II 

Calendar No. 401 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2018 

Received; read the first time 

MAY 8, 2018 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Effective date. 

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

Subtitle A—Funding of FAA Programs 


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Sec. 101. Airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning 

and programs. 

Sec. 102. Facilities and equipment. 

Sec. 103. FAA operations. 

Sec. 104. Adjustment to AIP program funding. 

Sec. 105. Funding for aviation programs. 

Subtitle B—Passenger Facility Charges 

Sec. 111. Passenger facility charge modernization. 

Sec. 112. Pilot program for passenger facility charge authorizations. 

Sec. 113. Use of funds from passenger facility charges to prevent power outages. 

Subtitle C—Airport Improvement Program Modifications 

Sec. 121. Clarification of airport obligation to provide FAA airport space. 

Sec. 122. Mothers’ rooms at airports. 

Sec. 123. Extension of competitive access reports. 

Sec. 124. Grant assurances. 

Sec. 125. Government share of project costs. 

Sec. 126. Updated veterans’ preference. 

Sec. 127. Special rule. 

Sec. 128. Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. 

Sec. 129. Nondiscrimination. 

Sec. 130. State block grant program expansion. 

Sec. 131. Midway Island Airport. 

Sec. 132. Property conveyance releases. 

Sec. 133. Minority and disadvantaged business participation. 

Sec. 134. Contract tower program. 

Sec. 135. Airport access roads in remote locations. 

Sec. 136. Buy America requirements. 

Sec. 137. Supplemental discretionary funds. 

Sec. 138. Safety equipment. 

Sec. 139. Use of airport improvement funds to prevent power outages. 

Sec. 140. General written assurances. 

Sec. 141. Construction of certain control towers. 

Sec. 142. Small airport regulation relief. 

Subtitle D—Airport Noise and Environmental Streamlining 

Sec. 151. Recycling plans for airports. 

Sec. 152. Pilot program sunset. 

Sec. 153. Extension of grant authority for compatible land use planning and 

projects by State and local governments. 

Sec. 154. Updating airport noise exposure maps. 

Sec. 155. Stage 3 aircraft study. 

Sec. 156. Addressing community noise concerns. 

Sec. 157. Study on potential health and economic impacts of overflight noise. 

Sec. 158. Environmental mitigation pilot program. 

Sec. 159. Aircraft noise exposure. 

Sec. 160. Community involvement in FAA NextGen projects located in 

metroplexes. 

Sec. 161. Critical habitat on or near airport property. 

Sec. 162. Clarification of reimbursable allowed costs of FAA memoranda of 

agreement. 


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Sec. 163. Lead emissions. 

Sec. 164. Aircraft noise, emission, and fuel burn reduction program. 

Sec. 165. Terminal sequencing and spacing. 

Sec. 166. Noise and health impact training. 

Sec. 167. Airport noise mitigation and safety study. 

Sec. 168. Judicial review for proposed alternative environmental review and approval procedures. 

TITLE II—FAA SAFETY CERTIFICATION REFORM 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 203. Performance standards for firefighting foams. 

Subtitle B—Aircraft Certification Reform 

Sec. 211. Aircraft certification performance objectives and metrics. 

Sec. 212. Organization designation authorizations. 

Sec. 213. ODA review. 

Sec. 214. Type certification resolution process. 

Sec. 215. Review of certification process for small general aviation airplanes. 

Subtitle C—Flight Standards Reform 

Sec. 231. Flight standards performance objectives and metrics. 

Sec. 232. FAA task force on flight standards reform. 

Sec. 233. Centralized safety guidance database. 

Sec. 234. Regulatory Consistency Communications Board. 

Subtitle D—Safety Workforce 

Sec. 241. Safety workforce training strategy. 

Sec. 242. Workforce review. 

Subtitle E—International Aviation 

Sec. 251. Promotion of United States aerospace standards, products, and services abroad. 

Sec. 252. Bilateral exchanges of safety oversight responsibilities. 

Sec. 253. FAA leadership abroad. 

Sec. 254. Registration, certification, and related fees. 

TITLE III—SAFETY 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. FAA technical training. 

Sec. 302. Safety critical staffing. 

Sec. 303. International efforts regarding tracking of civil aircraft. 

Sec. 304. Aircraft data access and retrieval systems. 

Sec. 305. Advanced cockpit displays. 

Sec. 306. Marking of towers. 

Sec. 307. Cabin evacuation. 

Sec. 308. ODA staffing and oversight. 

Sec. 309. Emergency medical equipment on passenger aircraft. 

Sec. 310. HIMS program. 


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Sec. 311. Acceptance of voluntarily provided safety information. 

Sec. 312. Flight attendant duty period limitations and rest requirements. 

Sec. 313. Secondary cockpit barriers. 

Sec. 314. Aviation maintenance industry technical workforce. 

Sec. 315. Critical airfield markings. 

Sec. 316. Regulatory reform. 

Sec. 317. FAA and NTSB review of general aviation safety. 

Sec. 318. Call to action airline engine safety review. 

Sec. 319. Special rule for certain aircraft operations. 

Sec. 320. Exit rows. 

Sec. 321. Comptroller General report on FAA enforcement policy. 

Subtitle B—Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

Sec. 331. Definitions. 

Sec. 332. Codification of existing law; additional provisions. 

Sec. 333. Unmanned aircraft test ranges. 

Sec. 334. Sense of Congress regarding unmanned aircraft safety. 

Sec. 335. UAS privacy review. 

Sec. 336. Public UAS operations by Tribal governments. 

Sec. 337. Evaluation of aircraft registration for small unmanned aircraft. 

Sec. 338. Study on roles of governments relating to low-altitude operation of 

small unmanned aircraft. 

Sec. 339. Study on financing of unmanned aircraft services. 

Sec. 340. Update of FAA comprehensive plan. 

Sec. 341. Cooperation related to certain counter-UAS technology. 

Sec. 342. Definitions. 

Sec. 343. Special rules for model aircraft. 

Sec. 344. Recreational UAS. 

Sec. 345. Unmanned aircraft systems integration pilot program. 

Sec. 346. Enforcement. 

Sec. 347. Actively tethered public UAS. 

Sec. 348. Report on possible unmanned aircraft systems operation on spectrum 

allocated for aviation use. 

Sec. 349. U.S. Counter-UAS system review of interagency coordination processes. 

TITLE IV—AIR SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS 

Subtitle A—Airline Customer Service Improvements 

Sec. 401. Reliable air service in American Samoa. 

Sec. 402. Cell phone voice communication ban. 

Sec. 403. Advisory committee for aviation consumer protection. 

Sec. 404. Improved notification of insecticide use. 

Sec. 405. Advertisements and disclosure of fees for passenger air transportation. 

Sec. 406. Involuntarily bumping passengers after aircraft boarded. 

Sec. 407. Availability of consumer rights information. 

Sec. 408. Consumer complaints hotline. 

Sec. 409. Widespread disruptions. 

Sec. 410. Involuntarily denied boarding compensation. 

Sec. 411. Consumer information on actual flight times. 

Sec. 412. Advisory committee for transparency in air ambulance industry. 

Sec. 413. Air ambulance complaints. 

Sec. 414. Passenger rights. 


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Sec. 415. Enhanced training of flight attendants. 

Sec. 416. Addressing sexual misconduct on flights. 

Sec. 417. Overbooking policies of air carriers. 

Sec. 418. Training policies regarding racial, ethnic, and religious nondiscrimination. 

Sec. 419. Aviation consumer advocate and complaint resolution improvement. 

Subtitle B—Aviation Consumers With Disabilities 

Sec. 441. Select subcommittee. 

Sec. 442. Aviation consumers with disabilities study. 

Sec. 443. Feasibility study on in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems. 

Sec. 444. Airline Passengers With Disabilities Bill of Rights. 

Sec. 445. Civil penalties relating to harm to passengers with disabilities. 

Sec. 446. Harmonization of service animal standards. 

Sec. 447. Regulations ensuring assistance for individuals with disabilities in air 

transportation. 

Subtitle C—Small Community Air Service 

Sec. 451. Essential air service authorization. 

Sec. 452. Extension of final order establishing mileage adjustment eligibility. 

Sec. 453. Study on essential air service reform. 

Sec. 454. Small community air service. 

Sec. 455. Air transportation to noneligible places. 

Sec. 456. Authorization of certain flights by stage 2 airplanes. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Review of FAA strategic cybersecurity plan. 

Sec. 502. Consolidation and realignment of FAA services and facilities. 

Sec. 503. FAA review and reform. 

Sec. 504. Aviation fuel. 

Sec. 505. Right to privacy when using air traffic control system. 

Sec. 506. Air shows. 

Sec. 507. Part 91 review, reform, and streamlining. 

Sec. 508. Aircraft registration. 

Sec. 509. Air transportation of lithium cells and batteries. 

Sec. 510. Remote tower pilot program for rural and small communities. 

Sec. 511. Ensuring FAA readiness to provide seamless oceanic operations. 

Sec. 512. Sense of Congress regarding women in aviation. 

Sec. 513. Obstruction evaluation aeronautical studies. 

Sec. 514. Aircraft leasing. 

Sec. 515. Report on obsolete test equipment. 

Sec. 516. Pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers. 

Sec. 517. Aviation rulemaking committee for part 135 pilot rest and duty rules. 

Sec. 518. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. 

Sec. 519. Terminal Aerodrome Forecast. 

Sec. 520. Federal Aviation Administration employees stationed on Guam. 

Sec. 521. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 522. Application of veterans’ preference to Federal Aviation Administration personnel management system. 

Sec. 523. Public aircraft eligible for logging flight times. 

Sec. 524. Federal Aviation Administration workforce review. 

Sec. 525. State taxation. 

Sec. 526. Aviation and aerospace workforce of the future. 


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Sec. 527. Future aviation and aerospace workforce study. 

Sec. 528. FAA leadership on civil supersonic aircraft. 

Sec. 529. Oklahoma registry office. 

Sec. 530. Foreign air transportation under United States-European Union Air 

Transport Agreement. 

Sec. 531. Training on human trafficking for certain staff. 

Sec. 532. Part 107 implementation improvements. 

Sec. 533. Part 107 transparency and technology improvements. 

Sec. 534. Prohibitions against smoking on passenger flights. 

Sec. 535. Consumer protection requirements relating to large ticket agents. 

Sec. 536. FAA data transparency. 

Sec. 537. Agency procurement reporting requirements. 

Sec. 538. Zero-emission vehicles and technology. 

Sec. 539. Employee Assault Prevention and Response Plans. 

Sec. 540. Study on training of customer-facing air carrier employees. 

Sec. 541. Minimum dimensions for passenger seats. 

Sec. 542. Study of ground transportation options. 

Sec. 543. FAA employees in Guam. 

Sec. 544. Clarification of requirements for living history flights. 

Sec. 545. FAA organizational reform. 

Sec. 546. Intra-agency coordination. 

Sec. 547. FAA Civil Aviation Registry upgrade. 

Sec. 548. Regulatory streamlining. 

Sec. 549. Administrative Services Franchise Fund. 

Sec. 550. Report on air traffic control modernization. 

Sec. 551. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast. 

Sec. 552. Youth access to American jobs in aviation task force. 

Sec. 553. Airport investment partnership program. 

Sec. 554. Review and reform of FAA performance management system. 

Sec. 555. Contract weather observers. 

Sec. 556. Regions and centers. 

Sec. 557. Study on airport revenue diversion. 

Sec. 558. Geosynthetic materials. 

Sec. 559. Rule for animals. 

Sec. 560. Enhanced air traffic services. 

Sec. 561. NextGen delivery study. 

Sec. 562. Limited regulation of non-federally sponsored property. 

Sec. 563. National Airmail Museum. 

