental Quality under sections

8 1501.8 and 1506.10 of title 40, Code of Federal

9 Regulations.

10 (4) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary shall extend

11 any time periods for review under this section if,

12 upon good cause shown, the Secretary and any Fed13 eral agency concerned determine that additional time

14 for analysis and review is needed as a result of new

15 information that has been discovered that could not

16 reasonably have been anticipated when the Federal

17 agency’s time periods for review were established.

18 Any memorandum of understanding shall be modi19 fied to incorporate any mutually agreed-upon exten20 sions.

21 (c) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—When the Secretary de22 termines that a Federal agency which is subject to a time

23 period for its environmental review or analysis under this

24 section has failed to complete such review, analysis, opin25 ion, or decision on issuing any permit, license, or approval
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1 within the established time period or within any agreed2 upon extension to such time period, the Secretary may,

3 after notice and consultation with such agency, close the

4 record on the matter before the Secretary. If the Secretary

5 finds, after timely compliance with this section, that an

6 environmental issue related to the project that an affected

7 Federal agency has jurisdiction over by operation of Fed8 eral law has not been resolved, the Secretary and the head

9 of the Federal agency shall resolve the matter not later

10 than 30 days after the date of the finding by the Sec11 retary.

12 (d) PARTICIPATION OF STATE AGENCIES.—For any

13 project eligible for assistance under chapter 471 of title

14 49, United States Code, a State, by operation of State

15 law, may require that all State agencies that have jurisdic16 tion by State or Federal law over environmental-related

17 issues that may be affected by the project, or that are

18 required to issue any environmental-related reviews, anal19 yses, opinions, or determinations on issuing any permits,

20 licenses, or approvals for the project, be subject to the co21 ordinated environmental review process established under

22 this section unless the Secretary determines that a State’s

23 participation would not be in the public interest. For a

24 State to require State agencies to participate in the review
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1 process, all affected agencies of the State shall be subject

2 to the review process.

3 (e) ASSISTANCE TO AFFECTED FEDERAL AGEN4 CIES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve

6 a request by a State or other recipient of assistance

7 under chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code,

8 to provide funds made available from the Airport

9 and Airway Trust Fund to the State or recipient for

10 an aviation project subject to the coordinated envi11 ronmental review process established under this sec12 tion to affected Federal agencies to provide the re13 sources necessary to meet any time limits estab14 lished under this section.

15 (2) AMOUNTS.—Such requests under paragraph

16 (1) shall be approved only—

17 (A) for the additional amounts that the

18 Secretary determines are necessary for the af19 fected Federal agencies to meet the time limits

20 for environmental review; and

21 (B) if such time limits are less than the

22 customary time necessary for such review.

23 (f) JUDICIAL REVIEW AND SAVINGS CLAUSE.—

24 (1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this section

25 shall affect the reviewability of any final Federal
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1 agency action in a court of the United States or in

2 the court of any State.

3 (2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section

4 shall affect the applicability of the National Environ5 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

6 or any other Federal environmental statute or affect

7 the responsibility of any Federal officer to comply

8 with or enforce any such statute.

9 (g) FEDERAL AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section,

10 the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ means any Federal agency or

11 any State agency carrying out affected responsibilities re12 quired by operation of Federal law.

13 SEC. 306. CLARIFICATION OF REGULATORY APPROVAL

14 PROCESS.

15 Section 106(f)(3)(B)(i) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘$100,000,000’’ each place it

17 appears and inserting ‘‘$250,000,000’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘Air Traffic Management Sys19 tem Performance Improvement Act of 1996’’ and in20 serting ‘‘Aviation Investment and Reform Act for

21 the 21st Century’’;

22 (3) in subclause (I)—

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘substantial and’’ before

24 ‘‘material’’; and
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon

2 at the end; and

3 (4) by striking subclauses (II), (III), and (IV)

4 and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(II) raise novel or significant legal or

6 policy issues arising out of legal mandates

7 that may substantially and materially af8 fect other transportation modes.’’.

9 SEC. 307. INDEPENDENT STUDY OF FAA COSTS AND ALLO10 CATIONS.

11 (a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of

13 the Department of Transportation shall conduct the

14 assessments described in this section. To conduct

15 the assessments, the Inspector General may use the

16 staff and resources of the Inspector General or con17 tract with one or more independent entities.

18 (2) ASSESSMENT OF ADEQUACY AND ACCURACY

19 OF FAA COST DATA AND ATTRIBUTIONS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General

21 shall conduct an assessment to ensure that the

22 method for calculating the overall costs of the

23 Federal Aviation Administration and attrib24 uting such costs to specific users is appropriate,

25 reasonable, and understandable to the users.
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1 (B) COMPONENTS.—In conducting the as2 sessment under this paragraph, the Inspector

3 General shall assess the following:

4 (i) The Federal Aviation Administra5 tion’s cost input data, including the reli6 ability of the Federal Aviation Administra7 tion’s source documents and the integrity

8 and reliability of the Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration’s data collection process.

10 (ii) The Federal Aviation Administra11 tion’s system for tracking assets.

12 (iii) The Federal Aviation Administra13 tion’s bases for establishing asset values

14 and depreciation rates.

15 (iv) The Federal Aviation Administra16 tion’s system of internal controls for ensur17 ing the consistency and reliability of re18 ported data.

19 (v) The Federal Aviation Administra20 tion’s definition of the services to which

21 the Federal Aviation Administration ulti22 mately attributes its costs.

23 (vi) The cost pools used by the Fed24 eral Aviation Administration and the ra25 tionale for and reliability of the bases
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1 which the Federal Aviation Administration

2 proposes to use in allocating costs of serv3 ices to users.

4 (C) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT OF

5 COST POOLS.—In carrying out subparagraph

6 (B)(vi), the Inspector General shall—

7 (i) review costs that cannot reliably be

8 attributed to specific Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration services or activities (called

10 ‘‘common and fixed costs’’ in the Federal

11 Aviation Administration Cost Allocation

12 Study) and consider alternative methods

13 for allocating such costs; and

14 (ii) perform appropriate tests to as15 sess relationships between costs in the var16 ious cost pools and activities and services

17 to which the costs are attributed by the

18 Federal Aviation Administration.

19 (3) COST EFFECTIVENESS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General

21 shall assess the progress of the Federal Avia22 tion Administration in cost and performance

23 management, including use of internal and ex24 ternal benchmarking in improving the perform-
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1 ance and productivity of the Federal Aviation

2 Administration.

3 (B) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than

4 December 31, 2000, and annually thereafter

5 until December 31, 2004, the Inspector General

6 shall transmit to Congress an updated report

7 containing the results of the assessment con8 ducted under this paragraph.

9 (C) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN

10 FAA FINANCIAL REPORT.—The Administrator

11 shall include in the annual financial report of

12 the Federal Aviation Administration informa13 tion on the performance of the Administration

14 sufficient to permit users and others to make

15 an informed evaluation of the progress of the

16 Administration in increasing productivity.

17 (b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated pursu18 ant to section 106(k) of title 49, United States Code, for

19 fiscal year 2000, not to exceed $1,500,000 may be used

20 to carry out this section.

21 SEC. 308. FAILURE TO MEET RULEMAKING DEADLINE.

22 Section 106(f)(3)(A) is amended by adding at the end

23 the following: ‘‘If the Administrator does not meet a dead24 line specified in this subparagraph, the Administrator

25 shall transmit to Congress notification of the missed dead-
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1 line, including an explanation for missing the deadline and

2 a projected date on which the action that was subject to

3 the deadline will be taken.’’.

4 SEC. 309. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT INTEGRITY ACT.

5 Section 348(b)(2) of the Department of Transpor6 tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (49

7 U.S.C. 40110 note; 109 Stat. 460) is amended by striking

8 the period and inserting the following: ‘‘, other than sec9 tion 27 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act

10 (41 U.S.C. 423); except that subsections (f) and (g) of

11 such section 27 shall not apply to the Federal Aviation

12 Administration’s acquisition management system. Within

13 90 days following the date of the enactment of the Avia14 tion Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, the

15 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

16 shall adopt definitions for the acquisition management

17 system that are consistent with the purpose and intent of

18 this section and that will allow the application of the crimi19 nal, civil and administrative remedies provided. The Ad20 ministrator shall have the authority to take an adverse

21 personnel action provided in subsection (e)(3)(A)(iv) of

22 such section 27, but shall take any such actions in accord23 ance with the procedures contained in the Federal Avia24 tion Administration’s personnel management system.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—FAMILY ASSISTANCE

2 SEC. 401. RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL TRANSPOR3 TATION SAFETY BOARD.

4 (a) PROHIBITION ON UNSOLICITED COMMUNICA5 TIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1136(g)(2) is

7 amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘transportation,’’ and in9 serting ‘‘transportation and in the event of an

10 accident involving a foreign air carrier that oc11 curs within the United States,’’;

12 (B) by inserting after ‘‘attorney’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘(including any associate, agent, em14 ployee, or other representative of an attorney)’’;

15 and

16 (C) by striking ‘‘30th day’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘45th day’’.

18 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 1151 is amended

19 by inserting ‘‘1136(g)(2),’’ before ‘‘or 1155(a)’’ each

20 place it appears.

21 (b) PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS TO PREVENT MENTAL

22 HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—Section 1136(g)

23 is amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON ACTIONS TO PREVENT

25 MENTAL HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES.—No
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1 State or political subdivision may prevent the em2 ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des3 ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from

4 providing mental health and counseling services

5 under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period begin6 ning on the date of the accident. The director of

7 family support services designated for the accident

8 under subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for

9 not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director

10 determines that the extension is necessary to meet

11 the needs of the families and if State and local au12 thorities are notified of the determination.’’.

13 (c) INCLUSION OF NONREVENUE PASSENGERS IN

14 FAMILY ASSISTANCE COVERAGE.—Section 1136(h)(2) is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’

17 includes—

18 ‘‘(A) an employee of an air carrier or for19 eign air carrier aboard an aircraft; and

20 ‘‘(B) any other person aboard the aircraft

21 without regard to whether the person paid for

22 the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a

23 reservation for the flight.’’.
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1 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

2 Section 1136 is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

5 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the

6 actions that an air carrier may take, or the obligations

7 that an air carrier may have, in providing assistance to

8 the families of passengers involved in an aircraft acci9 dent.’’.

10 SEC. 402. AIR CARRIER PLANS.

11 (a) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—

12 (1) FLIGHT RESERVATION INFORMATION.—Sec13 tion 41113(b) is amended by adding at the end the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(14) An assurance that, upon request of the

16 family of a passenger, the air carrier will inform the

17 family of whether the passenger’s name appeared on

18 a preliminary passenger manifest for the flight in19 volved in the accident.’’.

20 (2) TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS.—

21 Section 41113(b) is further amended by adding at

22 the end the following:

23 ‘‘(15) An assurance that the air carrier will

24 provide adequate training to the employees and
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1 agents of the carrier to meet the needs of survivors

2 and family members following an accident.’’.

3 (3) CONSULTATION ON CARRIER RESPONSE NOT

4 COVERED BY PLAN.—Section 41113(b) is further

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(16) An assurance that the air carrier, in the

7 event that the air carrier volunteers assistance to

8 United States citizens within the United States in

9 the case of an aircraft accident outside the United

10 States involving major loss of life, the air carrier will

11 consult with the Board and the Department of State

12 on the provision of the assistance.’’.

13 (4) SUBMISSION OF UPDATED PLANS.—The

14 amendments made by paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)

15 shall take effect on the 180th day following the date

16 of the enactment of this Act. On or before such

17 180th day, each air carrier holding a certificate of

18 public convenience and necessity under section

19 41102 of title 49, United States Code, shall submit

20 to the Secretary of Transportation and the Chair21 man of the National Transportation Safety Board

22 an updated plan under section 41113 of such title

23 that meets the requirement of the amendments made

24 by paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
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1 (5) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

2 41113 is amended—

3 (A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Not later

4 than 6 months after the date of the enactment

5 of this section, each air carrier’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘Each air carrier’’; and

7 (B) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘After the

8 date that is 6 months after the date of the en9 actment of this section, the Secretary’’ and in10 serting ‘‘The Secretary’’.

11 (b) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Section 41113(d) is

12 amended by inserting ‘‘, or in providing information con13 cerning a flight reservation,’’ before ‘‘pursuant to a plan’’.

14 (c) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

15 Section 41113 is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

18 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the

19 actions that an air carrier may take, or the obligations

20 that an air carrier may have, in providing assistance to

21 the families of passengers involved in an aircraft acci22 dent.’’.
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1 SEC. 403. FOREIGN AIR CARRIER PLANS.

2 (a) INCLUSION OF NONREVENUE PASSENGERS IN

3 FAMILY ASSISTANCE COVERAGE.—Section 41313(a)(2) is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ has

6 the meaning given such term by section 1136 of this

7 title.’’.

8 (b) ACCIDENTS FOR WHICH PLAN IS REQUIRED.—

9 Section 41313(b) is amended by striking ‘‘significant’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘major’’.

11 (c) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41313(c) is amend13 ed by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(15) TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES AND

15 AGENTS.—An assurance that the foreign air carrier

16 will provide adequate training to the employees and

17 agents of the carrier to meet the needs of survivors

18 and family members following an accident.

19 ‘‘(16) CONSULTATION ON CARRIER RESPONSE

20 NOT COVERED BY PLAN.—An assurance that the

21 foreign air carrier, in the event that the foreign air

22 carrier volunteers assistance to United States citi23 zens within the United States in the case of an air24 craft accident outside the United States involving

25 major loss of life, the foreign air carrier will consult
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1 with the Board and the Department of State on the

2 provision of the assistance.’’.

3 (2) SUBMISSION OF UPDATED PLANS.—The

4 amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect

5 on the 180th day following the date of the enact6 ment of this Act. On or before such 180th day, each

7 foreign air carrier providing foreign air transpor8 tation under chapter 413 of title 49, United States

9 Code, shall submit to the Secretary of Transpor10 tation and the Chairman of the National Transpor11 tation Safety Board an updated plan under section

12 41313 of such title that meets the requirement of

13 the amendment made by paragraph (1).

14 SEC. 404. APPLICABILITY OF DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS

15 ACT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40120(a) is amended by

17 inserting ‘‘(including the Act entitled ‘An Act relating to

18 the maintenance of actions for death on the high seas and

19 other navigable waters’, approved March 30, 1920, com20 monly known as the Death on the High Seas Act (46

21 U.S.C. App. 761–767; 41 Stat. 537–538))’’ after ‘‘United

22 States’’.

23 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub24 section (a) applies to civil actions commenced after the

25 date of the enactment of this Act and to civil actions that
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1 are not adjudicated by a court of original jurisdiction or

2 settled on or before such date of the enactment.

3 TITLE V—SAFETY

4 SEC. 501. CARGO COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS DEAD5 LINES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall require

7 by regulation that, no later than December 31, 2002,

8 equipment be installed, on each cargo aircraft with a max9 imum certificated takeoff weight in excess of 15,000 kilo10 grams, that provides protection from mid-air collisions

11 using technology that provides—

12 (1) cockpit based collision detection and conflict

13 resolution guidance, including display of traffic; and

14 (2) a margin of safety of at least the same level

15 as provided by the collision avoidance system known

16 as TCAS–II.

17 (b) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Administrator

18 may extend the deadline established by subsection (a) by

19 not more than 2 years if the Administrator finds that the

20 extension is needed to promote—

21 (1) a safe and orderly transition to the oper22 ation of a fleet of cargo aircraft equipped with colli23 sion avoidance equipment; or

24 (2) other safety or public interest objectives.
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1 SEC. 502. RECORDS OF EMPLOYMENT OF PILOT APPLI2 CANTS.

3 Section 44936(f) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1)(B) by inserting ‘‘(except a

5 branch of the United States Armed Forces, the Na6 tional Guard, or a reserve component of the United

7 States Armed Forces)’’ after ‘‘person’’ the first

8 place it appears;

9 (2) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) by striking ‘‘indi10 vidual’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘indi11 vidual’s performance as a pilot’’;

12 (3) in paragraph (14)(B) by inserting ‘‘or from

13 a foreign government or entity that employed the in14 dividual’’ after ‘‘exists’’; and

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

16 ‘‘(15) ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO FAA

17 RECORDS.—For the purpose of increasing timely and

18 efficient access to Federal Aviation Administration

19 records described in paragraph (1), the Adminis20 trator may allow, under terms established by the Ad21 ministrator, a designated individual to have elec22 tronic access to a specified database containing in23 formation about such records.’’.
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1 SEC. 503. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION FOR FAA EM2 PLOYEES.

3 Section 347(b)(1) of the Department of Transpor4 tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (49

5 U.S.C. 106 note; 109 Stat. 460) is amended by inserting

6 before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, including

7 the provisions for investigation and enforcement as pro8 vided in chapter 12 of title 5, United States Code’’.

9 SEC. 504. SAFETY RISK MITIGATION PROGRAMS.

10 Section 44701 is further amended by adding at the

11 end the following:

12 ‘‘(g) SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM GUIDE13 LINES.—The Administrator shall issue guidelines and en14 courage the development of air safety risk mitigation pro15 grams throughout the aviation industry, including self-au16 dits and self-disclosure programs.’’.

17 SEC. 505. FLIGHT OPERATIONS QUALITY ASSURANCE

18 RULES.

19 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a notice

21 of proposed rulemaking to develop procedures to protect

22 air carriers and their employees from civil enforcement ac23 tions under the program known as Flight Operations

24 Quality Assurance. Not later than 1 year after the last

25 day of the period for public comment provided for in the
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1 notice of proposed rulemaking, the Administrator shall

2 issue a final rule establishing such procedures.

3 SEC. 506. SMALL AIRPORT CERTIFICATION.

4 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a notice

6 of proposed rulemaking on implementing section

7 44706(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, relating to

8 issuance of airport operating certificates for small sched9 uled passenger air carrier operations. Not later than 1

10 year after the last day of the period for public comment

11 provided for in the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Ad12 ministrator shall issue a final rule on implementing such

13 program.

14 SEC. 507. LIFE-LIMITED AIRCRAFT PARTS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 is amended by add16 ing at the end the following:

17 ‘‘§ 44725. Life-limited aircraft parts

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed19 eral Aviation Administration shall conduct a rulemaking

20 proceeding to require the safe disposition of life-limited

21 parts removed from an aircraft. The rulemaking pro22 ceeding shall ensure that the disposition deter installation

23 on an aircraft of a life-limited part that has reached or

24 exceeded its life limits.
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1 ‘‘(b) SAFE DISPOSITION.—For the purposes of this

2 section, safe disposition includes any of the following

3 methods:

4 ‘‘(1) The part may be segregated under cir5 cumstances that preclude its installation on an air6 craft.

7 ‘‘(2) The part may be permanently marked to

8 indicate its used life status.

9 ‘‘(3) The part may be destroyed in any manner

10 calculated to prevent reinstallation in an aircraft.

11 ‘‘(4) The part may be marked, if practicable, to

12 include the recordation of hours, cycles, or other air13 worthiness information. If the parts are marked with

14 cycles or hours of usage, that information must be

15 updated every time the part is removed from service

16 or when the part is retired from service.

17 ‘‘(5) Any other method approved by the Admin18 istrator.

19 ‘‘(c) DEADLINES.—In conducting the rulemaking

20 proceeding under subsection (a), the Administrator

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of

23 the enactment of this section, issue a notice of pro24 posed rulemaking; and
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1 ‘‘(2) not later than 180 days after the close of

2 the comment period on the proposed rule, issue a

3 final rule.

4 ‘‘(d) PRIOR-REMOVED LIFE-LIMITED PARTS.—No

5 rule issued under subsection (a) shall require the marking

6 of parts removed before the effective date of the rules

7 issued under subsection (a), nor shall any such rule forbid

8 the installation of an otherwise airworthy life-limited

9 part.’’.

10 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 46301(a)(3) is

11 amended—

12 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

13 end;

14 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking the period

15 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

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

17 ‘‘(C) a violation of section 44725, relating to

18 the safe disposal of life-limited aircraft parts;’’.

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

20 chapter 447 is further amended by adding at the end the

21 following:

‘‘44725. Life-limited aircraft parts.’’.

22 SEC. 508. FAA MAY FINE UNRULY PASSENGERS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 463 is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating section 46316 as section

25 46317; and
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1 (2) by inserting after section 46315 the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘§ 46316. Interference with cabin or flight crew

4 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY.—An individual who interferes

5 with the duties or responsibilities of the flight crew or

6 cabin crew of a civil aircraft, or who poses an imminent

7 threat to the safety of the aircraft or other individuals on

8 the aircraft, is liable to the United States Government for

9 a civil penalty of not more than $25,000.

10 ‘‘(b) BAN ON FLYING.—If the Secretary finds that

11 an individual has interfered with the duties or responsibil12 ities of the flight crew or cabin crew of a civil aircraft

13 in a way that poses an imminent threat to the safety of

14 the aircraft or individuals aboard the aircraft, the indi15 vidual may be banned by the Secretary for a period of

16 1 year from flying on any aircraft operated by an air car17 rier.

18 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu19 lations to carry out subsection (b), including establishing

20 procedures for imposing bans on flying, implementing

21 such bans, and providing notification to air carriers of the

22 imposition of such bans.’’.

23 (b) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.—Section

24 46301(f)(1)(A)(i) is amended by inserting ‘‘46316,’’ be25 fore ‘‘or 47107(b)’’.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

2 chapter 463 is amended by striking the item relating to

3 section 46316 and inserting after the item relating to sec4 tion 46315 the following:

‘‘46316. Interference with cabin or flight crew.

‘‘46317. General criminal penalty when specific penalty not provided.’’.

5 SEC. 509. REPORT ON AIR TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT

6 SYSTEM.

7 Not later than March 1, 2000, and annually there8 after for the next 5 years, the Administrator shall trans9 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc10 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee

11 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

12 a report on the progress of the Federal Aviation Adminis13 tration in implementing the air transportation oversight

14 system. At a minimum, the report shall indicate—

15 (1) any funding or staffing constraints that

16 would adversely impact the Administration’s ability

17 to fully develop and implement such system;

18 (2) progress in integrating the aviation safety

19 data derived from such system’s inspections with ex20 isting aviation data of the Administration in the

21 safety performance analysis system of the Adminis22 tration; and

23 (3) the Administration’s efforts in collaboration

24 with the aviation industry to develop and validate
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1 safety performance measures and appropriate risk

2 weightings for the air transportation oversight sys3 tem.

4 SEC. 510. AIRPLANE EMERGENCY LOCATORS.

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 44712(b) is amended to

6 read as follows:

7 ‘‘(b) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (a) does not

8 apply to—

9 ‘‘(1) aircraft when used in scheduled flights by

10 scheduled air carriers holding certificates issued by

11 the Secretary of Transportation under subpart II of

12 this part;

13 ‘‘(2) aircraft when used in training operations

14 conducted entirely within a 50-mile radius of the air15 port from which the training operations begin;

16 ‘‘(3) aircraft when used in flight operations re17 lated to the design and testing, manufacture, prepa18 ration, and delivery of aircraft;

19 ‘‘(4) aircraft when used in research and devel20 opment if the aircraft holds a certificate from the

21 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administra22 tion to carry out such research and development;

23 ‘‘(5) aircraft when used in showing compliance

24 with regulations crew training, exhibition, air racing,

25 or market surveys;
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1 ‘‘(6) aircraft when used in the aerial application

2 of a substance for an agricultural purpose;

3 ‘‘(7) aircraft with a maximum payload capacity

4 of more than 7,500 pounds when used in air trans5 portation; or

6 ‘‘(8) aircraft capable of carrying only one indi7 vidual.’’.

8 (b) COMPLIANCE.—Section 44712 is amended by re9 designating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and by insert10 ing after subsection (b) the following:

11 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE.—An aircraft meets the require12 ment of subsection (a) if it is equipped with an emergency

13 locator transmitter that transmits on the 121.5/243 mega14 hertz frequency or the 406 megahertz frequency, or with

15 other equipment approved by the Secretary for meeting

16 the requirement of subsection (a).’’.

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS.—

18 (1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Trans19 portation shall issue regulations under section

20 44712(b) of title 49, United States Code, as amend21 ed by this section not later than January 1, 2002.

22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

23 by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2002.

24 SEC. 511. LANDFILLS INTERFERING WITH AIR COMMERCE.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) collisions between aircraft and birds have

2 resulted in fatal accidents;

3 (2) bird strikes pose a special danger to smaller

4 aircraft;

5 (3) landfills near airports pose a potential haz6 ard to aircraft operating there because they attract

7 birds;

8 (4) even if the landfill is not located in the ap9 proach path of the airport’s runway, it still poses a

10 hazard because of the birds’ ability to fly away from

11 the landfill and into the path of oncoming planes;

12 (5) while certain mileage limits have the poten13 tial to be arbitrary, keeping landfills at least 6 miles

14 away from an airport, especially an airport served by

15 small planes, is an appropriate minimum require16 ment for aviation safety; and

17 (6) closure of existing landfills (due to concerns

18 about aviation safety) should be avoided because of

19 the likely disruption to those who use and depend on

20 such landfills.

21 (b) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION.—Section

22 44718(d) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION OF LAND24 FILLS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall construct

2 or establish a landfill within 6 miles of an airport

3 primarily served by general aviation aircraft or air4 craft designed for 60 passengers or less unless the

5 State aviation agency of the State in which the air6 port is located requests that the Administrator of

7 the Federal Aviation Administration exempt the

8 landfill from this prohibition and the Administrator,

9 in response to such a request, determines that the

10 landfill would not have an adverse impact on avia11 tion safety.

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—Para13 graph (1) shall not apply to construction or estab14 lishment of a landfill if a permit relating to con15 struction or establishment of such landfill was issued

16 on or before June 1, 1999.’’.

17 (c) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF LIMITATION

18 ON CONSTRUCTION OF LANDFILLS.—Section 46301(a)(3)

19 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(D) a violation of section 41718(d), relating to

21 limitation on construction of landfills; or’’.

22 SEC. 512. AMENDMENT OF STATUTE PROHIBITING THE

23 BRINGING OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

24 ABOARD AN AIRCRAFT.

25 Section 46312 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘A person’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)

2 GENERAL.—A person’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(b) KNOWLEDGE OF REGULATIONS.—For purposes

5 of subsection (a), knowledge by the person of the existence

6 of a regulation or requirement related to the transpor7 tation of hazardous material prescribed by the Secretary

8 under this part is not an element of an offense under this

9 section but shall be considered in mitigation of the pen10 alty.’’.

11 SEC. 513. AIRPORT SAFETY NEEDS.

12 The Administrator shall initiate a rulemaking pro13 ceeding to consider revisions of part 139 of title 14, Code

14 of Federal Regulations, to meet current and future airport

15 safety needs—

16 (1) focusing, but not limited to, on the mission

17 of rescue personnel, rescue operations response time,

18 and extinguishing equipment; and

19 (2) taking into account the need for different

20 requirements for airports depending on their size.

21 SEC. 514. LIMITATION ON ENTRY INTO MAINTENANCE IM22 PLEMENTATION PROCEDURES.

23 The Administrator may not enter into any mainte24 nance implementation procedure through a bilateral avia25 tion safety agreement unless the Administrator determines
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1 that the participating nations are inspecting repair sta2 tions so as to ensure their compliance with the standards

3 of the Federal Aviation Administration.

4 SEC. 515. OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES OF AIRPORT WORK5 ERS.

6 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a

7 study to determine the number of persons working at air8 ports who are injured or killed as a result of being struck

9 by a moving vehicle while on an airport tarmac, the seri10 ousness of the injuries to such persons, and whether or

11 not reflective safety vests or other actions should be re12 quired to enhance the safety of such workers.

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

15 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study

16 conducted under this section.

17 SEC. 516. AIRPORT DISPATCHERS.

18 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a

19 study of the role of airport dispatchers in enhancing avia20 tion safety. The study shall include an assessment of

21 whether or not aircraft dispatchers should be required for

22 those operations not presently requiring aircraft dis23 patcher assistance, operational control issues related to

24 the aircraft dispatching function, and whether or not des25 ignation of positions within the Federal Aviation Adminis-
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1 tration for oversight of dispatchers would enhance aviation

2 safety.