Sec. 564. Review of approval process for use of large air tankers and very large 

air tankers for wildland firefighting. 

Sec. 565. Report on baggage reporting requirements. 

Sec. 566. Supporting women’s involvement in the aviation field. 

Sec. 567. GAO study on the effect of granting an exclusive right of aeronautical services to an airport sponsor. 

Sec. 568. Evaluation of airport master plans. 

Sec. 569. Study regarding day-night average sound levels. 

Sec. 570. Report on status of agreement between FAA and Little Rock Port 

Authority. 

Sec. 571. Study on allergic reactions. 

Sec. 572. Access of air carriers to information about applicants to be pilots 

from national driver register. 

Sec. 573. Prohibition regarding weapons. 

Sec. 574. Helicopter fuel system safety. 

Sec. 575. Safety equipment storage facilities. 

Sec. 576. Report on airline and passenger safety. 


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Sec. 577. Report on aircraft diversions from lax to hawthorne municipal airport. 

Sec. 578. Former military airports. 

Sec. 579. Use of State highway specifications. 

Sec. 580. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 581. Oxygen mask design study. 

Sec. 582. Standards for pilots. 

Sec. 583. Study regarding technology usage at airports. 

Sec. 584. Applications for designation. 

Sec. 585. Applicability of medical certification standards to operators of air balloons. 

Sec. 586. Cost-effectiveness analysis of equipment rental. 

Sec. 587. Report. 

Sec. 588. Study on infrastructure needs of fast-growing airports. 

Sec. 589. Aircraft noise research and mitigation strategy. 

Sec. 590. Alternative airplane noise metric evaluation deadline. 

Sec. 591. Performance-based standards. 

Sec. 592. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 593. Report and recommendations on certain aviation safety risks. 

Sec. 594. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 595. Review of FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing 

System. 

Sec. 596. Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence standards plan. 

Sec. 597. Sense of Congress on hiring veterans. 

Sec. 598. GAO study. 

Sec. 599. Prompt payments. 

Sec. 599A. GAO study on aviation workforce. 

Sec. 599B. Metropolitan planning organizations. 

Sec. 599C. Study. 

Sec. 599D. Spaceports. 

Sec. 599E. Mandatory use of the New York North Shore Helicopter Route. 

Sec. 599F. Study on diversity of cybersecurity workforce of FAA. 

Sec. 599G. Federal authority. 

Sec. 599H. National hiring standard of care. 

TITLE VI—DISASTER RECOVERY REFORM ACT 

Sec. 601. Applicability. 

Sec. 602. State defined. 

Sec. 603. Wildfire prevention. 

Sec. 604. Additional activities. 

Sec. 605. Eligibility for code implementation and enforcement. 

Sec. 606. Program improvements. 

Sec. 607. Prioritization of facilities. 

Sec. 608. Guidance on evacuation routes. 

Sec. 609. Duplication of benefits. 

Sec. 610. State administration of assistance for direct temporary housing and 

permanent housing construction. 

Sec. 611. Assistance to individuals and households. 

Sec. 612. Multifamily lease and repair assistance. 

Sec. 613. Private nonprofit facility. 

Sec. 614. Management costs. 

Sec. 615. Flexibility. 

Sec. 616. Additional disaster assistance. 

Sec. 617. National veterinary emergency teams. 


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Sec. 618. Right of arbitration. 

Sec. 619. Unified Federal environmental and historic preservation review. 

Sec. 620. Closeout incentives. 

Sec. 621. Performance of services. 

Sec. 622. Study to streamline and consolidate information collection. 

Sec. 623. Agency accountability. 

Sec. 624. Audit of contracts. 

Sec. 625. Inspector general audit of FEMA contracts for tarps and plastic 

sheeting. 

Sec. 626. Relief organizations. 

Sec. 627. Guidance on inundated and submerged roads. 

Sec. 628. Authorities. 

Sec. 629. Recoupment of certain assistance prohibited. 

Sec. 630. Statute of limitations. 

Sec. 631. Technical assistance and recommendations. 

Sec. 632. Guidance on hazard mitigation assistance. 

Sec. 633. Local impact. 

Sec. 634. Additional hazard mitigation activities. 

Sec. 635. National public infrastructure predisaster hazard mitigation. 

Sec. 636. Additional mitigation activities. 

Sec. 637. Eligibility for code implementation and enforcement. 

Sec. 638. GAO report on long-term recovery efforts. 

Sec. 639. Guidance and training by FEMA on coordination of emergency response plans. 

Sec. 640. Reimbursement. 

Sec. 641. Flood insurance. 

Sec. 642. Certain recoupment prohibited. 

TITLE VII—FLIGHT R&D ACT 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Definitions. 

Sec. 703. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—FAA Research and Development Organization 

Sec. 711. Associate Administrator for Research and Development. 

Sec. 712. Research advisory committee. 

Subtitle C—Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

Sec. 721. Unmanned aircraft systems research and development roadmap. 

Sec. 722. Probabilistic metrics for exemptions. 

Sec. 723. Probabilistic assessment of risks. 

Sec. 724. Unmanned aerial vehicle-manned aircraft collision research. 

Sec. 725. Special rule for research and development. 

Sec. 726. Beyond line-of-sight research and development. 

Subtitle D—Cybersecurity 

Sec. 731. Cyber Testbed. 

Sec. 732. Cabin communications, entertainment, and information technology 

systems cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 

Sec. 733. Cybersecurity threat modeling. 


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Sec. 734. National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity standards. 

Sec. 735. Cybersecurity research coordination. 

Sec. 736. Cybersecurity research and development program. 

Subtitle E—FAA Research and Development Activities 

Sec. 741. Research plan for the certification of new technologies into the national airspace system. 

Sec. 742. Aviation fuel research, development, and usage. 

Sec. 743. Air traffic surveillance over oceans and other remote locations. 

Sec. 744. Single-piloted commercial cargo aircraft. 

Sec. 745. Electromagnetic spectrum research and development. 

TITLE VIII—AVIATION REVENUE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 801. Expenditure authority from Airport and Airway Trust Fund. 

Sec. 802. Extension of taxes funding Airport and Airway Trust Fund. 

TITLE IX—PREPAREDNESS AND RISK MANAGEMENT FOR EXTREME WEATHER PATTERNS ASSURING RESILIENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS 

Sec. 901. Short title. 

Sec. 902. Interagency Council on Extreme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, 

and Risk Identification and Management. 

Sec. 903. Agency planning for extreme weather-related risks. 

Sec. 904. Website. 

Sec. 905. Providing Adequate Resources and Support. 

Sec. 906. Inventory. 

Sec. 907. Meetings. 

Sec. 908. Progress updates. 

Sec. 909. Definitions. 

Sec. 910. Requirement to include agency extreme weather plan in agency performance plan. 

Sec. 911. Sunset and repeal. 

1 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, this Act and 

3 the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 

4 date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS 

2 Subtitle A—Funding of FAA 

3 Programs 

4 SEC. 101. AIRPORT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND 

5 NOISE COMPATIBILITY PLANNING AND PRO6 GRAMS. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 48103(a) of title 49, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

9 47504(c)’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

10 end and inserting the following: ‘‘section 47504(c)— 

11 ‘‘(1) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

12 ‘‘(2) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

13 ‘‘(3) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

14 ‘‘(4) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

15 ‘‘(5) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 

16 ‘‘(6) $3,350,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.’’. 

17 (b) OBLIGATION AUTHORITY.—Section 47104(c) of 

18 title 49, United States Code, is amended in the matter 

19 preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘2018,’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2023,’’. 

21 SEC. 102. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM AIR23 PORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND.—Section 48101(a) of 

24 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking para25 graphs (1) through (5) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) $3,330,000,000 for fiscal year 2018. 

2 ‘‘(2) $3,398,000,000 for fiscal year 2019. 

3 ‘‘(3) $3,469,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

4 ‘‘(4) $3,547,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

5 ‘‘(5) $3,624,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

6 ‘‘(6) $3,701,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.’’. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—Section 

8 48101(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘Auto10 mated Surface Observation System/Automated 

11 Weather Observing System Upgrade’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Authorized Expenditures’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘may be used for the implemen14 tation’’ and all that follows through the period at 

15 the end and inserting the following: ‘‘may be used 

16 for the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) The implementation and use of upgrades 

18 to the current automated surface observation sys19 tem/automated weather observing system, if the up20 grade is successfully demonstrated. 

21 ‘‘(2) The acquisition and construction of remote 

22 air traffic control towers (as defined in section 510 

23 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018). 


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1 ‘‘(3) The remediation and elimination of identi2 fied cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the air traffic 

3 control system. 

4 ‘‘(4) The construction of facilities dedicated to 

5 improving the cybersecurity of the National Airspace 

6 System. 

7 ‘‘(5) Systems associated with the Data Commu8 nications program. 

9 ‘‘(6) The infrastructure, sustainment, and the 

10 elimination of the deferred maintenance backlog of 

11 air navigation facilities and other facilities for which 

12 the Federal Aviation Administration is responsible. 

13 ‘‘(7) The modernization and digitization of the 

14 Civil Aviation Registry. 

15 ‘‘(8) The construction of necessary Priority 1 

16 National Airspace System facilities. 

17 ‘‘(9) Cost-beneficial construction, rehabilitation, 

18 or retrofitting programs designed to reduce Federal 

19 Aviation Administration facility operating costs.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. FAA OPERATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106(k)(1) of title 49, 

22 United States Code, is amended by striking subpara23 graphs (A) through (F) and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) $10,247,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

25 ‘‘(B) $10,486,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 


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1 ‘‘(C) $10,732,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

2 ‘‘(D) $11,000,000,000 for fiscal year 

3 2021; 

4 ‘‘(E) $11,269,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(F) $11,537,000,000 for fiscal year 

7 2023.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—Section 

9 106(k)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(D) Not more than the following amounts 

12 for commercial space transportation activities: 

13 ‘‘(i) $22,587,000 for fiscal year 2018. 

14 ‘‘(ii) $33,038,000 for fiscal year 2019. 

15 ‘‘(iii) $43,500,000 for fiscal year 

16 2020. 

17 ‘‘(iv) $54,970,000 for fiscal year 

18 2021. 

19 ‘‘(v) $64,449,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

20 ‘‘(vi) $75,938,000 for fiscal year 

21 2023.’’. 

22 (c) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER FUNDS.—Section 

23 106(k)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2012 through 2018,’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘fiscal years 2018 through 2023,’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. ADJUSTMENT TO AIP PROGRAM FUNDING. 

2 Section 48112 of title 49, United States Code, and 

3 the item relating to such section in the analysis for chap4 ter 481 of such title, are repealed. 

5 SEC. 105. FUNDING FOR AVIATION PROGRAMS. 

6 Section 48114(a)(1)(A)(ii) of title 49, United States 

7 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘in fiscal year 2014 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘in fiscal years 

9 2014 through 2018’’. 

10 Subtitle B—Passenger Facility 

11 Charges 

12 SEC. 111. PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE MODERNIZATION. 

13 Section 40117(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘or $3’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘$3, $4, or $4.50’’; 

17 (2) by repealing paragraph (4); 

18 (3) in paragraph (6)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘specified in paragraphs 

20 (1) and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘specified in para21 graph (1)’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘imposed under paragraph 

23 (1) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘imposed under para24 graph (1)’’; and 

25 (4) in paragraph (7)(A)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘specified in paragraphs 

2 (1), (4), and (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘specified in 

3 paragraphs (1) and (6)’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘imposed under paragraph 

5 (1) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘imposed under para6 graph (1)’’. 