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

5 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study

6 conducted under this section.

7 SEC. 517. IMPROVED TRAINING FOR AIRFRAME AND POW8 ERPLANT MECHANICS.

9 The Administrator shall form a partnership with in10 dustry to develop a model program to improve the cur11 riculum, teaching methods, and quality of instructors for

12 training individuals that need certification as airframe and

13 powerplant mechanics.

14 TITLE VI—WHISTLEBLOWER

15 PROTECTION

16 SEC. 601. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES PROVIDING AIR

17 SAFETY INFORMATION.

18 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Chapter 421 is amended by

19 adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—WHISTLEBLOWER

21 PROTECTION PROGRAM

22 ‘‘§ 42121. Protection of employees providing air safety

23 information

24 ‘‘(a) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AIRLINE EMPLOY25 EES.—No air carrier or contractor or subcontractor of an
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1 air carrier may discharge an employee or otherwise dis2 criminate against an employee with respect to compensa3 tion, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment be4 cause the employee (or any person acting pursuant to a

5 request of the employee)—

6 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is

7 about to provide (with any knowledge of the em8 ployer) or cause to be provided to the employer or

9 Federal Government information relating to any vio10 lation or alleged violation of any order, regulation,

11 or standard of the Federal Aviation Administration

12 or any other provision of Federal law relating to air

13 carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of

14 the United States;

15 ‘‘(2) has filed, caused to be filed, or is about to

16 file (with any knowledge of the employer) or cause

17 to be filed a proceeding relating to any violation or

18 alleged violation of any order, regulation, or stand19 ard of the Federal Aviation Administration or any

20 other provision of Federal law relating to air carrier

21 safety under this subtitle or any other law of the

22 United States;

23 ‘‘(3) testified or is about to testify in such a

24 proceeding; or
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1 ‘‘(4) assisted or participated or is about to as2 sist or participate in such a proceeding.

3 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COMPLAINT PROCE4 DURE.—

5 ‘‘(1) FILING AND NOTIFICATION.—A person

6 who believes that he or she has been discharged or

7 otherwise discriminated against by any person in

8 violation of subsection (a) may, not later than 90

9 days after the date on which such violation occurs,

10 file (or have any person file on his or her behalf) a

11 complaint with the Secretary of Labor alleging such

12 discharge or discrimination. Upon receipt of such a

13 complaint, the Secretary of Labor shall notify, in

14 writing, the person named in the complaint and the

15 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administra16 tion of the filing of the complaint, of the allegations

17 contained in the complaint, of the substance of evi18 dence supporting the complaint, and of the opportu19 nities that will be afforded to such person under

20 paragraph (2).

21 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION; PRELIMINARY ORDER.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60

23 days after the date of receipt of a complaint

24 filed under paragraph (1) and after affording

25 the person named in the complaint an oppor-
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1 tunity to submit to the Secretary of Labor a

2 written response to the complaint and an oppor3 tunity to meet with a representative of the Sec4 retary to present statements from witnesses,

5 the Secretary of Labor shall conduct an inves6 tigation and determine whether there is reason7 able cause to believe that the complaint has

8 merit and notify, in writing, the complainant

9 and the person alleged to have committed a vio10 lation of subsection (a) of the Secretary’s find11 ings. If the Secretary of Labor concludes that

12 there is a reasonable cause to believe that a vio13 lation of subsection (a) has occurred, the Sec14 retary shall accompany the Secretary’s findings

15 with a preliminary order providing the relief

16 prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). Not later than

17 30 days after the date of notification of find18 ings under this paragraph, either the person al19 leged to have committed the violation or the

20 complainant may file objections to the findings

21 or preliminary order, or both, and request a

22 hearing on the record. The filing of such objec23 tions shall not operate to stay any reinstate24 ment remedy contained in the preliminary

25 order. Such hearings shall be conducted expedi-
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1 tiously. If a hearing is not requested in such

2 30-day period, the preliminary order shall be

3 deemed a final order that is not subject to judi4 cial review.

5 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED SHOWING BY COM7 PLAINANT.—The Secretary of Labor shall

8 dismiss a complaint filed under this sub9 section and shall not conduct an investiga10 tion otherwise required under subpara11 graph (A) unless the complainant makes a

12 prima facie showing that any behavior de13 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of

14 subsection (a) was a contributing factor in

15 the unfavorable personnel action alleged in

16 the complaint.

17 ‘‘(ii) SHOWING BY EMPLOYER.—Not18 withstanding a finding by the Secretary

19 that the complainant has made the show20 ing required under clause (i), no investiga21 tion otherwise required under subpara22 graph (A) shall be conducted if the em23 ployer demonstrates, by clear and con24 vincing evidence, that the employer would
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1 have taken the same unfavorable personnel

2 action in the absence of that behavior.

3 ‘‘(iii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

4 BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary may de5 termine that a violation of subsection (a)

6 has occurred only if the complainant dem7 onstrates that any behavior described in

8 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection

9 (a) was a contributing factor in the unfa10 vorable personnel action alleged in the

11 complaint.

12 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION.—Relief may not

13 be ordered under subparagraph (A) if the

14 employer demonstrates by clear and con15 vincing evidence that the employer would

16 have taken the same unfavorable personnel

17 action in the absence of that behavior.

18 ‘‘(3) FINAL ORDER.—

19 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE; SETTLE20 MENT AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 120 days

21 after the date of conclusion of a hearing under

22 paragraph (2), the Secretary of Labor shall

23 issue a final order providing the relief pre24 scribed by this paragraph or denying the com25 plaint. At any time before issuance of a final
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1 order, a proceeding under this subsection may

2 be terminated on the basis of a settlement

3 agreement entered into by the Secretary of

4 Labor, the complainant, and the person alleged

5 to have committed the violation.

6 ‘‘(B) REMEDY.—If, in response to a com7 plaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary

8 of Labor determines that a violation of sub9 section (a) has occurred, the Secretary of Labor

10 shall order the person who committed such vio11 lation to—

12 ‘‘(i) take affirmative action to abate

13 the violation;

14 ‘‘(ii) reinstate the complainant to his

15 or her former position together with the

16 compensation (including back pay) and re17 store the terms, conditions, and privileges

18 associated with his or her employment; and

19 ‘‘(iii) provide compensatory damages

20 to the complainant.

21 If such an order is issued under this paragraph,

22 the Secretary of Labor, at the request of the

23 complainant, shall assess against the person

24 against whom the order is issued a sum equal

25 to the aggregate amount of all costs and ex-
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1 penses (including attorneys’ and expert witness

2 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined by the

3 Secretary of Labor, by the complainant for, or

4 in connection with, the bringing the complaint

5 upon which the order was issued.

6 ‘‘(C) FRIVOLOUS COMPLAINTS.—If the

7 Secretary of Labor finds that a complaint

8 under paragraph (1) is frivolous or has been

9 brought in bad faith, the Secretary of Labor

10 may award to the prevailing employer a reason11 able attorney’s fee not exceeding $5,000.

12 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—

13 ‘‘(A) APPEAL TO COURT OF APPEALS.—

14 Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by

15 an order issued under paragraph (3) may ob16 tain review of the order in the United States

17 Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the

18 violation, with respect to which the order was

19 issued, allegedly occurred or the circuit in which

20 the complainant resided on the date of such vio21 lation. The petition for review must be filed not

22 later than 60 days after the date of the

23 issuance of the final order of the Secretary of

24 Labor. Review shall conform to chapter 7 of

25 title 5, United States Code. The commencement
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1 of proceedings under this subparagraph shall

2 not, unless ordered by the court, operate as a

3 stay of the order.

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT5 TACK.—An order of the Secretary of Labor

6 with respect to which review could have been

7 obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not be

8 subject to judicial review in any criminal or

9 other civil proceeding.

10 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY SECRETARY

11 OF LABOR.—Whenever any person has failed to com12 ply with an order issued under paragraph (3), the

13 Secretary of Labor may file a civil action in the

14 United States district court for the district in which

15 the violation was found to occur to enforce such

16 order. In actions brought under this paragraph, the

17 district courts shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap18 propriate relief including, but not limited to, injunc19 tive relief and compensatory damages.

20 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY PARTIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A per22 son on whose behalf an order was issued under

23 paragraph (3) may commence a civil action

24 against the person to whom such order was

25 issued to require compliance with such order.
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1 The appropriate United States district court

2 shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the

3 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the

4 parties, to enforce such order.

5 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEY FEES.—The court, in

6 issuing any final order under this paragraph,

7 may award costs of litigation (including reason8 able attorney and expert witness fees) to any

9 party whenever the court determines such

10 award is appropriate.

11 ‘‘(c) MANDAMUS.—Any nondiscretionary duty im12 posed by this section shall be enforceable in a mandamus

13 proceeding brought under section 1361 of title 28, United

14 States Code.

15 ‘‘(d) NONAPPLICABILITY TO DELIBERATE VIOLA16 TIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an

17 employee of an air carrier, contractor, or subcontractor

18 who, acting without direction from such air carrier, con19 tractor, or subcontractor (or such person’s agent), delib20 erately causes a violation of any requirement relating to

21 air carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of

22 the United States.

23 ‘‘(e) CONTRACTOR DEFINED.—In this section, the

24 term ‘contractor’ means a company that performs safety25 sensitive functions by contract for an air carrier.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

2 chapter 421 is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM

‘‘42121. Protection of employees providing air safety information.’’.

4 SEC. 602. CIVIL PENALTY.

5 Section 46301(a)(1)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘sub6 chapter II of chapter 421’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter II

7 or III of chapter 421’’.

8 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS

9 PROVISIONS

10 SEC. 701. DUTIES AND POWERS OF ADMINISTRATOR.

11 Section 106(g)(1)(A) is amended by striking

12 ‘‘40113(a), (c), and (d),’’ and all that follows through

13 ‘‘45302–45304,’’ and inserting ‘‘40113(a), 40113(c),

14 40113(d), 40113(e), 40114(a), and 40119, chapter 445

15 (except sections 44501(b), 44502(a)(2), 44502(a)(3),

16 44502(a)(4), 44503, 44506, 44509, 44510, 44514, and

17 44515), chapter 447 (except sections 44717, 44718(a),

18 44718(b), 44719, 44720, 44721(b), 44722, and 44723),

19 chapter 449 (except sections 44903(d), 44904, 44905,

20 44907–44911, 44913, 44915, and 44931–44934), chapter

21 451, chapter 453, sections’’.
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1 SEC. 702. PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.

2 (a) RESTATEMENT OF DEFINITION OF PUBLIC AIR3 CRAFT WITHOUT SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE.—Section

4 40102(a)(38) (as redesignated by section 301 of this Act)

5 is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(38) ‘public aircraft’ means an aircraft—

7 ‘‘(A) used only for the United States Gov8 ernment, and operated under the conditions

9 specified by section 40125(b) if owned by the

10 Government;

11 ‘‘(B) owned by the United States Govern12 ment, operated by any person for purposes re13 lated to crew training, equipment development,

14 or demonstration, and operated under the con15 ditions specified by section 40125(b);

16 ‘‘(C) owned and operated by the govern17 ment of a State, the District of Columbia, a

18 territory or possession of the United States, or

19 a political subdivision of one of these govern20 ments, under the conditions specified by section

21 40125(c); or

22 ‘‘(D) exclusively leased for at least 90 con23 tinuous days by the government of a State, the

24 District of Columbia, a territory or possession

25 of the United States, or a political subdivision
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1 of one of these governments, under the condi2 tions specified by section 40125(c).

3 ‘‘(E) owned by the armed forces or char4 tered to provide transportation to the armed

5 forces under the conditions specified by section

6 40125(d).’’.

7 (b) QUALIFICATIONS FOR PUBLIC AIRCRAFT STA8 TUS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401 is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘§ 40125. Qualifications for public aircraft status

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

13 definitions apply:

14 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—The term ‘com15 mercial purposes’ means the transportation of per16 sons or property for compensation or hire, but does

17 not include the operation of an aircraft by the armed

18 forces for reimbursement when that reimbursement

19 is required by Federal law or by one government on

20 behalf of another government under a cost reim21 bursement agreement if the government on whose

22 behalf the operation is conducted certifies to the Ad23 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

24 that the operation is necessary to respond to a sig25 nificant and imminent threat to life or property (in-
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1 cluding natural resources) and that no service by a

2 private operator is reasonably available to meet the

3 threat.

4 ‘‘(2) GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION.—The term

5 ‘governmental function’ means an activity under6 taken by a government, such as national defense, in7 telligence missions, firefighting, search and rescue,

8 law enforcement (including transport of prisoners,

9 detainees, and illegal aliens), aeronautical research,

10 or biological or geological resource management.

11 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED NON-CREWMEMBER.—The

12 term ‘qualified non-crewmember’ means an indi13 vidual, other than a member of the crew, aboard an

14 aircraft—

15 ‘‘(A) operated by the armed forces or an

16 intelligence agency of the United States Gov17 ernment; or

18 ‘‘(B) whose presence is required to per19 form, or is associated with the performance of,

20 a governmental function.

21 ‘‘(4) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘armed forces’

22 has the meaning given such term by section 101 of

23 title 10, United States Code.

24 ‘‘(b) AIRCRAFT OWNED BY THE UNITED STATES.—

25 An aircraft described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec-
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1 tion 40102(a)(38), if owned by the Government, qualifies

2 as a public aircraft except when it is used for commercial

3 purposes or to carry an individual other than a crew4 member or a qualified non-crewmember.

5 ‘‘(c) AIRCRAFT OWNED BY STATE AND LOCAL GOV6 ERNMENTS.—An aircraft described in subparagraph (C)

7 or (D) of section 40102(a)(38) qualifies as a public air8 craft except when it is used for commercial purposes or

9 to carry an individual other than a crewmember or a quali10 fied non-crewmember.

11 ‘‘(d) AIRCRAFT OWNED OR OPERATED BY THE

12 ARMED FORCES.—An aircraft described in section

13 40102(38)(E) qualifies as a public aircraft if—

14 ‘‘(1) the aircraft is operated in accordance with

15 title 10; or

16 ‘‘(2) the aircraft is chartered to provide trans17 portation to the armed forces and the Secretary of

18 Defense (or the Secretary of the department in

19 which the Coast Guard is operating) designates the

20 operation of the aircraft as being required in the na21 tional interest.’’.