7 SEC. 112. PILOT PROGRAM FOR PASSENGER FACILITY 

8 CHARGE AUTHORIZATIONS. 

9 Section 40117(l) of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘AT

12 NONHUB AIRPORTS’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘nonhub’’. 

14 SEC. 113. USE OF FUNDS FROM PASSENGER FACILITY 

15 CHARGES TO PREVENT POWER OUTAGES. 

16 Section 40117(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(H) An on-airport project to purchase 

19 and install generators to prevent power outages 

20 in passenger areas of the airport, to separate 

21 an airport’s redundant power supply and its 

22 main power supply, or for any other on-airport 

23 project to prevent power outages or damage to 

24 the airport’s power supply.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Airport Improvement 

2 Program Modifications 

3 SEC. 121. CLARIFICATION OF AIRPORT OBLIGATION TO 

4 PROVIDE FAA AIRPORT SPACE. 

5 Section 44502 of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) AIRPORT SPACE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

10 Administration may not require an airport owner, 

11 operator, or sponsor (as defined in section 47102) to 

12 provide building construction, maintenance, utilities, 

13 administrative support, or space on airport property 

14 to the Federal Aviation Administration without ade15 quate compensation. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

17 apply in any case in which an airport owner, oper18 ator, or sponsor— 

19 ‘‘(A) provides land or buildings without 

20 compensation to the Federal Aviation Adminis21 tration for facilities used to carry out activities 

22 related to air traffic control or navigation pur23 suant to a grant assurance; or 

24 ‘‘(B) provides goods or services to the Fed25 eral Aviation Administration without compensaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 tion or at below-market rates pursuant to a ne2 gotiated agreement between the owner, oper3 ator, or sponsor and the Administrator.’’. 

4 SEC. 122. MOTHERS’ ROOMS AT AIRPORTS. 

5 (a) LACTATION AREA DEFINED.—Section 47102 of 

6 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(29) ‘lactation area’ means a room or other lo9 cation in a commercial service airport that— 

10 ‘‘(A) provides a location for members of 

11 the public to express breast milk that is shield12 ed from view and free from intrusion from the 

13 public; 

14 ‘‘(B) has a door that can be locked; 

15 ‘‘(C) includes a place to sit, a table or 

16 other flat surface, a sink or sanitizing equip17 ment, and an electrical outlet; 

18 ‘‘(D) is readily accessible to and usable by 

19 individuals with disabilities, including individ20 uals who use wheelchairs; and 

21 ‘‘(E) is not located in a restroom.’’. 

22 (b) PROJECT GRANT WRITTEN ASSURANCES FOR

23 LARGE AND MEDIUM HUB AIRPORTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 47107(a) of title 49, 

25 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (20) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (B) in paragraph (21) by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(22) with respect to a medium or large hub 

7 airport, the airport owner or operator will maintain 

8 a lactation area in each passenger terminal building 

9 of the airport in the sterile area (as defined in sec10 tion 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) 

11 of the building and will maintain a baby changing 

12 table in one men’s and one women’s restroom in 

13 each passenger terminal building of the airport.’’. 

14 (2) APPLICABILITY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made 

16 by paragraph (1) shall apply to a project grant 

17 application submitted for a fiscal year begin18 ning on or after the date that is 2 years after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (B) SPECIAL RULE.—The requirement in 

21 the amendment made by paragraph (1) that a 

22 lactation area be located in the sterile area of 

23 a passenger terminal building shall not apply 

24 with respect to a project grant application for 

25 a period of time, determined by the Secretary 


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1 of Transportation, if the Secretary determines 

2 that construction or maintenance activities 

3 make it impracticable or unsafe for the lacta4 tion area to be located in the sterile area of the 

5 building. 

6 (c) TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS.—Section 

7 47119(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) LACTATION AREAS.—In addition to the 

10 projects described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

11 may approve a project for terminal development for 

12 the construction or installation of a lactation area at 

13 a commercial service airport.’’. 

14 (d) PRE-EXISTING FACILITIES.—On application by 

15 an airport sponsor, the Secretary may determine that a 

16 lactation area in existence on the date of enactment of 

17 this Act complies with the requirement of section 

18 47107(a)(22) of title 49, United States Code, as added 

19 by this section, notwithstanding the absence of one of the 

20 facilities or characteristics referred to in the definition of 

21 the term ‘‘lactation area’’ in section 47102 of such title, 

22 as added by this section. 

23 SEC. 123. EXTENSION OF COMPETITIVE ACCESS REPORTS. 

24 Section 47107(r)(3) of title 49, United States Code, 

25 is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 124. GRANT ASSURANCES. 

2 (a) CONSTRUCTION OF RECREATIONAL AIRCRAFT.— 

3 Section 47107 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(u) CONSTRUCTION OF RECREATIONAL AIR6 CRAFT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The construction of a cov8 ered aircraft shall be treated as an aeronautical ac9 tivity for purposes of— 

10 ‘‘(A) determining an airport’s compliance 

11 with a grant assurance made under this section 

12 or any other provision of law; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the receipt of Federal financial assist14 ance for airport development. 

15 ‘‘(2) COVERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this 

16 subsection, the term ‘covered aircraft’ means an air17 craft— 

18 ‘‘(A) used or intended to be used exclu19 sively for recreational purposes; and 

20 ‘‘(B) constructed or under construction by 

21 a private individual at a general aviation air22 port.’’. 

23 (b) COMMUNITY USE OF AIRPORT LAND.—Section 

24 47107 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by this 

25 section, is further amended by adding at the end the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(v) COMMUNITY USE OF AIRPORT LAND.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

3 (a)(13), and subject to paragraph (2), the sponsor 

4 of a public-use airport shall not be considered to be 

5 in violation of this subtitle, or to be found in viola6 tion of a grant assurance made under this section, 

7 or under any other provision of law, as a condition 

8 for the receipt of Federal financial assistance for 

9 airport development, solely because the sponsor has 

10 entered into an agreement, including a revised 

11 agreement, with a local government providing for the 

12 use of airport property for an interim compatible 

13 recreational purpose at below fair market value. 

14 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—This subsection shall 

15 apply only— 

16 ‘‘(A) to an agreement regarding airport 

17 property that was initially entered into before 

18 the publication of the Federal Aviation Admin19 istration’s Policy and Procedures Concerning 

20 the Use of Airport Revenue, dated February 

21 16, 1999; 

22 ‘‘(B) if the agreement between the sponsor 

23 and the local government is subordinate to any 

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1 sor and the Secretary, including agreements re2 lated to a grant assurance under this section; 

3 ‘‘(C) to airport property that was acquired 

4 under a Federal airport development grant pro5 gram; 

6 ‘‘(D) if the airport sponsor has provided a 

7 written statement to the Administrator that the 

8 property made available for a recreational pur9 pose will not be needed for any aeronautical 

10 purpose during the next 10 years; 

11 ‘‘(E) if the agreement includes a term of 

12 not more than 2 years to prepare the airport 

13 property for the interim compatible recreational 

14 purpose and not more than 10 years of use for 

15 that purpose; 

16 ‘‘(F) if the recreational purpose will not 

17 impact the aeronautical use of the airport; 

18 ‘‘(G) if the airport sponsor provides a cer19 tification that the sponsor is not responsible for 

20 preparation, start-up, operations, maintenance, 

21 or any other costs associated with the rec22 reational purpose; and 

23 ‘‘(H) if the recreational purpose is con24 sistent with Federal land use compatibility cri25 teria under section 47502. 


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1 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection may be construed as permitting a di3 version of airport revenue for the capital or oper4 ating costs associated with the community use of 

5 airport land.’’. 

6 SEC. 125. GOVERNMENT SHARE OF PROJECT COSTS. 

7 Section 47109(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘primary air10 port having at least .25 percent of the total number 

11 of passenger boardings each year at all commercial 

12 service airports;’’ and inserting ‘‘medium or large 

13 hub airport;’’; and 

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

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(5) 95 percent for a project that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Administrator determines is a 

18 successive phase of a multi-phase construction 

19 project for which the sponsor received a grant 

20 in fiscal year 2011; and 

21 ‘‘(B) for which the United States Govern22 ment’s share of allowable project costs could 

23 otherwise be 90 percent under paragraph (2) or 

24 (3).’’. 


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1 SEC. 126. UPDATED VETERANS’ PREFERENCE. 

2 Section 47112(c)(1)(C) of title 49, United States 

3 Code, is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or Operation New Dawn for 

5 more’’ and inserting ‘‘Operation New Dawn, Oper6 ation Inherent Resolve, Operation Freedom’s Sen7 tinel, or any successor contingency operation to such 

8 operations for more’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘or Operation New Dawn 

10 (whichever is later)’’ and inserting ‘‘Operation New 

11 Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Free12 dom’s Sentinel, or any successor contingency oper13 ation to such operations (whichever is later)’’. 

14 SEC. 127. SPECIAL RULE. 

15 Section 47114(d)(3) of title 49, United States Code, 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(C) During fiscal years 2018 through 

18 2020— 

19 ‘‘(i) an airport that accrued appor20 tionment funds under subparagraph (A) in 

21 fiscal year 2013 that is listed as having an 

22 unclassified status under the most recent 

23 national plan of integrated airport systems 

24 shall continue to accrue apportionment 

25 funds under subparagraph (A) at the same 

26 amount the airport accrued apportionment 


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1 funds in fiscal year 2013, subject to the 

2 conditions of this paragraph; 

3 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding the period of 

4 availability as described in section 

5 47117(b), an amount apportioned to an 

6 airport under clause (i) shall be available 

7 to the airport only during the fiscal year in 

8 which the amount is apportioned; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) notwithstanding the waiver per10 mitted under section 47117(c)(2), an air11 port receiving apportionment funds under 

12 clause (i) may not waive its claim to any 

13 part of the apportioned funds in order to 

14 make the funds available for a grant for 

15 another public-use airport. 

16 ‘‘(D) An airport that re-establishes its 

17 classified status shall be eligible to accrue ap18 portionment funds pursuant to subparagraph 

19 (A) so long as such airport retains its classified 

20 status.’’. 

21 SEC. 128. MARSHALL ISLANDS, MICRONESIA, AND PALAU. 

22 Section 47115 of title 49, United States Code, is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) by striking subsection (i); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub2 section (i); and 

3 (3) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated) by 

4 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2012 through 2018’’ and in5 serting ‘‘fiscal years 2018 through 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 129. NONDISCRIMINATION. 

7 Section 47123 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Transpor10 tation’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor12 tation’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(b) INDIAN EMPLOYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TRIBAL SPONSOR PREFERENCE.—Con16 sistent with section 703(i) of the Civil Rights Act of 

17 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2(i)), nothing in this section 

18 shall preclude the preferential employment of Indi19 ans living on or near a reservation on a project or 

20 contract at— 

21 ‘‘(A) an airport sponsored by an Indian 

22 tribal government; or 

23 ‘‘(B) an airport located on an Indian res24 ervation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) STATE PREFERENCE.—A State may imple2 ment a preference for employment of Indians on a 

3 project carried out under this subchapter near an 

4 Indian reservation. 

5 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

6 cooperate with Indian tribal governments and the 

7 States to implement this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.— 

9 In this section, the term ‘Indian tribal government’ 

10 has the same meaning given that term in section 

11 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

12 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).’’. 

13 SEC. 130. STATE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM EXPANSION. 

14 Section 47128(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘not more than 9 qualified States 

16 for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 and 10 qualified States 

17 for each fiscal year thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘not more 

18 than 20 qualified States for each fiscal year’’. 

19 SEC. 131. MIDWAY ISLAND AIRPORT. 

20 Section 186(d) of the Vision 100—Century of Avia21 tion Reauthorization Act (117 Stat. 2518) is amended in 

22 the first sentence by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2012 through 

23 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2018 through 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 132. PROPERTY CONVEYANCE RELEASES. 