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

23 for chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end the

24 following:

‘‘40125. Qualifications for public aircraft status.’’.

25 (c) SAFETY OF PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.—
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1 (1) STUDY.—The National Transportation

2 Safety Board shall conduct a study to compare the

3 safety of public aircraft and civil aircraft. In con4 ducting the study, the Board shall review safety sta5 tistics on aircraft operations since 1993.

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the National

8 Transportation Safety Board shall transmit to Con9 gress a report containing the results of the study

10 conducted under paragraph (1).

11 SEC. 703. PROHIBITION ON RELEASE OF OFFEROR PRO12 POSALS.

13 Section 40110 is amended by adding at the end the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON RELEASE OF OFFEROR PRO16 POSALS.—

17 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in

18 paragraph (2), a proposal in the possession or con19 trol of the Administrator may not be made available

20 to any person under section 552 of title 5, United

21 States Code.

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

23 apply to any portion of a proposal of an offeror the

24 disclosure of which is authorized by the Adminis25 trator pursuant to procedures published in the Fed-
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1 eral Register. The Administrator shall provide an

2 opportunity for public comment on the procedures

3 for a period of not less than 30 days beginning on

4 the date of such publication in order to receive and

5 consider the views of all interested parties on the

6 procedures. The procedures shall not take effect be7 fore the 60th day following the date of such publica8 tion.

9 ‘‘(3) PROPOSAL DEFINED.—In this subsection,

10 the term ‘proposal’ means information contained in

11 or originating from any proposal, including a tech12 nical, management, or cost proposal, submitted by

13 an offeror in response to the requirements of a solic14 itation for a competitive proposal.’’.

15 SEC. 704. MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.

16 Section 40111 is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d)

18 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(b) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.—Notwith22 standing section 1341(a)(1)(B) of title 31, the Adminis23 trator may make a contract of not more than 10 years

24 for telecommunication services that are provided through
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1 the use of a satellite if the Administrator finds that the

2 longer contract period would be cost beneficial.’’.

3 SEC. 705. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PER4 SONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

5 (a) MEDIATION.—Section 40122(a)(2) is amended by

6 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 60-day period shall

7 not include any period during which Congress has ad8 journed sine die.’’.

9 (b) RIGHT TO CONTEST ADVERSE PERSONNEL AC10 TIONS.—Section 40122 is amended by adding at the end

11 the following:

12 ‘‘(g) RIGHT TO CONTEST ADVERSE PERSONNEL AC13 TIONS.—An employee of the Federal Aviation Administra14 tion who is the subject of a major adverse personnel action

15 may contest the action either through any contractual

16 grievance procedure that is applicable to the employee as

17 a member of the collective bargaining unit or through the

18 Administration’s internal process relating to review of

19 major adverse personnel actions of the Administration,

20 known as Guaranteed Fair Treatment or under section

21 347(c) of the Department of Transportation and Related

22 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996.

23 ‘‘(h) ELECTION OF FORUM.—Where a major adverse

24 personnel action may be contested through more than one

25 of the indicated forums (such as the contractual grievance
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1 procedure, the Federal Aviation Administration’s internal

2 process, or that of the Merit Systems Protection Board),

3 an employee must elect the forum through which the mat4 ter will be contested. Nothing in this section is intended

5 to allow an employee to contest an action through more

6 than one forum unless otherwise allowed by law.

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

8 term ‘major adverse personnel action’ means a suspension

9 of more than 14 days, a reduction in pay or grade, a re10 moval for conduct or performance, a nondisciplinary re11 moval, a furlough of 30 days or less (but not including

12 placement in a nonpay status as the result of a lapse of

13 appropriations or an enactment by Congress), or a reduc14 tion in force action.’’.

15 (c) APPLICABILITY OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

16 BOARD PROVISIONS.—Section 347(b) of the Department

17 of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations

18 Act, 1996 (109 Stat. 460) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

20 (6);

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(8) sections 1204, 1211–1218, 1221, and

2 7701–7703, relating to the Merit Systems Protec3 tion Board.’’.

4 (d) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

5 BOARD.—Section 347(c) of the Department of Transpor6 tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is

7 amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(c) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

9 BOARD.—Under the new personnel management system

10 developed and implemented under subsection (a), an em11 ployee of the Federal Aviation Administration may submit

12 an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and may

13 seek judicial review of any resulting final orders or deci14 sions of the Board from any action that was appealable

15 to the Board under any law, rule, or regulation as of

16 March 31, 1996.’’.

17 SEC. 706. NONDISCRIMINATION IN AIRLINE TRAVEL.

18 (a) DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES.—Section 41310(a)

19 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An air carrier or foreign

22 air carrier may not subject a person, place, port, or

23 type of traffic in foreign air transportation to unrea24 sonable discrimination.
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1 ‘‘(2) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS.—An

2 air carrier or foreign air carrier may not subject a

3 person in foreign air transportation to discrimina4 tion on the basis of race, color, national origin, reli5 gion, or sex.’’.

6 (b) INTERSTATE AIR TRANSPORTATION.—Section

7 41702 is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘An air carrier’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘(a) SAFE AND ADEQUATE AIR TRANSPOR10 TATION.—An air carrier’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(b) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS.—An air

13 carrier may not subject a person in interstate air transpor14 tation to discrimination on the basis of race, color, na15 tional origin, religion, or sex.’’.

16 (c) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HANDICAPPED INDI17 VIDUALS BY FOREIGN AIR CARRIERS.—Section 41705 is

18 amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—

20 ’’ before ‘‘In providing’’; and

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

22 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION APPLICABLE TO FOREIGN AIR

23 CARRIERS.—Subject to section 40105(b), the prohibition

24 on discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual
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1 set forth in subsection (a) shall apply to a foreign air car2 rier in providing foreign air transportation.’’.

3 (d) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROHIBI4 TION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE HANDI5 CAPPED.—Section 46301(a)(3) is further amended by

6 adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(E) a violation of section 41705, relating to

8 discrimination against handicapped individuals.’’.

9 (e) INTERNATIONAL AVIATION STANDARDS FOR AC10 COMMODATING THE HANDICAPPED.—The Secretary of

11 Transportation shall work with appropriate international

12 organizations and the aviation authorities of other nations

13 to bring about the establishment of higher standards, if

14 appropriate, for accommodating handicapped passengers

15 in air transportation, particularly with respect to foreign

16 air carriers that code share with domestic air carriers.

17 SEC. 707. JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT.

18 Section 41716(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘an

19 agreement entered into by a major air carrier’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘an agreement entered into between two or more

21 major air carriers’’.

22 SEC. 708. EXTENSION OF WAR RISK INSURANCE PROGRAM.

23 Section 44310 is amended by striking ‘‘after’’ and all

24 that follows and inserting ‘‘after December 31, 2004.’’.
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1 SEC. 709. GENERAL FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL AUTHOR2 ITY.

3 Section 44502(a) is further amended by adding at

4 the end the following:

5 ‘‘(6) IMPROVEMENTS ON LEASED PROP6 ERTIES.—The Administrator may make improve7 ments to real property leased for no or nominal con8 sideration for an air navigation facility, regardless of

9 whether the cost of making the improvements ex10 ceeds the cost of leasing the real property, if—

11 ‘‘(A) the improvements primarily benefit

12 the Government;

13 ‘‘(B) the improvements are essential for

14 accomplishment of the mission of the Federal

15 Aviation Administration; and

16 ‘‘(C) the interest of the Government in the

17 improvements is protected.’’.

18 SEC. 710. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 83 BIS OF THE

19 CHICAGO CONVENTION.

20 Section 44701 is amended by—

21 (1) redesignating subsection (e) as subsection

22 (f); and

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol24 lowing:

25 ‘‘(e) BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVER26 SIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi2 sions of this chapter, the Administrator, pursuant to

3 Article 83 bis of the Convention on International

4 Civil Aviation and by a bilateral agreement with the

5 aeronautical authorities of another country, may ex6 change with that country all or part of their respec7 tive functions and duties with respect to registered

8 aircraft under the following articles of the Conven9 tion: Article 12 (Rules of the Air); Article 31 (Cer10 tificates of Airworthiness); or Article 32a (Licenses

11 of Personnel).

12 ‘‘(2) RELINQUISHMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF

13 RESPONSIBILITY.—The Administrator relinquishes

14 responsibility with respect to the functions and du15 ties transferred by the Administrator as specified in

16 the bilateral agreement, under the Articles listed in

17 paragraph (1) for United States-registered aircraft

18 described in paragraph (4)(A) transferred abroad

19 and accepts responsibility with respect to the func20 tions and duties under those Articles for aircraft

21 registered abroad and described in paragraph (4)(B)

22 that are transferred to the United States.

23 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONS.—The Administrator may

24 predicate, in the agreement, the transfer of func25 tions and duties under this subsection on any condi-
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1 tions the Administrator deems necessary and pru2 dent, except that the Administrator may not transfer

3 responsibilities for United States registered aircraft

4 described in paragraph (4)(A) to a country that the

5 Administrator determines is not in compliance with

6 its obligations under international law for the safety

7 oversight of civil aviation.

8 ‘‘(4) REGISTERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this

9 subsection, the term ‘registered aircraft’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) aircraft registered in the United

11 States and operated pursuant to an agreement

12 for the lease, charter, or interchange of the air13 craft or any similar arrangement by an oper14 ator that has its principal place of business or,

15 if it has no such place of business, its perma16 nent residence in another country; or

17 ‘‘(B) aircraft registered in a foreign coun18 try and operated under an agreement for the

19 lease, charter, or interchange of the aircraft or

20 any similar arrangement by an operator that

21 has its principal place of business or, if it has

22 no such place of business, its permanent resi23 dence in the United States.’’.

24 SEC. 711. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF AIRMEN RECORDS.

25 Section 44703 is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f)

2 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2)

7 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

8 information contained in the records of contents of

9 any airman certificate issued under this section that

10 is limited to an airman’s name, address, and ratings

11 held shall be made available to the public after the

12 120th day following the date of the enactment of the

13 Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st

14 Century.

15 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY TO WITHHOLD INFORMA16 TION.—Before making any information concerning

17 an airman available to the public under paragraph

18 (1), the airman shall be given an opportunity to

19 elect that the information not be made available to

20 the public.

21 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

22 PROGRAM.—Not later than 60 days after the date of

23 the enactment of the Aviation Investment and Re24 form Act for the 21st Century, the Administrator

25 shall develop and implement, in cooperation with
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1 representatives of the aviation industry, a one-time

2 written notification to airmen to set forth the impli3 cations of making information concerning an airman

4 available to the public under paragraph (1) and to

5 carry out paragraph (2).’’.

6 SEC. 712. APPEALS OF EMERGENCY REVOCATIONS OF CER7 TIFICATES.

8 Section 44709(e) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDERS PENDING AP10 PEAL.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), if a person files an appeal with the Board

13 under section (d), the order of the Administrator is

14 stayed.

15 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCIES.—If the Administrator ad16 vises the Board that an emergency exists and safety

17 in air commerce or air transportation requires the

18 order to be effective immediately, the order is effec19 tive, except that a person filing an appeal under sub20 section (d) may file a written petition to the Board

21 for an emergency stay on the issues of the appeal

22 that are related to the existence of the emergency.

23 The Board shall have 10 days to review the mate24 rials. If any two members of the Board determine

25 that sufficient grounds exist to grant a stay, an
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1 emergency stay shall be granted. If an emergency

2 stay is granted, the Board must meet within 15 days

3 of the granting of the stay to make a final disposi4 tion of the issues related to the existence of the

5 emergency.

6 ‘‘(3) FINAL DISPOSITION OF APPEAL.—In all

7 cases, the Board shall make a final disposition of the

8 merits of the appeal not later than 60 days after the

9 Administrator advises the Board of the order.’’.

10 SEC. 713. GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.

11 Section 44903 is amended by adding at the end the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.—

14 The Administrator may establish at individual airports

15 such consortia of government and aviation industry rep16 resentatives as the Administrator may designate to pro17 vide advice on matters related to aviation security and

18 safety. Such consortia shall not be considered Federal ad19 visory committees.’’.

20 SEC. 714. PASSENGER MANIFEST.

21 Section 44909(a)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘shall’’

22 and inserting ‘‘should’’.

23 SEC. 715. COST RECOVERY FOR FOREIGN AVIATION SERV24 ICES.

25 Section 45301 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(2) Services (other than air traffic control

4 services) provided to a foreign government or to any

5 entity obtaining services outside the United States,

6 except that the Administrator shall not impose fees

7 in any manner for production-certification related

8 service performed outside the United States per9 taining to aeronautical products manufactured out10 side the United States.’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(d) PRODUCTION-CERTIFICATION RELATED SERV13 ICE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘production-cer14 tification related service’ has the meaning given that term

15 in appendix C of part 187 of title 14, Code of Federal

16 Regulations.’’.

17 SEC. 716. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO CIVIL PENALTY

18 PROVISIONS.

19 Section 46301 is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘46302,

21 46303, or’’;

22 (2) in subsection (d)(7)(A) by striking ‘‘an indi23 vidual’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘a

24 person’’; and
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1 (3) in subsection (g) by inserting ‘‘or the Ad2 ministrator’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’.

3 SEC. 717. WAIVER UNDER AIRPORT NOISE AND CAPACITY

4 ACT.

5 (a) WAIVERS FOR AIRCRAFT NOT COMPLYING WITH

6 STAGE 3 NOISE LEVELS.—Section 47528(b)(1) is amend7 ed in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘or foreign air car8 rier’’ after ‘‘air carrier’’.

9 (b) EXEMPTION FOR AIRCRAFT MODIFICATION OR

10 DISPOSAL.—Section 47528 is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or (f)’’ after

12 ‘‘(b)’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(f) AIRCRAFT MODIFICATION OR DISPOSAL.—After

15 December 31, 1999, the Secretary may provide a proce16 dure under which a person may operate a stage 1 or stage

17 2 aircraft in nonrevenue service to or from an airport in

18 the United States in order to—

19 ‘‘(1) sell the aircraft outside the United States;

20 ‘‘(2) sell the aircraft for scrapping; or

21 ‘‘(3) obtain modifications to the aircraft to meet

22 stage 3 noise levels.’’.

23 (c) LIMITED OPERATION OF CERTAIN AIRCRAFT.—

24 Section 47528(e) is amended by adding at the end the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(4) An air carrier operating stage 2 aircraft under

2 this subsection may operate stage 2 aircraft to or from

3 the 48 contiguous States on a nonrevenue basis in order

4 to—

5 ‘‘(A) perform maintenance (including major al6 terations) or preventative maintenance on aircraft

7 operated, or to be operated, within the limitations of

8 paragraph (2)(B); or

9 ‘‘(B) conduct operations within the limitations

10 of paragraph (2)(B).’’.

11 SEC. 718. METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORT AUTHOR12 ITY.

13 (a) EXTENSION OF APPLICATION APPROVALS.—Sec14 tion 49108 is amended by striking ‘‘2001’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘2004’’.

16 (b) ELIMINATION OF DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT

17 OF MEMBERS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—Section

18 49106(c)(6) is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and

19 by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C).

20 SEC. 719. ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

21 Section 348 of the Department of Transportation and

22 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (49 U.S.C.

23 106 note; 109 Stat. 460) is amended by striking sub24 section (c) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS EXTENDING INTO A SUBSEQUENT

2 FISCAL YEAR.—Notwithstanding subsection (b)(3), the

3 Administrator may enter into contracts for procurement

4 of severable services that begin in one fiscal year and end

5 in another if (without regard to any option to extend the

6 period of the contract) the contract period does not exceed

7 1 year.’’.

8 SEC. 720. CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT COMMISSION.

9 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Section 4(a)(5) of the

11 Centennial of Flight Commemoration Act (36 U.S.C.

12 143 note; 112 Stat. 3487) is amended by inserting

13 ‘‘, or his designee,’’ after ‘‘prominence’’.

14 (2) STATUS.—Section 4 of such Act (112 Stat.

15 3487) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(g) STATUS.—The members of the Commission de18 scribed in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), and (5) of subsection

19 (a) shall not be considered to be officers or employees of

20 the United States.’’.

21 (b) DUTIES.—Section 5(a)(7) of such Act (112 Stat.

22 3488) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(7) as a nonprimary purpose, publish popular

24 and scholarly works related to the history of aviation
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1 or the anniversary of the centennial of powered

2 flight.’’.

3 (c) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 6 of such Act

4 (112 Stat. 3488–3489) is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(e) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—At its second busi7 ness meeting, the Commission shall adopt a policy to pro8 tect against possible conflicts of interest involving its

9 members and employees. The Commission shall consult

10 with the Office of Government Ethics in the development

11 of such a policy and shall recognize the status accorded

12 its members under section 4(g).’’.

13 (d) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The first sentence of

14 section 7(a) of such Act (112 Stat. 3489) is amended by

15 striking the period at the end and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘or represented on the First Flight Centennial Advisory

17 Board under subparagraphs (A) through (E) of section

18 12(b)(1).’’.

19 (e) EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO NAME, LOGOS, EMBLEMS,

20 SEALS, AND MARKS.—

21 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 9(d) of such Act

22 (112 Stat. 3490) is amended by striking the period

23 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, except that

24 the Commission may transfer any portion of such

25 funds that is in excess of the funds necessary to
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1 carry out such duties to any Federal agency or the

2 National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian

3 Institution to be used for the sole purpose of com4 memorating the history of aviation or the centennial

5 of powered flight.’’.

6 (2) DUTIES TO BE CARRIED OUT BY ADMINIS7 TRATOR OF NASA.—Section 9 of such Act (112 Stat.

8 3490) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(f) DUTIES TO BE CARRIED OUT BY ADMINIS11 TRATOR OF NASA.—The duties of the Commission under

12 this section shall be carried out by the Administrator of

13 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in

14 consultation with the Commission.’’.

15 SEC. 721. AIRCRAFT SITUATIONAL DISPLAY DATA.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A memorandum of agreement be17 tween the Administrator and any person that directly ob18 tains aircraft situational display data from the Federal

19 Aviation Administration shall require that—

20 (1) the person demonstrate to the satisfaction

21 of the Administrator that such person is capable of

22 selectively blocking the display of any aircraft-situa23 tion-display-to-industry derived data related to any

24 identified aircraft registration number; and
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1 (2) the person agree to block selectively the air2 craft registration numbers of any aircraft owner or

3 operator upon the Administration’s request.

4 (b) EXISTING MEMORANDA TO BE CONFORMED.—

5 The Administrator shall conform any memoranda of

6 agreement, in effect on the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, between the Administration and a person under which

8 that person obtains aircraft situational display data to in9 corporate the requirements of subsection (a) within 30

10 days after that date.

11 SEC. 722. ELIMINATION OF BACKLOG OF EQUAL EMPLOY12 MENT OPPORTUNITY COMPLAINTS.

13 (a) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—For fiscal

14 year 2000, the Secretary of Transportation may hire or

15 contract for such additional personnel as may be necessary

16 to eliminate the backlog of pending equal employment op17 portunity complaints to the Department of Transportation

18 and to ensure that investigations of complaints are com19 pleted not later than 180 days after the date of initiation

20 of the investigation.

21 (b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated pursu22 ant to section 106(k) of title 49, United States Code, for

23 fiscal year 2000, $2,000,000 may be used to carry out

24 this section.
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1 SEC. 723. NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA.

2 (a) AUTHORITY TO GRANT WAIVERS.—Notwith3 standing section 16 of the Federal Airport Act (as in ef4 fect on May 14, 1947) or section 47125 of title 49, United

5 States Code, the Secretary shall, subject to section 47153

6 of such title (as in effect on June 1, 1998), and subsection

7 (b) of this section, waive with respect to airport property

8 parcels that, according to the Federal Aviation Adminis9 tration approved airport layout plan for Newport News/

10 Williamsburg International Airport, are no longer required

11 for airport purposes from any term contained in the deed

12 of conveyance dated May 14, 1947, under which the

13 United States conveyed such property to the Peninsula

14 Airport Commission for airport purposes of the Commis15 sion.

16 (b) CONDITIONS.—Any waiver granted by the Sec17 retary under subsection (a) shall be subject to the fol18 lowing conditions:

19 (1) The Peninsula Airport Commission shall

20 agree that, in leasing or conveying any interest in

21 the property with respect to which waivers are

22 granted under subsection (a), the Commission will

23 receive an amount that is equal to the fair lease

24 value or the fair market value, as the case may be

25 (as determined pursuant to regulations issued by the

26 Secretary).
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1 (2) Peninsula Airport Commission shall use any

2 amount so received only for the development, im3 provement, operation, or maintenance of Newport

4 News/Williamsburg International Airport.

5 SEC. 724. GRANT OF EASEMENT, LOS ANGELES, CALI6 FORNIA.

7 The City of Los Angeles Department of Airports may

8 grant an easement to the California Department of Trans9 portation to lands required to provide sufficient right-of10 way to facilitate the construction of the California State

11 Route 138 bypass, as proposed by the California Depart12 ment of Transportation.

13 SEC. 725. REGULATION OF ALASKA GUIDE PILOTS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the en15 actment of this Act, flight operations conducted by Alaska

16 guide pilots shall be regulated under the general operating

17 and flight rules contained in part 91 of title 14, Code of

18 Federal Regulations.

19 (b) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con21 duct a rulemaking proceeding and issue a final rule

22 to modify the general operating and flight rules re23 ferred to in subsection (a) by establishing special

24 rules applicable to the flight operations conducted by

25 Alaska guide pilots.
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1 (2) CONTENTS OF RULES.—A final rule issued

2 by the Administrator under paragraph (1) shall re3 quire Alaska guide pilots—

4 (A) to operate aircraft inspected no less

5 often than after 125 hours of flight time;

6 (B) to participate in an annual flight re7 view, as described in section 61.56 of title 14,

8 Code of Federal Regulations;

9 (C) to have at least 500 hours of flight

10 time as a pilot;

11 (D) to have a commercial rating, as de12 scribed subpart F of part 61 of such title;

13 (E) to hold at least a second-class medical

14 certificate, as described in subpart C of part 67

15 of such title;

16 (F) to hold a current letter of authoriza17 tion issued by the Administrator; and

18 (G) to take such other actions as the Ad19 ministrator determines necessary for safety.

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi21 nitions apply:

22 (1) LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION.—The term

23 ‘‘letter of authorization’’ means a letter issued by

24 the Administrator once every 5 years to an Alaska

25 guide pilot certifying that the pilot is in compliance
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1 with general operating and flight rules applicable to

2 the pilot. In the case of a multi-pilot operation, at

3 the election of the operating entity, a letter of au4 thorization may be issued by the Administrator to

5 the entity or to each Alaska guide pilot employed by

6 the entity.

7 (2) ALASKA GUIDE PILOT.—The term ‘‘Alaska

8 guide pilot’’ means a pilot who—

9 (A) conducts aircraft operations over or

10 within the State of Alaska;

11 (B) operates single engine, fixed wing air12 craft on floats, wheels, or skis, providing com13 mercial hunting, fishing, or other guide services

14 and related accommodations in the form of

15 camps or lodges; and

16 (C) transports clients by such aircraft inci17 dental to hunting, fishing, or other guide serv18 ices, or uses air transport to enable guided cli19 ents to reach hunting or fishing locations.

20 SEC. 726. AIRCRAFT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE ADVISORY

21 PANEL.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL.—The Secretary of

23 Transportation—

24 (1) shall establish an Aircraft Repair and Main25 tenance Advisory Panel to review issues related to
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1 the use and oversight of aircraft and aviation com2 ponent repair and maintenance facilities (in this sec3 tion referred to as ‘‘aircraft repair facilities’’) lo4 cated within, or outside of, the United States; and

5 (2) may seek the advice of the panel on any

6 issue related to methods to increase safety by im7 proving the oversight of aircraft repair facilities.

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel shall consist of—

9 (1) nine members appointed by the Secretary as

10 follows:

11 (A) three representatives of labor organiza12 tions representing aviation mechanics;

13 (B) one representative of cargo air car14 riers;

15 (C) one representative of passenger air

16 carriers;

17 (D) one representative of aircraft repair

18 facilities;

19 (E) one representative of aircraft manufac20 turers;

21 (F) one representative of on-demand pas22 senger air carriers and corporate aircraft oper23 ations; and

24 (G) one representative of regional pas25 senger air carriers;
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1 (2) one representative from the Department of

2 Commerce, designated by the Secretary of Com3 merce;

4 (3) one representative from the Department of

5 State, designated by the Secretary of State; and

6 (4) one representative from the Federal Avia7 tion Administration, designated by the Adminis8 trator.

9 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The panel shall—

10 (1) determine the amount and type of work

11 that is being performed by aircraft repair facilities

12 located within, and outside of, the United States;

13 and

14 (2) provide advice and counsel to the Secretary

15 with respect to the aircraft and aviation component

16 repair work performed by aircraft repair facilities

17 and air carriers, staffing needs, and any balance of

18 trade or safety issues associated with that work.

19 (d) DOT TO REQUEST INFORMATION FROM AIR

20 CARRIERS AND REPAIR FACILITIES.—

21 (1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec22 retary, by regulation, shall require air carriers, for23 eign air carriers, domestic repair facilities, and for24 eign repair facilities to submit such information as

25 the Secretary may require in order to assess balance
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1 of trade and safety issues with respect to work per2 formed on aircraft used by air carriers, foreign air

3 carriers, United States corporate operators, and for4 eign corporate operators.

5 (2) DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING INFORMA6 TION.—Included in the information the Secretary re7 quires under paragraph (1) shall be information on

8 the existence and administration of employee drug

9 and alcohol testing programs in place at the foreign

10 repair facilities, if applicable. The Secretary, if nec11 essary, shall work with the International Civil Avia12 tion Organization to increase the number and im13 prove the administration of employee drug and alco14 hol testing programs at the foreign repair facilities.

15 (3) DESCRIPTION OF WORK DONE.—Included in

16 the information the Secretary requires under para17 graph (1) shall be information on the amount and

18 type of work performed on aircraft registered in and

19 outside of the United States.

20 (e) DOT TO FACILITATE COLLECTION OF INFORMA21 TION ABOUT AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary

22 shall facilitate the collection of information from the Na23 tional Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation

24 Administration, and other appropriate agencies regarding

25 maintenance performed by aircraft repair facilities.
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1 (f) DOT TO MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO

2 PUBLIC.—The Secretary shall make any relevant informa3 tion received under subsection (c) available to the public,

4 consistent with the authority to withhold trade secrets or

5 commercial, financial, and other proprietary information

6 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

7 (g) TERMINATION.—The panel established under

8 subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of—

9 (1) the date that is 2 years after the date of the

10 enactment of this Act; or

11 (2) December 31, 2001.

12 (h) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions contained in sec13 tion 40102 of title 49, United States Code, shall apply

14 to this section.

15 SEC. 727. OPERATIONS OF AIR TAXI INDUSTRY.

16 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator, in consultation with

17 the National Transportation Safety Board and other in18 terested persons, shall conduct a study of air taxi opera19 tors regulated under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal

20 Regulations.

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an analysis

22 of the size and type of the aircraft fleet, relevant aircraft

23 equipment, hours flown, utilization rates, safety record by

24 various categories of use and aircraft type, sales revenues,

25 and airports served by the air taxi fleet.
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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

3 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study.

4 SEC. 728. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS CONCERNING COMPLE5 TION OF COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL AIR6 SPACE REDESIGN.

7 It is the sense of the Congress that, as soon as is

8 practicable, the Administrator should complete and begin

9 implementation of the comprehensive national airspace re10 design that is being conducted by the Administrator.

11 SEC. 729. COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order

13 to avoid unnecessary duplication of expense and effort, the

14 Secretary of Transportation may authorize the use, in

15 whole or in part, of a completed environmental assessment

16 or environmental impact study for new construction

17 projects on the air operations area of an airport, if the

18 completed assessment or study was for a project at the

19 airport that is substantially similar in nature to the new

20 project. Any such authorized use shall meet all require21 ments of Federal law for the completion of such an assess22 ment or study.