2 Section 817(a) of the FAA Modernization and Re3 form Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 47125 note) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or section 23’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

5 section 23’’; and 

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘, or section 47125 of title 49, 

7 United States Code’’ before the period at the end. 

8 SEC. 133. MINORITY AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS PAR9 TICIPATION. 

10 Congress finds the following: 

11 (1) While significant progress has occurred due 

12 to the establishment of the airport disadvantaged 

13 business enterprise program (49 U.S.C. 47107(e) 

14 and 47113), discrimination and related barriers con15 tinue to pose significant obstacles for minority- and 

16 women-owned businesses seeking to do business in 

17 airport-related markets across the Nation. These 

18 continuing barriers merit the continuation of the air19 port disadvantaged business enterprise program. 

20 (2) Congress has received and reviewed testi21 mony and documentation of race and gender dis22 crimination from numerous sources, including con23 gressional hearings and roundtables, scientific re24 ports, reports issued by public and private agencies, 

25 news stories, reports of discrimination by organiza26 tions and individuals, and discrimination lawsuits. 


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1 This testimony and documentation shows that race2 and gender-neutral efforts alone are insufficient to 

3 address the problem. 

4 (3) This testimony and documentation dem5 onstrates that discrimination across the Nation 

6 poses a barrier to full and fair participation in air7 port-related businesses of women business owners 

8 and minority business owners in the racial groups 

9 detailed in parts 23 and 26 of title 49, Code of Fed10 eral Regulations, and has impacted firm develop11 ment and many aspects of airport-related business 

12 in the public and private markets. 

13 (4) This testimony and documentation provides 

14 a strong basis that there is a compelling need for the 

15 continuation of the airport disadvantaged business 

16 enterprise program and the airport concessions dis17 advantaged business enterprise program to address 

18 race and gender discrimination in airport-related 

19 business. 

20 SEC. 134. CONTRACT TOWER PROGRAM. 

21 (a) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CONTRACT PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) SPECIAL RULE.—Section 47124(b)(1)(B) of 

23 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘exceeds the benefit for a period of 18 months after 


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1 such determination is made’’ and inserting the fol2 lowing: ‘‘exceeds the benefit— 

3 ‘‘(i) for the 1-year period after such 

4 determination is made; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) if an appeal of such determina6 tion is requested, for the 1-year period de7 scribed in subsection (d)(4)(D)’’. 

8 (2) EXEMPTION.—Section 47124(b)(3)(D) of 

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: ‘‘Airports with air service 

11 under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, and more than 25,000 passenger 

13 enplanements in calendar year 2014 shall be exempt 

14 from any cost-share requirement under this subpara15 graph.’’. 

16 (3) CONSTRUCTION OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

17 TOWERS.— 

18 (A) GRANTS.—Section 47124(b)(4)(A) of 

19 title 49, United States Code, is amended in 

20 each of clauses (i)(III) and (ii)(III) by inserting 

21 ‘‘, including remote air traffic control tower 

22 equipment certified by the Federal Aviation Ad23 ministration’’ after ‘‘1996’’. 


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1 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

2 47124(b)(4)(B)(i)(I) of title 49, United States 

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘pilot’’. 

4 (C) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL SHARE.— 

5 Section 47124(b)(4) of title 49, United States 

6 Code, is amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

7 (4) BENEFIT-TO-COST CALCULATION FOR PRO8 GRAM APPLICANTS.—Section 47124(b)(3) of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(G) BENEFIT-TO-COST CALCULATION.—Not 

12 later than 90 days after receiving an application to 

13 the Contract Tower Program, the Secretary shall 

14 calculate a benefit-to-cost ratio (as described in sub15 section (d)) for the applicable air traffic control 

16 tower for purposes of selecting towers for participa17 tion in the Contract Tower Program.’’. 

18 (b) CRITERIA TO EVALUATE PARTICIPANTS.—Sec19 tion 47124 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA TO EVALUATE PARTICIPANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) TIMING OF EVALUATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) TOWERS PARTICIPATING IN COST24 SHARE PROGRAM.—In the case of an air traffic 

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1 gram established under subsection (b)(3), the 

2 Secretary shall annually calculate a benefit-to3 cost ratio with respect to the tower. 

4 ‘‘(B) TOWERS PARTICIPATING IN CON5 TRACT TOWER PROGRAM.—In the case of an air 

6 traffic control tower that is operated under the 

7 program established under subsection (a) and 

8 continued under subsection (b)(1), the Sec9 retary shall not calculate a benefit-to-cost ratio 

10 after the date of enactment of this subsection 

11 with respect to the tower unless the Secretary 

12 determines that the annual aircraft traffic at 

13 the airport where the tower is located has de14 creased— 

15 ‘‘(i) by more than 25 percent from the 

16 previous year; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) by more than 55 percent cumula18 tively in the preceding 3-year period. 

19 ‘‘(2) COSTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In estab20 lishing a benefit-to-cost ratio under this section with 

21 respect to an air traffic control tower, the Secretary 

22 shall consider only the following costs: 

23 ‘‘(A) The Federal Aviation Administra24 tion’s actual cost of wages and benefits of per25 sonnel working at the tower. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Federal Aviation Administra2 tion’s actual telecommunications costs directly 

3 associated with the tower. 

4 ‘‘(C) The Federal Aviation Administra5 tion’s costs of purchasing and installing any air 

6 traffic control equipment that would not have 

7 been purchased or installed except as a result of 

8 the operation of the tower. 

9 ‘‘(D) The Federal Aviation Administra10 tion’s actual travel costs associated with main11 taining air traffic control equipment that is 

12 owned by the Administration and would not be 

13 maintained except as a result of the operation 

14 of the tower. 

15 ‘‘(E) Other actual costs of the Federal 

16 Aviation Administration directly associated with 

17 the tower that would not be incurred except as 

18 a result of the operation of the tower (excluding 

19 costs for non-contract tower related personnel 

20 and equipment, even if the personnel or equip21 ment are located in the contract tower build22 ing). 

23 ‘‘(3) OTHER CRITERIA TO BE CONSIDERED.—In 

24 establishing a benefit-to-cost ratio under this section 

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1 retary shall add a 10 percentage point margin of 

2 error to the benefit-to-cost ratio determination to ac3 knowledge and account for the direct and indirect 

4 economic and other benefits that are not included in 

5 the criteria the Secretary used in calculating that 

6 ratio. 

7 ‘‘(4) REVIEW OF COST-BENEFIT DETERMINA8 TIONS.—In issuing a benefit-to-cost ratio determina9 tion under this section with respect to an air traffic 

10 control tower located at an airport, the Secretary 

11 shall implement the following procedures: 

12 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall provide the air13 port (or the State or local government having 

14 jurisdiction over the airport) at least 90 days 

15 following the date of receipt of the determina16 tion to submit to the Secretary a request for an 

17 appeal of the determination, together with up18 dated or additional data in support of the ap19 peal. 

20 ‘‘(B) Upon receipt of a request for an ap21 peal submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

22 the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) transmit to the Administrator of 

24 the Federal Aviation Administration any 


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1 updated or additional data submitted in 

2 support of the appeal; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) provide the Administrator not 

4 more than 90 days to review the data and 

5 provide a response to the Secretary based 

6 on the review. 

7 ‘‘(C) After receiving a response from the 

8 Administrator pursuant to subparagraph (B), 

9 the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) provide the airport, State, or local 

11 government that requested the appeal at 

12 least 30 days to review the response; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) withhold from taking further ac14 tion in connection with the appeal during 

15 that 30-day period. 

16 ‘‘(D) If, after completion of the appeal pro17 cedures with respect to the determination, the 

18 Secretary requires the tower to transition into 

19 the program established under subsection 

20 (b)(3), the Secretary shall not require a cost21 share payment from the airport, State, or local 

22 government for 1 year following the last day of 

23 the 30-day period described in subparagraph 

24 (C).’’. 


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1 SEC. 135. AIRPORT ACCESS ROADS IN REMOTE LOCATIONS. 

2 Notwithstanding section 47102 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, for fiscal years 2018 through 2021, the defi4 nition of the term ‘‘terminal development’’ under that sec5 tion includes the development of an airport access road 

6 that— 

7 (1) is located in a noncontiguous State; 

8 (2) is not more than 3 miles in length; 

9 (3) connects to the nearest public roadways of 

10 not more than the 2 closest census designated 

11 places; and 

12 (4) is constructed for the purpose of connecting 

13 the census designated places with a planned or 

14 newly constructed airport. 

15 SEC. 136. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS. 

16 (a) NOTICE OF WAIVERS.—If the Secretary of Trans17 portation determines that it is necessary to waive the ap18 plication of section 50101(a) of title 49, United States 

19 Code, based on a finding under section 50101(b) of that 

20 title, the Secretary, at least 10 days before the date on 

21 which the waiver takes effect, shall— 

22 (1) make publicly available, in an easily identifi23 able location on the website of the Department of 

24 Transportation, a detailed written justification of 

25 the waiver determination; and 


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1 (2) provide an informal public notice and com2 ment opportunity on the waiver determination. 

3 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—For each fiscal year, the Sec4 retary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

5 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

7 of the Senate a report on waivers issued under section 

8 50101 of title 49, United States Code, during the fiscal 

9 year. 

10 SEC. 137. SUPPLEMENTAL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS. 

11 Section 47115 of title 49, United States Code, is fur12 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(j) SUPPLEMENTAL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish a program to provide grants, subject to the con16 ditions of this subsection, for any purpose for which 

17 amounts are made available under section 48103 

18 that the Secretary considers most appropriate to 

19 carry out this subchapter. 

20 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A grant made under 

22 this subsection shall be treated as having been 

23 made pursuant to the Secretary’s authority 

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1 retary’s discretionary fund under subsection (a) 

2 of this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Except as otherwise 

4 provided in this subsection, grants made under 

5 this subsection shall not be subject to sub6 section (c), section 47117(e), or any other ap7 portionment formula, special apportionment 

8 category, or minimum percentage set forth in 

9 this chapter. 

10 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may provide 

11 grants under this subsection only for projects— 

12 ‘‘(A) at a nonprimary airport that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is classified as a regional, local, 

14 or basic airport, as determined using the 

15 Department of Transportation’s most re16 cently published classification; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) is not located within a Metropoli18 tan Statistical Area (as defined by the Of19 fice of Management and Budget); 

20 ‘‘(B) at a nonhub, small hub, or medium 

21 hub airport; or 

22 ‘‘(C) at an airport receiving an exemption 

23 under section 47134. 

24 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the Government’s share of 

3 allowable project costs under this subsection is 

4 80 percent. 

5 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION.—In applying for a 

6 grant under this subsection, an airport sponsor 

7 that proposes a lower Government share of al8 lowable project costs than the share specified in 

9 subparagraph (A) shall receive priority com10 mensurate with the reduction in such share. 

11 Projects shall receive equal priority consider12 ation if such project— 

13 ‘‘(i) has a proposed Government cost 

14 share of 50 percent or less; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) is at an airport receiving an ex16 emption under section 47134. 

17 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

19 be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out 

20 this subsection the following amounts: 

21 ‘‘(i) $1,020,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2019. 

23 ‘‘(ii) $1,041,000,000 for fiscal year 

24 2020. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) $1,064,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2021. 

3 ‘‘(iv) $1,087,000,000 for fiscal year 

4 2022. 

5 ‘‘(v) $1,110,000,000 for fiscal year 

6 2023. 

7 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Sums authorized to 

8 be appropriated under subparagraph (A) shall 

9 remain available for 2 fiscal years.’’. 

10 SEC. 138. SAFETY EQUIPMENT. 

11 Section 47102(3)(B)(ii) of title 49, United States 

12 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and emergency call boxes,’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘emergency call boxes, and counter-UAS 

14 systems (as defined in section 40102),’’. 

15 SEC. 139. USE OF AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT FUNDS TO PRE16 VENT POWER OUTAGES. 

17 Section 47102(3) of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(P) an on-airport project to purchase and in20 stall generators to prevent power outages in the pas21 senger areas of the airport, separate an airport’s re22 dundant power supply and its main power supply, or 

23 prevent power outages in the airport or damage to 

24 the airport’s power supply.’’. 


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1 SEC. 140. GENERAL WRITTEN ASSURANCES. 

2 Section 47107(a)(17) of title 49, United States Code, 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘each contract’’ and inserting ‘‘if 

4 any phase of such project has received funds under this 

5 subchapter, each contract’’. 

6 SEC. 141. CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN CONTROL TOWERS. 

7 Section 47116(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) CONTROL TOWER CONSTRUCTION.—Not10 withstanding any provision of section 

11 47124(b)(4)(A), the Secretary may provide grants 

12 under this section to an airport sponsor for the con13 struction or improvement of a nonapproach control 

14 tower, as defined by the Secretary, and for the ac15 quisition and installation of air traffic control, com16 munications, and related equipment to be used in 

17 that tower. Such grants shall be subject to the dis18 tribution requirements of subsection (b) and the eli19 gibility requirements of section 47124(b)(4)(B).’’. 

20 SEC. 142. SMALL AIRPORT REGULATION RELIEF. 

21 Section 47114(c)(1) is amended by striking subpara22 graph (F) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(F) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEARS

24 2018 THROUGH 2020.—Notwithstanding sub25 paragraph (A) and subject to subparagraph 

26 (G), the Secretary shall apportion to a sponsor 


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1 of an airport under that subparagraph for each 

2 of fiscal years 2018 through 2020 an amount 

3 based on the number of passenger boardings at 

4 the airport during calendar year 2012 if the 

5 airport— 

6 ‘‘(i) had 10,000 or more passenger 

7 boardings during calendar year 2012; 

8 ‘‘(ii) had fewer than 10,000 passenger 

9 boardings during the calendar year used to 

10 calculate the apportionment for fiscal year 

11 2018, 2019, or 2020, as applicable, under 

12 subparagraph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(iii) had scheduled air service at any 

14 point in the calendar year used to calculate 

15 the apportionment.’’. 

16 Subtitle D—Airport Noise and 

17 Environmental Streamlining 

18 SEC. 151. RECYCLING PLANS FOR AIRPORTS. 

19 Section 47106(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code, 

20 is amended by inserting ‘‘that includes the project’’ before 

21 ‘‘, the master plan’’. 

22 SEC. 152. PILOT PROGRAM SUNSET. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47140 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, is repealed. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 47140a of 

2 title 49, United States Code, is redesignated as section 

3 47140. 

4 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

5 chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the items relating to sections 

7 47140 and 47140a; and 

8 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec9 tion 47139 the following: 

‘‘47140. Increasing the energy efficiency of airport power sources.’’. 

10 SEC. 153. EXTENSION OF GRANT AUTHORITY FOR COMPAT11 IBLE LAND USE PLANNING AND PROJECTS 

12 BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

13 Section 47141(f) of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

15 SEC. 154. UPDATING AIRPORT NOISE EXPOSURE MAPS. 

16 Section 47503(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(b) REVISED MAPS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An airport operator that 

20 submitted a noise exposure map under subsection 

21 (a) shall submit a revised map to the Secretary if, 

22 in an area surrounding an airport, a change in the 

23 operation of the airport would establish a substantial 

24 new noncompatible use, or would significantly reduce 

25 noise over existing noncompatible uses, that is not 


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1 reflected in either the existing conditions map or 

2 forecast map currently on file with the Federal Avia3 tion Administration. 

4 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—A submission under paragraph 

5 (1) shall be required only if the relevant change in 

6 the operation of the airport occurs during— 

7 ‘‘(A) the forecast period of the applicable 

8 noise exposure map submitted by an airport op9 erator under subsection (a); or 

10 ‘‘(B) the implementation period of the air11 port operator’s noise compatibility program.’’. 

12 SEC. 155. STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT STUDY. 

13 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

15 United States shall initiate a review of the potential bene16 fits, costs, and other impacts that would result from a 

17 phaseout of covered stage 3 aircraft. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—The review shall include— 

19 (1) a determination of the number, types, fre20 quency of operations, and owners and operators of 

21 covered stage 3 aircraft; 

22 (2) an analysis of the potential benefits, costs, 

23 and other impacts to air carriers, general aviation 

24 operators, airports, communities surrounding air25 ports, and the general public associated with phasing 


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1 out or reducing the operations of covered stage 3 

2 aircraft, assuming such a phaseout or reduction is 

3 put into effect over a reasonable period of time; 

4 (3) a determination of lessons learned from the 

5 phaseout of stage 2 aircraft that might be applicable 

6 to a phaseout or reduction in the operations of cov7 ered stage 3 aircraft, including comparisons between 

8 the benefits, costs, and other impacts associated 

9 with the phaseout of stage 2 aircraft and the poten10 tial benefits, costs, and other impacts determined 

11 under paragraph (2); 

12 (4) a determination of the costs and logistical 

13 challenges associated with recertifying stage 3 air14 craft capable of meeting stage 4 noise levels; and 

15 (5) a determination of stakeholder views on the 

16 feasibility and desirability of phasing out covered 

17 stage 3 aircraft, including the views of— 

18 (A) air carriers; 

19 (B) airports; 

20 (C) communities surrounding airports; 

21 (D) aircraft and avionics manufacturers; 

22 (E) operators of covered stage 3 aircraft 

23 other than air carriers; and 


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1 (F) such other stakeholders and aviation 

2 experts as the Comptroller General considers 

3 appropriate. 

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In7 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

9 Senate a report on the results of the review. 

10 (d) COVERED STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this 

11 section, the term ‘‘covered stage 3 aircraft’’ means a civil 

12 subsonic jet aircraft that is not capable of meeting the 

13 stage 4 noise levels in part 36 of title 14, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations. 

15 SEC. 156. ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NOISE CONCERNS. 

16 When proposing a new area navigation departure pro17 cedure, or amending an existing procedure that would di18 rect aircraft between the surface and 6,000 feet above 

19 ground level over noise sensitive areas, the Administrator 

20 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall consider the 

21 feasibility of dispersal headings or other lateral track vari22 ations to address community noise concerns, if— 

23 (1) the affected airport operator, in consulta24 tion with the affected community, submits a request 

25 to the Administrator for such a consideration; 


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1 (2) the airport operator’s request would not, in 

2 the judgment of the Administrator, conflict with the 

3 safe and efficient operation of the national airspace 

4 system; and 

5 (3) the effect of a modified departure procedure 

6 would not significantly increase noise over noise sen7 sitive areas, as determined by the Administrator. 

8 SEC. 157. STUDY ON POTENTIAL HEALTH AND ECONOMIC 

9 IMPACTS OF OVERFLIGHT NOISE. 

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

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

12 Federal Aviation Administration shall enter into an agree13 ment with an eligible institution of higher education to 

14 conduct a study on the health impacts of noise from air15 craft flights on residents exposed to a range of noise levels 

16 from such flights. 

17 (b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The study shall— 

18 (1) include an examination of the incremental 

19 health impacts attributable to noise exposure that 

20 result from aircraft flights, including sleep disturb21 ance and elevated blood pressure; 

22 (2) be focused on residents in the metropolitan 

23 area of— 

24 (A) Boston; 

25 (B) Chicago; 


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1 (C) the District of Columbia; 

2 (D) New York; 

3 (E) the Northern California Metroplex; 

4 (F) Phoenix; 

5 (G) the Southern California Metroplex; 

6 (H) Seattle; or 

7 (I) such other area as may be identified by 

8 the Administrator; 

9 (3) consider, in particular, the incremental 

10 health impacts on residents living partly or wholly 

11 underneath flight paths most frequently used by air12 craft flying at an altitude lower than 10,000 feet, in13 cluding during takeoff or landing; 

14 (4) include an assessment of the relationship 

15 between a perceived increase in aircraft noise, in16 cluding as a result of a change in flight paths that 

17 increases the visibility of aircraft from a certain lo18 cation, and an actual increase in aircraft noise, par19 ticularly in areas with high or variable levels of non20 aircraft-related ambient noise; and 

21 (5) consider the economic harm or benefits to 

22 businesses located party or wholly underneath flight 

23 paths most frequently used by aircraft flying at an 

24 altitude lower than 10,000 feet, including during 

25 takeoff or landing. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher education 

2 is eligible to conduct the study if the institution— 

3 (1) has— 

4 (A) a school of public health that has par5 ticipated in the Center of Excellence for Air6 craft Noise and Aviation Emissions Mitigation 

7 of the Federal Aviation Administration; or 

8 (B) a center for environmental health that 

9 receives funding from the National Institute of 

10 Environmental Health Sciences; 

11 (2) is located in one of the areas identified in 

12 subsection (b); 

13 (3) applies to the Administrator in a timely 

14 fashion; 

15 (4) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Ad16 ministrator that the institution is qualified to con17 duct the study; 

18 (5) agrees to submit to the Administrator, not 

19 later than 3 years after entering into an agreement 

20 under subsection (a), the results of the study, in21 cluding any source materials used; and 

22 (6) meets such other requirements as the Ad23 ministrator determines necessary. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the Ad25 ministrator receives the results of the study, the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 trator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

2 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

3 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

4 of the Senate a report containing the results. 

5 SEC. 158. ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

7 shall carry out a pilot program involving not more than 

8 6 projects at public-use airports in accordance with this 

9 section. 

10 (b) GRANTS.—In carrying out the program, the Sec11 retary may make grants to sponsors of public-use airports 

12 from funds apportioned under section 47117(e)(1)(A) of 

13 title 49, United States Code. 

14 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from a grant received 

15 by the sponsor of a public-use airport under the program 

16 shall be used for environmental mitigation projects that 

17 will measurably reduce or mitigate aviation impacts on 

18 noise, air quality, or water quality at the airport or within 

19 5 miles of the airport. 

20 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, an 

22 environmental mitigation project approved under this sec23 tion shall be treated as eligible for assistance under that 

24 chapter. 


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1 (e) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting from among 

2 applicants for participation in the program, the Secretary 

3 may give priority consideration to projects that— 

4 (1) will achieve the greatest reductions in air5 craft noise, airport emissions, or airport water qual6 ity impacts either on an absolute basis or on a per 

7 dollar of funds expended basis; and 

8 (2) will be implemented by an eligible consor9 tium. 

10 (f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

11 of a project carried out under the program shall be 50 

12 percent. 

13 (g) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Not more than $2,500,000 

14 may be made available by the Secretary in grants under 

15 the program for any single project. 

16 (h) IDENTIFYING BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary 

17 may establish and publish information identifying best 

18 practices for reducing or mitigating aviation impacts on 

19 noise, air quality, and water quality at airports or in the 

20 vicinity of airports based on the projects carried out under 

21 the program. 

22 (i) SUNSET.—The program shall terminate 5 years 

23 after the Secretary makes the first grant under the pro24 gram. 


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1 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi2 nitions apply: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘eligi4 ble consortium’’ means a consortium that is com5 prised of 2 or more of the following entities: 

6 (A) Businesses incorporated in the United 

7 States. 

8 (B) Public or private educational or re9 search organizations located in the United 

10 States. 

11 (C) Entities of State or local governments 

12 in the United States. 

13 (D) Federal laboratories. 

14 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION PROJECT.— 

15 The term ‘‘environmental mitigation project’’ means 

16 a project that— 

17 (A) introduces new environmental mitiga18 tion techniques or technologies that have been 

19 proven in laboratory demonstrations; 

20 (B) proposes methods for efficient adapta21 tion or integration of new concepts into airport 

22 operations; and 

23 (C) will demonstrate whether new tech24 niques or technologies for environmental mitiga25 tion are— 


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1 (i) practical to implement at or near 

2 multiple public-use airports; and 

3 (ii) capable of reducing noise, airport 

4 emissions, or water quality impacts in 

5 measurably significant amounts. 