23 SEC. 730. AIRCRAFT NOISE LEVELS AT AIRPORTS.

24 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF NEW STANDARDS.—The Sec25 retary of Transportation shall continue to work to develop
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1 a new standard for aircraft and aircraft engines that will

2 lead to a further reduction in aircraft noise levels.

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 2000, and an4 nually thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress

5 a report regarding the application of new standards or

6 technologies to reduce aircraft noise levels.

7 SEC. 731. FAA CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN STATE PRO8 POSALS.

9 The Administrator is encouraged to consider any pro10 posal with a regional consensus submitted by a State avia11 tion authority regarding the expansion of existing airport

12 facilities or the introduction of new airport facilities.

13 SEC. 732. CINCINNATI-MUNICIPAL BLUE ASH AIRPORT.

14 (a) APPROVAL OF SALE.—To maintain the efficient

15 utilization of airports in the high-growth Cincinnati local

16 airport system, and to ensure that the Cincinnati-Munic17 ipal Blue Ash Airport continues to operate to relieve con18 gestion at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International

19 Airport and to provide greater access to the general avia20 tion community beyond the expiration of the City of Cin21 cinnati’s grant obligations, the Secretary of Transpor22 tation may approve the sale of Cincinnati-Municipal Blue

23 Ash Airport from the City of Cincinnati to the City of

24 Blue Ash upon a finding that the City of Blue Ash meets

25 all applicable requirements for sponsorship and if the City
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1 of Blue Ash agrees to continue to maintain and operate

2 Blue Ash Airport, as generally contemplated and described

3 within the Blue Ash Master Plan Update dated November

4 30, 1998, for a period of 20 years from the date existing

5 grant assurance obligations of the City of Cincinnati ex6 pire.

7 (b) TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS FROM SALE.—The

8 proceeds from the sale approved under subsection (a) shall

9 not be considered to be airport revenue for purposes of

10 section 47107 and 47133 of title 49, United States Code,

11 grant obligations of the City of Cincinnati, or regulations

12 and policies of the Federal Aviation Administration.

13 SEC. 733. AIRCRAFT AND AIRCRAFT PARTS FOR USE IN RE14 SPONDING TO OIL SPILLS.

15 (a) AUTHORITY TO SELL.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 202

17 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services

18 Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 483) and subject to sub19 sections (b) and (c), the Secretary of Defense may,

20 during the period beginning June 15, 1999, and

21 ending September 30, 2002, sell aircraft and air22 craft parts referred to in paragraph (2) to a person

23 or governmental entity that contracts to deliver oil

24 dispersants by air in order to disperse oil spills, and

25 that has been approved by the Secretary of the De-
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1 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating for

2 the delivery of oil dispersants by air in order to dis3 perse oil spills.

4 (2) COVERED AIRCRAFT AND AIRCRAFT

5 PARTS.—The aircraft and aircraft parts that may be

6 sold under paragraph (1) are aircraft and aircraft

7 parts of the Department of Defense that are deter8 mined by the Secretary of Defense to be—

9 (A) excess to the needs of the Department;

10 (B) acceptable for commercial sale; and

11 (C) with respect to aircraft, 10 years old

12 or older.

13 (b) CONDITIONS OF SALE.—Aircraft and aircraft

14 parts sold under subsection (a)—

15 (1) may be used only for oil spill spotting, ob16 servation, and dispersant delivery; and

17 (2) may not be flown outside of or removed

18 from the United States, except for the purpose of

19 fulfilling an international agreement to assist in oil

20 spill dispersing efforts or for other purposes that are

21 jointly approved by the Secretary of Defense and the

22 Secretary of Transportation.

23 (c) CERTIFICATION OF PERSONS AND ENTITIES.—

24 The Secretary of Defense may sell aircraft and aircraft

25 parts to a person or governmental entity under subsection
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1 (a) only if the Secretary of Transportation certifies to the

2 Secretary of Defense, in writing, before the sale, that the

3 person or governmental entity is capable of meeting the

4 terms and conditions of a contract to deliver oil spill

5 dispersants by air.

6 (d) REGULATIONS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary

9 of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of

10 Transportation and the Administrator of General

11 Services, shall issue regulations relating to the sale

12 of aircraft and aircraft parts under this section.

13 (2) CONTENTS.—The regulations shall—

14 (A) ensure that the sale of the aircraft and

15 aircraft parts is made at a fair market value as

16 determined by the Secretary of Defense, and, to

17 the extent practicable, on a competitive basis;

18 (B) require a certification by the purchaser

19 that the aircraft and aircraft parts will be used

20 in accordance with the conditions set forth in

21 subsection (b);

22 (C) establish appropriate means of

23 verifying and enforcing the use of the aircraft

24 and aircraft parts by the purchaser and other

25 users in accordance with the conditions set
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1 forth in subsection (b) or pursuant to sub2 section (e); and

3 (D) ensure, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, that the Secretary of Defense consults

5 with the Administrator of General Services and

6 with the heads of other appropriate depart7 ments and agencies of the Federal Government

8 regarding alternative uses for such aircraft and

9 aircraft parts before the sale of such aircraft

10 and aircraft parts under this section.

11 (e) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

12 Secretary of Defense may require such other terms and

13 conditions in connection with each sale of aircraft and air14 craft parts under this section as the Secretary of Defense

15 considers appropriate for such sale. Such terms and condi16 tions shall meet the requirements of regulations issued

17 under subsection (d).

18 (f) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2002, the

19 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on

20 Armed Services and the Committee on Commerce,

21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com22 mittee on Armed Services and the Committee on Trans23 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa24 tives a report on the Secretary of Defense’s exercise of

25 authority under this section. The report shall set forth—
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1 (1) the number and types of aircraft sold under

2 this section, and the terms and conditions under

3 which the aircraft were sold;

4 (2) the persons or entities to which the aircraft

5 were sold; and

6 (3) an accounting of the current use of the air7 craft sold.

8 (g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be

9 construed as affecting the authority of the Administrator

10 of the Federal Aviation Administration under any other

11 provision of law.

12 (h) PROCEEDS FROM SALE.—The net proceeds of

13 any amounts received by the Secretary of Defense from

14 the sale of aircraft and aircraft parts under this section

15 shall be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury

16 as miscellaneous receipts.

17 SEC. 734. DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES BY COMPUTER RES18 ERVATIONS SYSTEMS OUTSIDE THE UNITED

19 STATES.

20 (a) ACTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY ACTIVITY BY

21 FOREIGN CRS SYSTEMS.—Section 41310 is amended by

22 adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(g) ACTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY ACTIVITY

24 BY FOREIGN CRS SYSTEMS.—The Secretary of Transpor25 tation may take such actions as the Secretary considers
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1 are in the public interest to eliminate an activity of a for2 eign air carrier that owns or markets a computer reserva3 tions system, or of a computer reservations system firm

4 whose principal offices are located outside the United

5 States, when the Secretary, on the initiative of the Sec6 retary or on complaint, decides that the activity, with re7 spect to airline service—

8 ‘‘(1) is an unjustifiable or unreasonable dis9 criminatory, predatory, or anticompetitive practice

10 against a computer reservations system firm whose

11 principal offices are located inside the United States;

12 or

13 ‘‘(2) imposes an unjustifiable or unreasonable

14 restriction on access of such a computer reservations

15 system to a foreign market.’’.

16 (b) COMPLAINTS BY CRS FIRMS.—Section 41310 is

17 amended—

18 (1) in subsection (d)(1)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘air carrier’’ in the first

20 sentence and inserting ‘‘air carrier, computer

21 reservations system firm,’’;

22 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in23 serting ‘‘subsection (c) or (g)’’; and
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘air carrier’’ in subpara2 graph (B) and inserting ‘‘air carrier or com3 puter reservations system firm’’; and

4 (2) in subsection (e)(1) by inserting ‘‘or a com5 puter reservations system firm is subject when pro6 viding services with respect to airline service’’ before

7 the period at the end of the first sentence.

8 SEC. 735. ALKALI SILICA REACTIVITY DISTRESS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make a

10 grant to, or enter into a cooperative agreement with, a

11 nonprofit organization for the conduct of a study on the

12 impact of alkali silica reactivity distress on airport run13 ways and taxiways and the use of lithium salts and other

14 alternatives for mitigation and prevention of such distress.

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after mak16 ing a grant, or entering into a cooperative agreement,

17 under subsection (a) the Administrator shall transmit a

18 report to Congress on the results of the study.

19 SEC. 736. PROCUREMENT OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE MAP20 PING, CHARTING, AND GEOGRAPHIC INFOR21 MATION SYSTEMS.

22 The Administrator shall consider procuring mapping,

23 charting, and geographic information systems necessary to

24 carry out the duties of the Administrator under title 49,

25 United States Code, from private enterprises, if the Ad-
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1 ministrator determines that such procurement furthers

2 the mission of the Federal Aviation Administration and

3 is cost effective.

4 SEC. 737. LAND USE COMPLIANCE REPORT.

5 Section 47131 is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (3);

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(5) a detailed statement listing airports that

12 are not in compliance with grant assurances or other

13 requirements with respect to airport lands and in14 cluding the circumstances of such noncompliance,

15 the timelines for corrective action, and the corrective

16 action the Secretary intends to take to bring the air17 port sponsor into compliance.’’.

18 SEC. 738. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION DATA CENTER OF

19 EXCELLENCE.

20 Of the amounts made available pursuant to section

21 5117(b)(6)(B) of the Transportation Equity Act for the

22 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 502 note; 112 Stat. 450), not

23 to exceed $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 and

24 2001 may be made available by the Secretary of Transpor25 tation to establish, at an Army depot that has been closed
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1 or realigned, a national transportation data center of ex2 cellence that will—

3 (1) serve as a satellite facility for the central

4 data repository that is hosted by the computer cen5 ter of the Transportation Administrative Service;

6 and

7 (2) analyze transportation data collected by the

8 Federal Government, States, cities, and the trans9 portation industry.

10 SEC. 739. MONROE REGIONAL AIRPORT LAND CONVEY11 ANCE.

12 The Secretary of Transportation shall waive all terms

13 contained in the 1949 deed of conveyance under which the

14 United States conveyed certain property then constituting

15 Selman Field, Louisiana, to the City of Monroe, Lou16 isiana, subject to the following conditions:

17 (1) The city agrees that in conveying any inter18 est in such property the city will receive an amount

19 for such interest that is equal to the fair market

20 value for such interest.

21 (2) The amount received by the city for such

22 conveyance shall be used by the city—

23 (A) for the development, improvement, op24 eration, or maintenance of a public airport; or
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1 (B) for the development or improvement of

2 the city’s airport industrial park co-located with

3 the Monroe Regional Airport to the extent that

4 such development or improvement will result in

5 an increase, over time, in the amount the indus6 trial park will pay to the airport to an amount

7 that is greater than the amount the city re8 ceived for such conveyance.

9 SEC. 740. AUTOMATED WEATHER FORECASTING SYSTEMS.

10 (a) CONTRACT FOR STUDY.—The Administrator

11 shall contract with the National Academy of Sciences to

12 conduct a study of the effectiveness of the automated

13 weather forecasting systems of covered flight service sta14 tions solely with regard to providing safe and reliable air15 port operations.

16 (b) COVERED FLIGHT SERVICE STATIONS.—In this

17 section, the term ‘‘covered flight service station’’ means

18 a flight service station where automated weather observa19 tion constitutes the entire observation and no additional

20 weather information is added by a human weather ob21 server.

22 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

23 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

24 transmit to the Congress a report on the results of the

25 study.
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1 SEC. 741. NOISE STUDY OF SKY HARBOR AIRPORT, PHOE2 NIX, ARIZONA.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal

4 Aviation Administration shall conduct a study on recent

5 changes to the flight patterns of aircraft using Sky Harbor

6 Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, and the effects of such

7 changes on the noise contours in the Phoenix, Arizona,

8 region.

9 (b) REPORT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

11 the enactment of this section, the Administrator

12 shall submit a report to Congress containing the re13 sults of the study conducted under subsection (a)

14 and recommendations for measures to mitigate air15 craft noise over populated areas in the Phoenix, Ari16 zona, region.

17 (2) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The Ad18 ministrator shall make the report described in para19 graph (1) available to the public.

20 SEC. 742. NONMILITARY HELICOPTER NOISE.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

22 shall conduct a study—

23 (1) on the effects of nonmilitary helicopter noise

24 on individuals; and

25 (2) to develop recommendations for the reduc26 tion of the effects of nonmilitary helicopter noise.
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1 (b) CONSIDERATION OF VIEWS.—In conducting the

2 study under this section, the Secretary shall consider the

3 views of representatives of the helicopter industry and rep4 resentatives of organizations with an interest in reducing

5 nonmilitary helicopter noise.

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit

8 to Congress a report on the results of the study under

9 this section.

10 TITLE VIII—NATIONAL PARKS

11 AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT

12 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Parks Air

14 Tour Management Act of 1999’’.

15 SEC. 802. FINDINGS.

16 Congress finds that—

17 (1) the Federal Aviation Administration has

18 sole authority to control airspace over the United

19 States;

20 (2) the Federal Aviation Administration has the

21 authority to preserve, protect, and enhance the envi22 ronment by minimizing, mitigating, or preventing

23 the adverse effects of aircraft overflights of public

24 and tribal lands;
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1 (3) the National Park Service has the responsi2 bility of conserving the scenery and natural and his3 toric objects and wildlife in national parks and of

4 providing for the enjoyment of the national parks in

5 ways that leave the national parks unimpaired for

6 future generations;

7 (4) the protection of tribal lands from aircraft

8 overflights is consistent with protecting the public

9 health and welfare and is essential to the mainte10 nance of the natural and cultural resources of In11 dian tribes;

12 (5) the National Parks Overflights Working

13 Group, composed of general aviation, commercial air

14 tour, environmental, and Native American represent15 atives, recommended that the Congress enact legisla16 tion based on the Group’s consensus work product;

17 and

18 (6) this title reflects the recommendations made

19 by that Group.

20 SEC. 803. AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL

21 PARKS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401 is further amended

23 by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘§ 40126. Overflights of national parks

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A commercial

2 air tour operator may not conduct commercial air

3 tour operations over a national park (including tribal

4 lands) except—

5 ‘‘(A) in accordance with this section;

6 ‘‘(B) in accordance with conditions and

7 limitations prescribed for that operator by the

8 Administrator; and

9 ‘‘(C) in accordance with any applicable air

10 tour management plan for the park.

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR12 ITY.—

13 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Before

14 commencing commercial air tour operations

15 over a national park (including tribal lands), a

16 commercial air tour operator shall apply to the

17 Administrator for authority to conduct the op18 erations over the park.

19 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR LIMITED

20 CAPACITY PARKS.—Whenever an air tour man21 agement plan limits the number of commercial

22 air tour operations over a national park during

23 a specified time frame, the Administrator, in

24 cooperation with the Director, shall issue oper25 ation specifications to commercial air tour oper-
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1 ators that conduct such operations. The oper2 ation specifications shall include such terms and

3 conditions as the Administrator and the Direc4 tor find necessary for management of commer5 cial air tour operations over the park. The Ad6 ministrator, in cooperation with the Director,

7 shall develop an open competitive process for

8 evaluating proposals from persons interested in

9 providing commercial air tour operations over

10 the park. In making a selection from among

11 various proposals submitted, the Administrator,

12 in cooperation with the Director, shall consider

13 relevant factors, including—

14 ‘‘(i) the safety record of the person

15 submitting the proposal or pilots employed

16 by the person;

17 ‘‘(ii) any quiet aircraft technology pro18 posed to be used by the person submitting

19 the proposal;

20 ‘‘(iii) the experience of the person sub21 mitting the proposal with commercial air

22 tour operations over other national parks

23 or scenic areas;

24 ‘‘(iv) the financial capability of the

25 company;
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1 ‘‘(v) any training programs for pilots

2 provided by the person submitting the pro3 posal; and

4 ‘‘(vi) responsiveness of the person

5 submitting the proposal to any relevant

6 criteria developed by the National Park

7 Service for the affected park.

8 ‘‘(C) NUMBER OF OPERATIONS AUTHOR9 IZED.—In determining the number of author10 izations to issue to provide commercial air tour

11 operations over a national park, the Adminis12 trator, in cooperation with the Director, shall

13 take into consideration the provisions of the air

14 tour management plan, the number of existing

15 commercial air tour operators and current level

16 of service and equipment provided by any such

17 operators, and the financial viability of each

18 commercial air tour operation.

19 ‘‘(D) COOPERATION WITH NPS.—Before

20 granting an application under this paragraph,

21 the Administrator, in cooperation with the Di22 rector, shall develop an air tour management

23 plan in accordance with subsection (b) and im24 plement such plan.

25 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a commercial air

2 tour operator secures a letter of agreement

3 from the Administrator and the superintendent

4 for the national park that describes the condi5 tions under which the commercial air tour oper6 ation will be conducted, then notwithstanding

7 paragraph (1), the commercial air tour operator

8 may conduct such operations over the national

9 park under part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal

10 Regulations, if such activity is permitted under

11 part 119 of such title.

12 ‘‘(B) LIMIT ON EXCEPTIONS.—Not more

13 than five flights in any 30-day period over a

14 single national park may be conducted under

15 this paragraph.

16 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR SAFETY REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (d), an exist18 ing commercial air tour operator shall apply, not

19 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment

20 of this section, for operating authority under part

21 119, 121, or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu22 lations. A new entrant commercial air tour operator

23 shall apply for such authority before conducting

24 commercial air tour operations over a national park

25 (including tribal lands). The Administrator shall act
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1 on any such application for a new entrant and issue

2 a decision on the application not later than 24

3 months after it is received or amended.

4 ‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

5 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in

7 cooperation with the Director, shall establish an

8 air tour management plan for any national park

9 (including tribal lands) for which such a plan is

10 not in effect whenever a person applies for au11 thority to conduct a commercial air tour oper12 ation over the park. The air tour management

13 plan shall be developed by means of a public

14 process in accordance with paragraph (4).

15 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of any

16 air tour management plan shall be to develop

17 acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or

18 prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any,

19 of commercial air tours upon the natural and

20 cultural resources, visitor experiences, and trib21 al lands.

22 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION.—In

23 establishing an air tour management plan under this

24 subsection, the Administrator and the Director shall

25 each sign the environmental decision document re-
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1 quired by section 102 of the National Environmental

2 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) (including a

3 finding of no significant impact, an environmental

4 assessment, and an environmental impact statement)

5 and the record of decision for the air tour manage6 ment plan.

7 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An air tour management

8 plan for a national park—

9 ‘‘(A) may limit or prohibit commercial air

10 tour operations;

11 ‘‘(B) may establish conditions for the con12 duct of commercial air tour operations, includ13 ing commercial air tour operation routes, max14 imum or minimum altitudes, time-of-day re15 strictions, restrictions for particular events,

16 maximum number of flights per unit of time,

17 intrusions on privacy on tribal lands, and miti18 gation of adverse noise, visual, or other im19 pacts;

20 ‘‘(C) may apply to all commercial air tour

21 operations;

22 ‘‘(D) shall include incentives (such as pre23 ferred commercial air tour operation routes and

24 altitudes and relief from flight caps and cur25 fews) for the adoption of quiet aircraft tech-
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1 nology by commercial air tour operators con2 ducting commercial air tour operations over the

3 park;

4 ‘‘(E) shall provide a system for allocating

5 opportunities to conduct commercial air tours if

6 the air tour management plan includes a limita7 tion on the number of commercial air tour oper8 ations for any time period; and

9 ‘‘(F) shall justify and document the need

10 for measures taken pursuant to subparagraphs

11 (A) through (E) and include such justifications

12 in the record of decision.

13 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing an air tour

14 management plan for a national park (including

15 tribal lands), the Administrator and the Director

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(A) hold at least one public meeting with

18 interested parties to develop the air tour man19 agement plan;

20 ‘‘(B) publish the proposed plan in the Fed21 eral Register for notice and comment and make

22 copies of the proposed plan available to the

23 public;

24 ‘‘(C) comply with the regulations set forth

25 in sections 1501.3 and 1501.5 through 1501.8
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1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (for

2 purposes of complying with the regulations, the

3 Federal Aviation Administration shall be the

4 lead agency and the National Park Service is a

5 cooperating agency); and

6 ‘‘(D) solicit the participation of any Indian

7 tribe whose tribal lands are, or may be,

8 overflown by aircraft involved in a commercial

9 air tour operation over the park, as a cooper10 ating agency under the regulations referred to

11 in subparagraph (C).

12 ‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An air tour manage13 ment plan developed under this subsection shall be

14 subject to judicial review.

15 ‘‘(6) AMENDMENTS.—The Administrator, in co16 operation with the Director, may make amendments

17 to an air tour management plan. Any such amend18 ments shall be published in the Federal Register for

19 notice and comment. A request for amendment of an

20 air tour management plan shall be made in such

21 form and manner as the Administrator may pre22 scribe.

23 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

24 OPERATION STATUS.—In making a determination of
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1 whether a flight is a commercial air tour operation, the

2 Administrator may consider—

3 ‘‘(1) whether there was a holding out to the

4 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing flight

5 for compensation or hire;

6 ‘‘(2) whether a narrative that referred to areas

7 or points of interest on the surface below the route

8 of the flight was provided by the person offering the

9 flight;

10 ‘‘(3) the area of operation;

11 ‘‘(4) the frequency of flights conducted by the

12 person offering the flight;

13 ‘‘(5) the route of flight;

14 ‘‘(6) the inclusion of sightseeing flights as part

15 of any travel arrangement package offered by the

16 person offering the flight;

17 ‘‘(7) whether the flight would have been can18 celed based on poor visibility of the surface below

19 the route of the flight; and

20 ‘‘(8) any other factors that the Administrator

21 considers appropriate.

22 ‘‘(d) INTERIM OPERATING AUTHORITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application for oper24 ating authority, the Administrator shall grant in25 terim operating authority under this subsection to a
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1 commercial air tour operator for commercial air tour

2 operations over a national park (including tribal

3 lands) for which the operator is an existing commer4 cial air tour operator.

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.—In6 terim operating authority granted under this

7 subsection—

8 ‘‘(A) shall provide annual authorization

9 only for the greater of—

10 ‘‘(i) the number of flights used by the

11 operator to provide such tours within the

12 12-month period prior to the date of the

13 enactment of this section; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the average number of flights per

15 12-month period used by the operator to

16 provide such tours within the 36-month pe17 riod prior to such date of the enactment,

18 and, for seasonal operations, the number

19 of flights so used during the season or sea20 sons covered by that 12-month period;

21 ‘‘(B) may not provide for an increase in

22 the number of commercial air tour operations

23 conducted during any time period by the com24 mercial air tour operator above the number that

25 the air tour operator was originally granted un-
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1 less such an increase is agreed to by the Ad2 ministrator and the Director;

3 ‘‘(C) shall be published in the Federal Reg4 ister to provide notice and opportunity for com5 ment;

6 ‘‘(D) may be revoked by the Administrator

7 for cause;

8 ‘‘(E) shall terminate 180 days after the

9 date on which an air tour management plan is

10 established for the park or the tribal lands;

11 ‘‘(F) shall promote protection of national

12 park resources, visitor experiences, and tribal

13 lands;

14 ‘‘(G) shall promote safe operations of the

15 commercial air tour;

16 ‘‘(H) shall promote the adoption of quiet

17 technology, as appropriate; and

18 ‘‘(I) shall allow for modifications of the op19 eration based on experience if the modification

20 improves protection of national park resources

21 and values and of tribal lands.

22 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by

24 paragraph (2), this section shall not apply to—

25 ‘‘(A) the Grand Canyon National Park;
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1 ‘‘(B) tribal lands within or abutting the

2 Grand Canyon National Park; or

3 ‘‘(C) any unit of the National Park System

4 located in Alaska or any other land or water lo5 cated in Alaska.

6 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall apply to

7 the Grand Canyon National Park if section 3 of

8 Public Law 100–91 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 note; 101 Stat.

9 674–678) is no longer in effect.

10 ‘‘(3) LAKE MEAD.—This section shall not apply

11 to any air tour operator while flying over or near the

12 Lake Mead National Recreation Area solely, as a

13 transportation route, to conduct an air tour over the

14 Grand Canyon National Park.

15 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

16 definitions apply:

17 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The

18 term ‘commercial air tour operator’ means any per19 son who conducts a commercial air tour operation.

20 ‘‘(2) EXISTING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPER21 ATOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour oper22 ator’ means a commercial air tour operator that was

23 actively engaged in the business of providing com24 mercial air tour operations over a national park at
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1 any time during the 12-month period ending on the

2 date of the enactment of this section.

3 ‘‘(3) NEW ENTRANT COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

4 OPERATOR.—The term ‘new entrant commercial air

5 tour operator’ means a commercial air tour operator

6 that—

7 ‘‘(A) applies for operating authority as a

8 commercial air tour operator for a national

9 park; and

10 ‘‘(B) has not engaged in the business of

11 providing commercial air tour operations over

12 the national park (including tribal lands) in the

13 12-month period preceding the application.

14 ‘‘(4) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATION.—The

15 term ‘commercial air tour operation’ means any

16 flight, conducted for compensation or hire in a pow17 ered aircraft where a purpose of the flight is sightseeing over a national park, within 1 18 ⁄2 mile outside

19 the boundary of any national park, or over tribal

20 lands, during which the aircraft flies—

21 ‘‘(A) below a minimum altitude, deter22 mined by the Administrator in cooperation with

23 the Director, above ground level (except solely

24 for purposes of takeoff or landing, or necessary

25 for safe operation of an aircraft as determined
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1 under the rules and regulations of the Federal

2 Aviation Administration requiring the pilot-in3 command to take action to ensure the safe op4 eration of the aircraft); or

5 ‘‘(B) less than 1 mile laterally from any

6 geographic feature within the park (unless more

than 1 7 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary).

8 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘national

9 park’ means any unit of the National Park System.

10 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘tribal lands’

11 means Indian country (as that term is defined in

12 section 1151 of title 18) that is within or abutting

13 a national park.

14 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis15 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia16 tion Administration.

17 ‘‘(8) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means

18 the Director of the National Park Service.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

20 chapter 401 is further amended by adding at the end the

21 following:

‘‘40126. Overflights of national parks.’’.

22 SEC. 804. ADVISORY GROUP.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator

25 and the Director of the National Park Service shall jointly
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1 establish an advisory group to provide continuing advice

2 and counsel with respect to commercial air tour operations

3 over and near national parks.

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory group shall be

6 composed of—

7 (A) a balanced group of—

8 (i) representatives of general aviation;

9 (ii) representatives of commercial air

10 tour operators;

11 (iii) representatives of environmental

12 concerns; and

13 (iv) representatives of Indian tribes;

14 (B) a representative of the Federal Avia15 tion Administration; and

16 (C) a representative of the National Park

17 Service.

18 (2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator

19 (or the designee of the Administrator) and the Di20 rector (or the designee of the Director) shall serve

21 as ex officio members.

22 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the

23 Federal Aviation Administration and the representa24 tive of the National Park Service shall serve alter25 nating 1-year terms as chairman of the advisory
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1 group, with the representative of the Federal Avia2 tion Administration serving initially until the end of

3 the calendar year following the year in which the ad4 visory group is first appointed.

5 (c) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall provide ad6 vice, information, and recommendations to the Adminis7 trator and the Director—

8 (1) on the implementation of this title and the

9 amendments made by this title;

10 (2) on commonly accepted quiet aircraft tech11 nology for use in commercial air tour operations over

12 national parks (including tribal lands), which will re13 ceive preferential treatment in a given air tour man14 agement plan;

15 (3) on other measures that might be taken to

16 accommodate the interests of visitors to national

17 parks; and

18 (4) at request of the Administrator and the Di19 rector, safety, environmental, and other issues re20 lated to commercial air tour operations over a na21 tional park (including tribal lands).

22 (d) COMPENSATION; SUPPORT; FACA.—

23 (1) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.—Members of

24 the advisory group who are not officers or employees

25 of the United States, while attending conferences or
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1 meetings of the group or otherwise engaged in its

2 business, or while serving away from their homes or

3 regular places of business, may be allowed travel ex4 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as

5 authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States

6 Code, for persons in the Government service em7 ployed intermittently.

8 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Federal

9 Aviation Administration and the National Park

10 Service shall jointly furnish to the advisory group

11 clerical and other assistance.