6 (k) AUTHORIZATION FOR THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS

7 FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

9 Federal Aviation Administration may accept funds 

10 from the Secretary of Defense to increase the au11 thorized funding for this section by the amount of 

12 such transfer only to carry out projects designed for 

13 environmental mitigation at a site previously, but 

14 not currently, managed by the Department of De15 fense. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL GRANTEES.—If additional 

17 funds are made available by the Secretary of De18 fense under paragraph (1), the Administrator may 

19 increase the number of grantees under subsection 

20 (a). 

21 SEC. 159. AIRCRAFT NOISE EXPOSURE. 

22 (a) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Federal 

23 Aviation Administration shall conduct a review of the rela24 tionship between aircraft noise exposure and its effects on 

25 communities around airports. 


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1 (b) REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

4 shall submit to Congress a report containing the re5 sults of the review. 

6 (2) PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

7 report shall contain such preliminary recommenda8 tions as the Administrator determines appropriate 

9 for revising the land use compatibility guidelines in 

10 part 150 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 

11 based on the results of the review and in coordina12 tion with other agencies. 

13 SEC. 160. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN FAA NEXTGEN 

14 PROJECTS LOCATED IN METROPLEXES. 

15 (a) COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT POLICY.—Not later 

16 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

18 shall complete a review of the Federal Aviation Adminis19 tration’s community involvement practices for Next Gen20 eration Air Transportation System (NextGen) projects lo21 cated in metroplexes identified by the Administration. The 

22 review shall include, at a minimum, a determination of 

23 how and when to engage airports and communities in per24 formance-based navigation proposals. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after comple2 tion of the review, the Administrator shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

4 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com5 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

6 on— 

7 (1) how the Administration will improve com8 munity involvement practices for NextGen projects 

9 located in metroplexes; 

10 (2) how and when the Administration will en11 gage airports and communities in performance-based 

12 navigation proposals; and 

13 (3) lessons learned from NextGen projects and 

14 pilot programs and how those lessons learned are 

15 being integrated into community involvement prac16 tices for future NextGen projects located in 

17 metroplexes. 

18 SEC. 161. CRITICAL HABITAT ON OR NEAR AIRPORT PROP19 ERTY. 

20 (a) FEDERAL AGENCY REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec21 retary of Transportation, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable, shall work with the heads of appropriate Federal 

23 agencies to ensure that designations of critical habitat, as 

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1 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1532), on or near airport 

2 property do not— 

3 (1) result in conflicting statutory, regulatory, or 

4 Federal grant assurance requirements for airports or 

5 aircraft operators; 

6 (2) interfere with the safe operation of aircraft; 

7 or 

8 (3) occur on airport-owned lands that have be9 come attractive habitat for a threatened or endan10 gered species because such lands— 

11 (A) have been prepared for future develop12 ment; 

13 (B) have been designated as noise buffer 

14 land; or 

15 (C) are held by the airport to prevent en16 croachment of uses that are incompatible with 

17 airport operations. 

18 (b) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—In a State where a 

19 State agency is authorized to designate land on or near 

20 airport property for the conservation of a threatened or 

21 endangered species in the State, the Secretary, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, shall work with the State in 

23 the same manner as the Secretary works with the heads 

24 of Federal agencies under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 162. CLARIFICATION OF REIMBURSABLE ALLOWED 

2 COSTS OF FAA MEMORANDA OF AGREEMENT. 

3 Section 47504(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period 

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

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

10 ‘‘(F) to an airport operator of a congested air11 port (as defined in section 47175) and a unit of 

12 local government referred to in paragraph (1)(B) to 

13 carry out a project to mitigate noise, if the project— 

14 ‘‘(i) consists of— 

15 ‘‘(I) replacement windows, doors, and 

16 the installation of through-the-wall air-con17 ditioning units; or 

18 ‘‘(II) a contribution of the equivalent 

19 costs to be used for reconstruction, if re20 construction is the preferred local solution; 

21 ‘‘(ii) is located at a school near the airport; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iii) is included in a memorandum of 

24 agreement entered into before September 30, 

25 2002, even if the airport has not met the re26 quirements of part 150 of title 14, Code of FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 eral Regulations, and only if the financial limi2 tations of the memorandum are applied.’’. 

3 SEC. 163. LEAD EMISSIONS. 

4 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

5 enter into appropriate arrangements with the National 

6 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under 

7 which the National Research Council will conduct a study 

8 and develop a report on aviation gasoline. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include an assess10 ment of— 

11 (1) existing non-leaded fuel alternatives to the 

12 aviation gasoline used by piston-powered general 

13 aviation aircraft; 

14 (2) ambient Pb concentrations at and around 

15 airports where piston-powered general aviation air16 craft are used; and 

17 (3) mitigation measures to reduce ambient Pb 

18 concentrations, including increasing the size of run19 up areas, relocating run-up areas, imposing restric20 tions on aircraft using aviation gasoline, and in21 creasing the use of motor gasoline in piston-powered 

22 general aviation aircraft. 

23 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 


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1 submit to Congress the report developed by the National 

2 Research Council pursuant to this section. 

3 SEC. 164. AIRCRAFT NOISE, EMISSION, AND FUEL BURN RE4 DUCTION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

6 may carry out an aircraft noise, emission, and fuel burn 

7 reduction research and development program. 

8 (b) ELEMENTS.—In carrying out the program under 

9 subsection (a), the Secretary may— 

10 (1) support efforts to accelerate the develop11 ment of new aircraft, engine technologies, and jet 

12 fuels; 

13 (2) pursue lighter and more efficient turbine 

14 engine components, advanced aircraft wing designs, 

15 fuselage structures for innovative aircraft architec16 tures, and smart aircraft and engine control sys17 tems; and 

18 (3) partner with private industry to accomplish 

19 the goals of the program. 

20 SEC. 165. TERMINAL SEQUENCING AND SPACING. 

21 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad23 ministration shall report to the appropriate committees of 

24 Congress on the status of Terminal Sequencing and Spac25 ing (TSAS) implementation across all completed NextGen 


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1 Metroplexes with specific information provided by airline 

2 regarding the adoption and equipping of aircraft and the 

3 training of pilots in its use. 

4 SEC. 166. NOISE AND HEALTH IMPACT TRAINING. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

6 States shall conduct a study on— 

7 (1) while maintaining safety as the top priority, 

8 whether air traffic controllers and airspace designers 

9 are trained on noise and health impact mitigation in 

10 addition to efficiency; and 

11 (2) the prevalence of vectoring flights due to 

12 over-crowded departure and arrival paths and alter13 natives to this practice. 

14 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

15 to Congress a report on the results of the study. 

16 SEC. 167. AIRPORT NOISE MITIGATION AND SAFETY STUDY. 

17 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

19 Aviation Administration shall initiate a study to review 

20 and evaluate existing studies and analyses of the relation21 ship between jet aircraft approach and takeoff speeds and 

22 corresponding noise impacts on communities surrounding 

23 airports. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study initi2 ated under subsection (a), the Administrator shall deter3 mine— 

4 (1) whether a decrease in jet aircraft approach 

5 or takeoff speeds results in significant aircraft noise 

6 reductions; 

7 (2) whether the jet aircraft approach or takeoff 

8 speed reduction necessary to achieve significant 

9 noise reductions— 

10 (A) jeopardizes aviation safety; or 

11 (B) decreases the efficiency of the National 

12 Airspace System, including lowering airport ca13 pacity, increasing travel times, or increasing 

14 fuel burn; 

15 (3) the advisability of using jet aircraft ap16 proach or takeoff speeds as a noise mitigation tech17 nique; and 

18 (4) if the Administrator determines that using 

19 jet aircraft approach or takeoff speeds as a noise 

20 mitigation technique is advisable, whether any of the 

21 metropolitan areas specifically identified in section 

22 157(b)(2) would benefit from such a noise mitiga23 tion technique without a significant impact to avia24 tion safety or the efficiency of the National Airspace 

25 System. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

3 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

4 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

5 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

6 report on the results of the study initiated under sub7 section (a). 

8 SEC. 168. JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE 

9 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND APPROVAL 

10 PROCEDURES. 

11 Section 330(e) of title 23, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘150 days as set forth in section 

15 139(l)’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (3)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘2 

17 years’’ and inserting ‘‘150 days as set forth in sec18 tion 139(l)’’. 

19 TITLE II—FAA SAFETY 

20 CERTIFICATION REFORM 

21 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

22 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

24 (1) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed25 eral Aviation Administration. 


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1 (2) SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND CERTIFICATION

2 ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Safety Over3 sight and Certification Advisory Committee’’ means 

4 the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory 

5 Committee established under section 202. 

6 (3) SYSTEMS SAFETY APPROACH.—The term 

7 ‘‘systems safety approach’’ means the application of 

8 specialized technical and managerial skills to the 

9 systematic, forward-looking identification and con10 trol of hazards throughout the lifecycle of a project, 

11 program, or activity. 

12 SEC. 202. SAFETY OVERSIGHT AND CERTIFICATION ADVI13 SORY COMMITTEE. 

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

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor16 tation shall establish a Safety Oversight and Certification 

17 Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as the 

18 ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall provide 

20 advice to the Secretary on policy-level issues facing the 

21 aviation community that are related to FAA certification 

22 and safety oversight programs and activities, including, at 

23 a minimum, the following: 


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1 (1) Aircraft and flight standards certification 

2 processes, including efforts to streamline those proc3 esses. 

4 (2) Implementation and oversight of safety 

5 management systems. 

6 (3) Risk-based oversight efforts. 

7 (4) Utilization of delegation and designation au8 thorities. 

9 (5) Regulatory interpretation standardization 

10 efforts. 

11 (6) Training programs. 

12 (7) Expediting the rulemaking process and giv13 ing priority to rules related to safety. 

14 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

15 carry out the following functions (as the functions relate 

16 to FAA certification and safety oversight programs and 

17 activities): 

18 (1) Foster industry collaboration in an open 

19 and transparent manner. 

20 (2) Consult with, and ensure participation by— 

21 (A) the private sector, including represent22 atives of— 

23 (i) general aviation; 

24 (ii) commercial aviation; 

25 (iii) aviation labor; 


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1 (iv) aviation maintenance; 

2 (v) aviation, aerospace, and avionics 

3 manufacturing; 

4 (vi) unmanned aircraft systems opera5 tors and manufacturers; and 

6 (vii) the commercial space transpor7 tation industry; 

8 (B) members of the public; and 

9 (C) other interested parties. 

10 (3) Establish consensus national goals, strategic 

11 objectives, and priorities for the most efficient, 

12 streamlined, and cost-effective certification and over13 sight processes in order to maintain the safety of the 

14 aviation system and, at the same time, allow the 

15 FAA to meet future needs and ensure that aviation 

16 stakeholders remain competitive in the global mar17 ketplace. 

18 (4) Provide policy guidance for the FAA’s cer19 tification and safety oversight efforts. 

20 (5) Provide ongoing policy reviews of the FAA’s 

21 certification and safety oversight efforts. 

22 (6) Make appropriate legislative, regulatory, 

23 and guidance recommendations for the air transpor24 tation system and the aviation safety regulatory en25 vironment. 


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1 (7) Establish performance objectives for the 

2 FAA and industry. 

3 (8) Establish performance metrics and goals for 

4 the FAA and the regulated aviation industry to be 

5 tracked and reviewed as streamlining and certifi6 cation reform and regulation standardization efforts 

7 progress. 