12 (3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—Section 14 of

13 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

14 App.) does not apply to the advisory group.

15 SEC. 805. REPORTS.

16 (a) OVERFLIGHT FEE REPORT.—Not later than 180

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad18 ministrator shall transmit to Congress a report on the ef19 fects overflight fees are likely to have on the commercial

20 air tour operation industry. The report shall include, but

21 shall not be limited to—

22 (1) the viability of a tax credit for the commer23 cial air tour operators equal to the amount of any

24 overflight fees charged by the National Park Service;

25 and
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1 (2) the financial effects proposed offsets are

2 likely to have on Federal Aviation Administration

3 budgets and appropriations.

4 (b) QUIET AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY REPORT.—Not

5 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this

6 Act, the Administrator and the Director shall jointly

7 transmit a report to Congress on the effectiveness of this

8 title in providing incentives for the development and use

9 of quiet aircraft technology.

10 SEC. 806. METHODOLOGIES USED TO ASSESS AIR TOUR

11 NOISE.

12 Any methodology adopted by a Federal agency to as13 sess air tour noise in any unit of the national park system

14 (including the Grand Canyon and Alaska) shall be based

15 on reasonable scientific methods.

16 SEC. 807. EXEMPTIONS.

17 This title shall not apply to—

18 (1) any unit of the National Park System lo19 cated in Alaska; or

20 (2) any other land or water located in Alaska.

21 SEC. 808. DEFINITIONS.

22 In this title, the following definitions apply:

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

25 Aviation Administration.
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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

2 the Director of the National Park Service.

3 TITLE IX—TRUTH IN BUDGETING

4 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Truth in Budgeting

6 Act’’.

7 SEC. 902. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF AIRPORT AND AIR8 WAY TRUST FUND.

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re10 ceipts and disbursements of the Airport and Airway Trust

11 Fund established by section 9502 of the Internal Revenue

12 Code of 1986—

13 (1) shall not be counted as new budget author14 ity, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for pur15 poses of—

16 (A) the budget of the United States Gov17 ernment as submitted by the President;

18 (B) the congressional budget (including al19 locations of budget authority and outlays pro20 vided therein); or

21 (C) the Balanced Budget and Emergency

22 Deficit Control Act of 1985; and

23 (2) shall be exempt from any general budget

24 limitation imposed by statute on expenditures and
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1 net lending (budget outlays) of the United States

2 Government.

3 SEC. 903. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST DEFICIT SPENDING OUT

4 OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is

6 further amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘§ 47138. Safeguards against deficit spending

8 ‘‘(a) ESTIMATES OF UNFUNDED AVIATION AUTHOR9 IZATIONS AND NET AVIATION RECEIPTS.—Not later than

10 March 31 of each year, the Secretary of Transportation,

11 in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall

12 estimate—

13 ‘‘(1) the amount which would (but for this sec14 tion) be the unfunded aviation authorizations at the

15 close of the first fiscal year that begins after that

16 March 31; and

17 ‘‘(2) the net aviation receipts to be credited to

18 the Airport and Airway Trust Fund during the fiscal

19 year.

20 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE IF EXCESS UNFUNDED AVIATION

21 AUTHORIZATIONS.—If the Secretary of Transportation

22 determines for any fiscal year that the amount described

23 in subsection (a)(1) exceeds the amount described in sub24 section (a)(2), the Secretary shall determine the amount

25 of such excess.
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1 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENT OF AUTHORIZATIONS IF UN2 FUNDED AUTHORIZATIONS EXCEED RECEIPTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF PERCENTAGE.—If the

4 Secretary determines that there is an excess referred

5 to in subsection (b) for a fiscal year, the Secretary

6 shall determine the percentage which—

7 ‘‘(A) such excess, is of

8 ‘‘(B) the total of the amounts authorized

9 to be appropriated from the Airport and Airway

10 Trust Fund for the next fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF AUTHORIZATIONS.—If

12 the Secretary determines a percentage under para13 graph (1), each amount authorized to be appro14 priated from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for

15 the next fiscal year shall be reduced by such percent16 age.

17 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS PREVIOUSLY WITH18 HELD.—

19 ‘‘(1) ADJUSTMENT OF AUTHORIZATIONS.—If,

20 after a reduction has been made under subsection

21 (c)(2), the Secretary determines that the amount de22 scribed in subsection (a)(1) does not exceed the

23 amount described in subsection (a)(2) or that the ex24 cess referred to in subsection (b) is less than the

25 amount previously determined, each amount author-
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1 ized to be appropriated that was reduced under sub2 section (c)(2) shall be increased, by an equal per3 centage, to the extent the Secretary determines that

4 it may be so increased without causing the amount

5 described in subsection (a)(1) to exceed the amount

6 described in subsection (a)(2) (but not by more than

7 the amount of the reduction).

8 ‘‘(2) APPORTIONMENT.—The Secretary shall

9 apportion amounts made available for apportionment

10 by paragraph (1).

11 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Any funds ap12 portioned under paragraph (2) shall remain available

13 for the period for which they would be available if

14 such apportionment took effect with the fiscal year

15 in which they are apportioned under paragraph (2).

16 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—Any estimate under subsection (a)

17 and any determination under subsection (b), (c), or (d)

18 shall be reported by the Secretary to Congress.

19 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

20 following definitions apply:

21 ‘‘(1) NET AVIATION RECEIPTS.—The term ‘net

22 aviation receipts’ means, with respect to any period,

23 the excess of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the receipts (including interest) of the

2 Airport and Airway Trust Fund during such

3 period, over

4 ‘‘(B) the amounts to be transferred during

5 such period from the Airport and Airway Trust

6 Fund under section 9502(d) of the Internal

7 Revenue Code of 1986 (other than paragraph

8 (1) thereof).

9 ‘‘(2) UNFUNDED AVIATION AUTHORIZATIONS.—

10 The term ‘unfunded aviation authorization’ means,

11 at any time, the excess (if any) of—

12 ‘‘(A) the total amount authorized to be ap13 propriated from the Airport and Airway Trust

14 Fund which has not been appropriated, over

15 ‘‘(B) the amount available in the Airport

16 and Airway Trust Fund at such time to make

17 such appropriation (after all other unliquidated

18 obligations at such time which are payable from

19 the Airport and Airway Trust Fund have been

20 liquidated).’’.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

22 subchapter I of chapter 471 is further amended by adding

23 at the end the following:

‘‘47138. Safeguards against deficit spending.’’.
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1 SEC. 904. ADJUSTMENTS TO DISCRETIONARY SPENDING

2 LIMITS.

3 When the President submits the budget under section

4 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year

5 2001, the Director of the Office of Management and

6 Budget shall, pursuant to section 251(b)(1)(A) of the Bal7 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,

8 calculate and the budget shall include appropriate reduc9 tions to the discretionary spending limits for each of fiscal

10 years 2001 and 2002 set forth in section 251(c)(5)(A) and

11 section 251(c)(6)(A) of that Act (as adjusted under sec12 tion 251 of that Act) to reflect the discretionary baseline

13 trust fund spending (without any adjustment for inflation)

14 for the Federal Aviation Administration that is subject to

15 section 902 of this Act for each of those two fiscal years.

16 SEC. 905. APPLICABILITY.

17 This title (including the amendments made by this

18 Act) shall apply to fiscal years beginning after September

19 30, 2000.

20 TITLE X—ADJUSTMENT OF

21 TRUST FUND AUTHORIZATIONS

22 SEC. 1001. ADJUSTMENT OF TRUST FUND AUTHORIZA23 TIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle VII is amended

25 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 483—ADJUSTMENT OF TRUST

2 FUND AUTHORIZATIONS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘48301. Definitions.

‘‘48302. Adjustments to align aviation authorizations with revenues.

‘‘48303. Adjustment to AIP program funding.

‘‘48304. Estimated aviation income.

3 ‘‘§ 48301. Definitions

4 ‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply:

5 ‘‘(1) BASE YEAR.—The term ‘base year’ means

6 the second fiscal year before the fiscal year for

7 which the calculation is being made.

8 ‘‘(2) AIP PROGRAM.—The term ‘AIP program’

9 means the programs for which amounts are made

10 available under section 48103.

11 ‘‘(3) AVIATION INCOME.—The term ‘aviation in12 come’ means the tax receipts credited to the Airport

13 and Airway Trust Fund and any interest attrib14 utable to the Fund.

15 ‘‘§ 48302. Adjustment to align aviation authorizations

16 with revenues

17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Begin18 ning with fiscal year 2003, if the actual level of aviation

19 income for the base year is greater or less than the esti20 mated aviation income level specified in section 48304 for

21 the base year, the amounts authorized to be appropriated

22 (or made available) for the fiscal year under each of sec-
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1 tions 106(k), 48101, 48102, and 48103 are adjusted as

2 follows:

3 ‘‘(1) If the actual level of aviation income for

4 the base year is greater than the estimated aviation

5 income level specified in section 48304 for the base

6 year, the amount authorized to be appropriated (or

7 made available) for such section is increased by an

8 amount determined by multiplying the amount of

9 the excess by the ratio for such section set forth in

10 subsection (b).

11 ‘‘(2) If the actual level of aviation income for

12 the base year is less than the estimated aviation in13 come level specified in section 48304 for the base

14 year, the amount authorized to be appropriated (or

15 made available) for such section is decreased by an

16 amount determined by multiplying the amount of

17 the shortfall by the ratio for such section set forth

18 in subsection (b).

19 ‘‘(b) RATIO.—The ratio referred to in subsection (a)

20 with respect to section 106(k), 48101, 48102, or 48103,

21 as the case may be, is the ratio that—

22 ‘‘(1) the amount authorized to be appropriated

23 (or made available) under such section for the fiscal

24 year; bears to
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1 ‘‘(2) the total sum of amounts authorized to be

2 appropriated (or made available) under all of such

3 sections for the fiscal year.

4 ‘‘(c) PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.—When the President

5 submits a budget for a fiscal year under section 1105 of

6 title 31, United States Code, the Director of the Office

7 of Management and Budget shall calculate and the budget

8 shall report any increase or decrease in authorization lev9 els resulting from this section.

10 ‘‘§ 48303. Adjustment to AIP program funding

11 ‘‘On the effective date of a general appropriations Act

12 providing appropriations for a fiscal year beginning after

13 September 30, 2000, for the Federal Aviation Administra14 tion, the amount made available for a fiscal year under

15 section 48103 shall be increased by the amount, if any,

16 by which—

17 ‘‘(1) the total sum of amounts authorized to be

18 appropriated under all of sections 106(k), 48101,

19 and 48102 for such fiscal year, including adjust20 ments made under section 48302; exceeds

21 ‘‘(2) the amounts appropriated for programs

22 funded under such sections for such fiscal year.

23 Any contract authority made available by this section shall

24 be subject to an obligation limitation.
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1 ‘‘§ 48304. Estimated aviation income

2 ‘‘For purposes of section 48302, the estimated avia3 tion income levels are as follows:

4 ‘‘(1) $10,734,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

5 ‘‘(2) $11,603,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.

6 ‘‘(3) $12,316,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

7 ‘‘(4) $13,062,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap9 ters for subtitle VII of such title is amended by inserting

10 after the item relating to chapter 482 the following:

‘‘483. ADJUSTMENT OF TRUST FUND AUTHORIZATIONS ........ 48301’’.

11 SEC. 1002. BUDGET ESTIMATES.

12 Upon the enactment of this Act, the Director of the

13 Office of Management and Budget shall not make any es14 timates under section 252(d) of the Balanced Budget and

15 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 of changes in di16 rect spending outlays and receipts for any fiscal year re17 sulting from this title and title IX, including the amend18 ments made by such titles.

19 SEC. 1003. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS ON FULLY OFFSET20 TING INCREASED AVIATION SPENDING.

21 It is the sense of the Congress that—

22 (1) air passengers and other users of the air

23 transportation system pay aviation taxes into a trust

24 fund dedicated solely to improve the safety, security,

25 and efficiency of the aviation system;
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1 (2) from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2004,

2 air passengers and other users will pay more than

3 $14.3 billion more in aviation taxes into the Airport

4 and Airway Trust Fund than the concurrent resolu5 tion on the budget for fiscal year 2000 provides

6 from such Fund for aviation investment under his7 torical funding patterns;

8 (3) the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for

9 the 21st Century provides $14.3 billion of aviation

10 investment above the levels assumed in that budget

11 resolution for such fiscal years; and

12 (4) this increased funding will be fully offset by

13 recapturing unspent aviation taxes and reducing the

14 $778 billion general tax cut assumed in that budget

15 resolution by the appropriate amount.

16 TITLE XI—EXTENSION OF AIR17 PORT AND AIRWAY TRUST

18 FUND EXPENDITURE AU19 THORITY

20 SEC. 1101. EXTENSION OF EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 9502(d)

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to expendi23 tures from Airport and Airway Trust Fund) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘October 1, 1998’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘October 1, 2004’’; and
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1 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

2 of subparagraph (A) the following ‘‘or the provisions

3 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Sup4 plemental Appropriations Act, 1999 providing for

5 payments from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund

6 or the Interim Federal Aviation Administration Au7 thorization Act or section 6002 of the 1999 Emer8 gency Supplemental Appropriations Act or the Avia9 tion Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Cen10 tury’’.

11 (b) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.—

12 Section 9502 of such Code is amended by adding at the

13 end the following new subsection:

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), no amount may be appropriated or cred17 ited to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund on and

18 after the date of any expenditure from the Airport

19 and Airway Trust Fund which is not permitted by

20 this section. The determination of whether an ex21 penditure is so permitted shall be made without re22 gard to—

23 ‘‘(A) any provision of law which is not con24 tained or referenced in this title or in a revenue

25 Act; and
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1 ‘‘(B) whether such provision of law is a

2 subsequently enacted provision or directly or in3 directly seeks to waive the application of this

4 subsection.

5 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR OBLIGATIONS.—

6 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any expenditure to

7 liquidate any contract entered into (or for any

8 amount otherwise obligated) before October 1, 1999,

9 in accordance with the provisions of this section.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives June 15, 1999.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.