8 (9) Provide a venue for tracking progress to9 ward national goals and sustaining joint commit10 ments. 

11 (10) Develop recruiting, hiring, training, and 

12 continuing education objectives for FAA aviation 

13 safety engineers and aviation safety inspectors. 

14 (11) Provide advice and recommendations to 

15 the FAA on how to prioritize safety rulemaking 

16 projects. 

17 (12) Improve the development of FAA regula18 tions by providing information, advice, and rec19 ommendations related to aviation issues. 

20 (13) Facilitate the validation of United States 

21 products abroad. 

22 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

24 shall be composed of the following members: 


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1 (A) The Administrator of the FAA (or the 

2 Administrator’s designee). 

3 (B) Individuals appointed by the Secretary 

4 to represent the following interests: 

5 (i) Aircraft and engine manufacturers. 

6 (ii) Avionics and equipment manufac7 turers. 

8 (iii) Labor organizations, including 

9 collective bargaining representatives of 

10 FAA aviation safety inspectors and avia11 tion safety engineers. 

12 (iv) General aviation operators. 

13 (v) Air carriers. 

14 (vi) Business aviation operators. 

15 (vii) Unmanned aircraft systems man16 ufacturers and operators. 

17 (viii) Aviation safety management ex18 pertise. 

19 (ix) Aviation maintenance. 

20 (x) Airport owners and operators. 

21 (2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

23 members appointed under paragraph (1), the 

24 Advisory Committee shall be composed of non25 voting members appointed by the Secretary 


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1 from among individuals representing FAA safe2 ty oversight program offices. 

3 (B) DUTIES.—The nonvoting members 

4 shall— 

5 (i) take part in deliberations of the 

6 Advisory Committee; and 

7 (ii) provide input with respect to any 

8 final reports or recommendations of the 

9 Advisory Committee. 

10 (C) LIMITATION.—The nonvoting members 

11 may not represent any stakeholder interest 

12 other than FAA safety oversight program of13 fices. 

14 (3) TERMS.—Each member and nonvoting 

15 member of the Advisory Committee appointed by the 

16 Secretary shall be appointed for a term of 2 years. 

17 (4) COMMITTEE CHARACTERISTICS.—The Advi18 sory Committee shall have the following characteris19 tics: 

20 (A) An executive-level membership, with 

21 members who can represent and enter into com22 mitments for their organizations. 

23 (B) The ability to obtain necessary infor24 mation from experts in the aviation and aero25 space communities. 


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1 (C) A membership size that enables the 

2 Committee to have substantive discussions and 

3 reach consensus on issues in a timely manner. 

4 (D) Appropriate expertise, including exper5 tise in certification and risked-based safety 

6 oversight processes, operations, policy, tech7 nology, labor relations, training, and finance. 

8 (5) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC9 TION.—Public Law 104–65 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 

10 may not be construed to prohibit or otherwise limit 

11 the appointment of any individual as a member of 

12 the Advisory Committee. 

13 (e) CHAIRPERSON.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the Ad15 visory Committee shall be appointed by the Sec16 retary from among those members of the Advisory 

17 Committee that are executive-level members of the 

18 aviation industry. 

19 (2) TERM.—Each member appointed under 

20 paragraph (1) shall serve a term of 1 year as Chair21 person. 

22 (f) MEETINGS.— 

23 (1) FREQUENCY.—The Advisory Committee 

24 shall meet at least twice each year at the call of the 

25 Chairperson. 


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1 (2) PUBLIC ATTENDANCE.—The meetings of 

2 the Advisory Committee shall be open to the public. 

3 (g) SPECIAL COMMITTEES.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Advisory Com5 mittee may establish special committees composed of 

6 private sector representatives, members of the pub7 lic, labor representatives, and other interested par8 ties in complying with consultation and participation 

9 requirements under this section. 

10 (2) RULEMAKING ADVICE.—A special com11 mittee established by the Advisory Committee may— 

12 (A) provide rulemaking advice and rec13 ommendations to the Administrator with re14 spect to aviation-related issues; 

15 (B) afford the FAA additional opportuni16 ties to obtain firsthand information and insight 

17 from those parties that are most affected by ex18 isting and proposed regulations; and 

19 (C) expedite the development, revision, or 

20 elimination of rules without circumventing pub21 lic rulemaking processes and procedures. 

22 (3) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92–463 

23 shall not apply to a special committee established by 

24 the Advisory Committee. 


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1 (h) SUNSET.—The Advisory Committee shall termi2 nate on the last day of the 6-year period beginning on 

3 the date of the initial appointment of the members of the 

4 Advisory Committee. 

5 (i) TERMINATION OF AIR TRAFFIC PROCEDURES AD6 VISORY COMMITTEE.—The Air Traffic Procedures Advi7 sory Committee established by the FAA shall terminate 

8 on the date of the initial appointment of the members of 

9 the Advisory Committee. 

10 SEC. 203. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR FIREFIGHTING 

11 FOAMS. 

12 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Administrator of the FAA, using the latest 

14 version of National Fire Protection Association 403, 

15 ‘‘Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services 

16 at Airports’’, and in coordination with the Administrator 

17 of the Environmental Protection Agency, aircraft manu18 facturers and airports, shall not require the use of 

19 fluorinated chemicals to meet the performance standards 

20 referenced in chapter 6 of AC No: 150/5210–6D and ac21 ceptable under 139.319(l) of title 14, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations. 


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1 Subtitle B—Aircraft Certification 

2 Reform 

3 SEC. 211. AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION PERFORMANCE OB4 JECTIVES AND METRICS. 

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

6 date on which the Safety Oversight and Certification Advi7 sory Committee is established under section 202, the Ad8 ministrator of the FAA shall establish performance objec9 tives and apply and track metrics for the FAA and the 

10 aviation industry relating to aircraft certification in ac11 cordance with this section. 

12 (b) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall carry 

13 out this section in collaboration with the Safety Oversight 

14 and Certification Advisory Committee. 

15 (c) PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out 

16 subsection (a), the Administrator shall establish perform17 ance objectives for the FAA and the aviation industry to 

18 ensure that, with respect to aircraft certification, progress 

19 is made toward, at a minimum— 

20 (1) eliminating certification delays and improv21 ing cycle times; 

22 (2) increasing accountability for both FAA and 

23 industry entities; 

24 (3) achieving full utilization of FAA delegation 

25 and designation authorities; 


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1 (4) fully implementing risk management prin2 ciples and a systems safety approach; 

3 (5) reducing duplication of effort; 

4 (6) increasing transparency; 

5 (7) establishing and providing training, includ6 ing recurrent training, in auditing and a systems 

7 safety approach to certification oversight; 

8 (8) improving the process for approving or ac9 cepting certification actions between the FAA and 

10 bilateral partners; 

11 (9) maintaining and improving safety; 

12 (10) streamlining the hiring process for— 

13 (A) qualified systems safety engineers to 

14 support FAA efforts to implement a systems 

15 safety approach; and 

16 (B) qualified systems engineers to guide 

17 the engineering of complex systems within the 

18 FAA; and 

19 (11) maintaining the leadership of the United 

20 States in international aviation and aerospace. 

21 (d) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—In carrying out sub22 section (a), the Administrator shall apply and track per23 formance metrics for the FAA and the regulated aviation 

24 industry established by the Safety Oversight and Certifi25 cation Advisory Committee. 


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1 (e) DATA GENERATION.— 

2 (1) BASELINES.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date on which the Safety Oversight and Certifi4 cation Advisory Committee establishes initial per5 formance metrics for the FAA and the regulated 

6 aviation industry under section 202, the Adminis7 trator shall generate initial data with respect to each 

8 of the metrics applied and tracked under this sec9 tion. 

10 (2) MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARD GOALS.— 

11 The Administrator shall use the metrics applied and 

12 tracked under this section to generate data on an 

13 ongoing basis and to measure progress toward the 

14 achievement of national goals established by the 

15 Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Com16 mittee. 

17 (f) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall make 

18 data generated using the metrics applied and tracked 

19 under this section available to the public in a searchable, 

20 sortable, and downloadable format through the internet 

21 website of the FAA and other appropriate methods and 

22 shall ensure that the data is made available in a manner 

23 that— 

24 (1) does not provide identifying information re25 garding an individual or entity; and 


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1 (2) protects proprietary information. 

2 SEC. 212. ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 44736. Organization designation authorizations 

7 ‘‘(a) DELEGATIONS OF FUNCTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (3), when overseeing an ODA holder, the Ad10 ministrator of the FAA shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) require, based on an application sub12 mitted by the ODA holder and approved by the 

13 Administrator (or the Administrator’s des14 ignee), a procedures manual that addresses all 

15 procedures and limitations regarding the func16 tions to be performed by the ODA holder; 

17 ‘‘(B) delegate fully to the ODA holder each 

18 of the functions to be performed as specified in 

19 the procedures manual, unless the Adminis20 trator determines, after the date of the delega21 tion and as a result of an inspection or other 

22 investigation, that the public interest and safety 

23 of air commerce requires a limitation with re24 spect to 1 or more of the functions; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) conduct regular oversight activities by 

2 inspecting the ODA holder’s delegated functions 

3 and taking action based on validated inspection 

4 findings. 

5 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF ODA HOLDERS.—An ODA 

6 holder shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) perform each function delegated to 

8 the ODA holder in accordance with the ap9 proved procedures manual for the delegation; 

10 ‘‘(B) make the procedures manual avail11 able to each member of the appropriate ODA 

12 unit; and 

13 ‘‘(C) cooperate fully with oversight activi14 ties conducted by the Administrator in connec15 tion with the delegation. 

16 ‘‘(3) EXISTING ODA HOLDERS.—With regard to 

17 an ODA holder operating under a procedures man18 ual approved by the Administrator before the date of 

19 enactment of this section, the Administrator shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) at the request of the ODA holder and 

21 in an expeditious manner, approve revisions to 

22 the ODA holder’s procedures manual; 

23 ‘‘(B) delegate fully to the ODA holder each 

24 of the functions to be performed as specified in 

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1 trator determines, after the date of the delega2 tion and as a result of an inspection or other 

3 investigation, that the public interest and safety 

4 of air commerce requires a limitation with re5 spect to one or more of the functions; and 

6 ‘‘(C) conduct regular oversight activities by 

7 inspecting the ODA holder delegated functions 

8 and taking action based on validated inspection 

9 findings. 

10 ‘‘(b) ODA OFFICE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad13 ministrator of the FAA shall identify, within the 

14 FAA Office of Aviation Safety, a centralized policy 

15 office to be known as the Organization Designation 

16 Authorization Office or the ODA Office. 

17 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the ODA Of18 fice shall be to oversee and ensure the consistency of 

19 the FAA’s audit functions under the ODA program 

20 across the FAA. 

21 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The ODA Office shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) improve performance and ensure full 

23 utilization of the authorities delegated under 

24 the ODA program; 


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1 ‘‘(B) create a more consistent approach to 

2 audit priorities, procedures, and training under 

3 the ODA program; 

4 ‘‘(C) review, in a timely fashion, a random 

5 sample of limitations on delegated authorities 

6 under the ODA program to determine if the 

7 limitations are appropriate; 

8 ‘‘(D) ensure national consistency in the in9 terpretation and application of the requirements 

10 of the ODA program, including any limitations, 

11 and in the performance of the ODA program; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(E) at the request of an ODA holder, re14 view and approve new limitations to ODA func15 tions. 

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

17 definitions apply: 

18 ‘‘(1) FAA.—The term ‘FAA’ means the Fed19 eral Aviation Administration. 

20 ‘‘(2) ODA HOLDER.—The term ‘ODA holder’ 

21 means an entity authorized to perform functions 

22 pursuant to a delegation made by the Administrator 

23 of the FAA under section 44702(d). 

24 ‘‘(3) ODA UNIT.—The term ‘‘ODA unit’’ 

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1 form, under the supervision of an ODA holder, au2 thorized functions under an ODA. 

3 ‘‘(4) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘organization’’ 

4 means a firm, partnership, corporation, company, 

5 association, joint-stock association, or governmental 

6 entity. 

7 ‘‘(5) ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZA8 TION; ODA.—The term ‘Organization Designation 

9 Authorization’ or ‘ODA’ means an authorization by 

10 the FAA under section 44702(d) for an organization 

11 comprised of 1 or more ODA units to perform ap12 proved functions on behalf of the FAA.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap14 ter 447 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘44736. Organization designation authorizations.’’. 

16 SEC. 213. ODA REVIEW. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF EXPERT REVIEW PANEL.— 

18 (1) EXPERT PANEL.—Not later than 60 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator of the FAA shall convene a multidisciplinary 

21 expert review panel (in this section referred to as the 

22 ‘‘Panel’’). 

23 (2) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.— 


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1 (A) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The 

2 Panel shall be composed of not more than 20 

3 members appointed by the Administrator. 

4 (B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members ap5 pointed to the Panel shall— 

6 (i) each have a minimum of 5 years of 

7 experience in processes and procedures 

8 under the ODA program; and 

9 (ii) represent, at a minimum, ODA 

10 holders, aviation manufacturers, safety ex11 perts, and FAA labor organizations, in12 cluding labor representatives of FAA avia13 tion safety inspectors and aviation safety 

14 engineers. 

15 (b) SURVEY.—The Panel shall conduct a survey of 

16 ODA holders and ODA program applicants to document 

17 and assess FAA certification and oversight activities, in18 cluding use of the ODA program and the timeliness and 

19 efficiency of the certification process. 

20 (c) ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

21 Panel shall assess and make recommendations con22 cerning— 

23 (1) the FAA’s processes and procedures under 

24 the ODA program and whether the processes and 

25 procedures function as intended; 


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1 (2) the best practices of and lessons learned by 

2 ODA holders and individuals who provide oversight 

3 of ODA holders; 

4 (3) performance incentive policies related to the 

5 ODA program for FAA personnel; 

6 (4) training activities related to the ODA pro7 gram for FAA personnel and ODA holders; 

8 (5) the impact, if any, that oversight of the 

9 ODA program has on FAA resources and the FAA’s 

10 ability to process applications for certifications out11 side of the ODA program; and 

12 (6) the results of the survey conducted under 

13 subsection (b). 

14 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

15 the Panel is convened under subsection (a), the Panel shall 

16 submit to the Administrator, the Safety Oversight and 

17 Certification Advisory Committee, the Committee on 

18 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep19 resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

20 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the findings 

21 and recommendations of the Panel. 

22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions contained in sec23 tion 44736 of title 49, United States Code, as added by 

24 this Act, apply to this section. 


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1 (f) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92–463 shall not 

2 apply to the Panel. 

3 (g) SUNSET.—The Panel shall terminate on the date 

4 of submission of the report under subsection (d), or on 

5 the date that is 1 year after the Panel is convened under 

6 subsection (a), whichever occurs first. 

7 SEC. 214. TYPE CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION PROCESS. 

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

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(6) TYPE CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION PROC12 ESS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 

14 months after the date of enactment of this 

15 paragraph, the Administrator shall establish an 

16 effective, timely, and milestone-based issue reso17 lution process for type certification activities 

18 under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.—The res20 olution process shall provide for— 

21 ‘‘(i) resolution of technical issues at 

22 pre-established stages of the certification 

23 process, as agreed to by the Administrator 

24 and the type certificate applicant; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) automatic elevation to appro2 priate management personnel of the Fed3 eral Aviation Administration and the type 

4 certificate applicant of any major certifi5 cation process milestone that is not com6 pleted or resolved within a specific period 

7 of time agreed to by the Administrator and 

8 the type certificate applicant; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) resolution of a major certifi10 cation process milestone elevated pursuant 

11 to clause (ii) within a specific period of 

12 time agreed to by the Administrator and 

13 the type certificate applicant. 

14 ‘‘(C) MAJOR CERTIFICATION PROCESS

15 MILESTONE DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the 

16 term ‘major certification process milestone’ 

17 means a milestone related to a type certification 

18 basis, type certification plan, type inspection 

19 authorization, issue paper, or other major type 

20 certification activity agreed to by the Adminis21 trator and the type certificate applicant.’’. 

22 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 44704 of 

23 title 49, United States Code, is amended in the section 

24 heading by striking ‘‘airworthiness certificates,,’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘airworthiness certificates,’’. 


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1 SEC. 215. REVIEW OF CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR SMALL 

2 GENERAL AVIATION AIRPLANES. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of 

5 the Department of Transportation shall initiate a review 

6 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s implementation 

7 of the final rule titled ‘‘Revision of Airworthiness Stand8 ards for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Cat9 egory Airplanes’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 96572). 

10 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the review, 

11 the Inspector General shall assess— 


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1 (1) how the rule puts into practice the Adminis2 tration’s efforts to implement performance and risk3 based safety standards; 

4 (2) whether the Administration’s implementa5 tion of the rule has improved safety and reduced the 

6 regulatory cost burden for the Administration and 

7 the aviation industry; and 

8 (3) if there are lessons learned from, and best 

9 practices developed as a result of, the rule that could 

10 be applied to airworthiness standards for other cat11 egories of aircraft. 

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

13 of initiation of the review, the Inspector General shall sub14 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc15 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 a report on the results of the review, including findings 

18 and recommendations. 

19 Subtitle C—Flight Standards 

20 Reform 

21 SEC. 231. FLIGHT STANDARDS PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 

22 AND METRICS. 

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

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1 ministrator of the FAA shall establish performance objec2 tives and apply and track metrics for the FAA and the 

3 aviation industry relating to flight standards activities in 

4 accordance with this section. 

5 (b) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall carry 

6 out this section in collaboration with the Safety Oversight 

7 and Certification Advisory Committee. 

8 (c) PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out 

9 subsection (a), the Administrator shall establish perform10 ance objectives for the FAA and the aviation industry to 

11 ensure that, with respect to flight standards activities, 

12 progress is made toward, at a minimum— 

13 (1) eliminating delays with respect to such ac14 tivities; 

15 (2) increasing accountability for both FAA and 

16 industry entities; 

17 (3) achieving full utilization of FAA delegation 

18 and designation authorities; 

19 (4) fully implementing risk management prin20 ciples and a systems safety approach; 

21 (5) reducing duplication of effort; 

22 (6) eliminating inconsistent regulatory interpre23 tations and inconsistent enforcement activities; 


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1 (7) improving and providing greater opportuni2 ties for training, including recurrent training, in au3 diting and a systems safety approach to oversight; 

4 (8) developing and allowing utilization of a sin5 gle master source for guidance; 

6 (9) providing and utilizing a streamlined appeal 

7 process for the resolution of regulatory interpreta8 tion questions; 

9 (10) maintaining and improving safety; and 

10 (11) increasing transparency. 

11 (d) METRICS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

12 Administrator shall apply and track performance metrics 

13 for the FAA and the regulated aviation industry estab14 lished by the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory 

15 Committee. 

16 (e) DATA GENERATION.— 

17 (1) BASELINES.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date on which the Safety Oversight and Certifi19 cation Advisory Committee establishes initial per20 formance metrics for the FAA and the regulated 

21 aviation industry under section 202, the Adminis22 trator shall generate initial data with respect to each 

23 of the metrics applied and tracked under this sec24 tion. 


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1 (2) MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARD GOALS.— 

2 The Administrator shall use the metrics applied and 

3 tracked under this section to generate data on an 

4 ongoing basis and to measure progress toward the 

5 achievement of national goals established by the 

6 Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Com7 mittee. 

8 (f) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall make 

9 data generated using the metrics applied and tracked 

10 under this section available to the public in a searchable, 

11 sortable, and downloadable format through the internet 

12 website of the FAA and other appropriate methods and 

13 shall ensure that the data is made available in a manner 

14 that— 

15 (1) does not provide identifying information re16 garding an individual or entity; and 

17 (2) protects proprietary information. 

18 SEC. 232. FAA TASK FORCE ON FLIGHT STANDARDS RE19 FORM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

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

22 the FAA shall establish the FAA Task Force on Flight 

23 Standards Reform (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Task 

24 Force’’). 

25 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The membership of the 

2 Task Force shall be appointed by the Administrator. 

3 (2) NUMBER.—The Task Force shall be com4 posed of not more than 20 members. 

5 (3) REPRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—The 

6 membership of the Task Force shall include rep7 resentatives, with knowledge of flight standards reg8 ulatory processes and requirements, of— 

9 (A) air carriers; 

10 (B) general aviation; 

11 (C) business aviation; 

12 (D) repair stations; 

13 (E) unmanned aircraft systems operators; 

14 (F) flight schools; 

15 (G) labor unions, including those rep16 resenting FAA aviation safety inspectors; 

17 (H) aircraft manufacturers; and 

18 (I) aviation safety experts. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force shall in20 clude, at a minimum, identifying best practices and pro21 viding recommendations, for current and anticipated 

22 budgetary environments, with respect to— 

23 (1) simplifying and streamlining flight stand24 ards regulatory processes; 


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1 (2) reorganizing Flight Standards Services to 

2 establish an entity organized by function rather than 

3 geographic region, if appropriate; 

4 (3) FAA aviation safety inspector training op5 portunities; 

6 (4) ensuring adequate and timely provision of 

7 Flight Standards activities and responses necessary 

8 for type certification, operational evaluation, and 

9 entry into service of newly manufactured aircraft; 

10 (5) FAA aviation safety inspector standards 

11 and performance; and 

12 (6) achieving, across the FAA, consistent— 

13 (A) regulatory interpretations; and 

14 (B) application of oversight activities. 

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

16 of the establishment of the Task Force, the Task Force 

17 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In18 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com19 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

20 Senate a report detailing— 

21 (1) the best practices identified and rec22 ommendations provided by the Task Force under 

23 subsection (c); and 

24 (2) any recommendations of the Task Force for 

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1 tive action to improve the efficiency of agency activi2 ties. 

3 (e) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92–463 shall not 

4 apply to the Task Force. 

5 (f) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

6 on the earlier of— 

7 (1) the date on which the Task Force submits 

8 the report required under subsection (d); or 

9 (2) the date that is 18 months after the date 

10 on which the Task Force is established under sub11 section (a). 

12 SEC. 233. CENTRALIZED SAFETY GUIDANCE DATABASE. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

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

15 the FAA shall establish a centralized safety guidance data16 base that will— 

17 (1) encompass all of the regulatory guidance 

18 documents of the FAA Office of Aviation Safety; 

19 (2) contain, for each such guidance document, 

20 a link to the Code of Federal Regulations provision 

21 to which the document relates; and 

22 (3) be publicly available in a manner that— 

23 (A) does not provide identifying informa24 tion regarding an individual or entity; and 

25 (B) protects proprietary information. 


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1 (b) DATA ENTRY TIMING.— 

2 (1) EXISTING DOCUMENTS.—Not later than 14 

3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

4 Administrator shall begin entering into the database 

5 established under subsection (a) all of the regulatory 

6 guidance documents of the Office of Aviation Safety 

7 that are in effect and were issued before the date on 

8 which the Administrator begins such entry process. 

9 (2) NEW DOCUMENTS AND CHANGES.—On and 

10 after the date on which the Administrator begins the 

11 document entry process under paragraph (1), the 

12 Administrator shall ensure that all new regulatory 

13 guidance documents of the Office of Aviation Safety 

14 and any changes to existing documents are included 

15 in the database established under subsection (a). 

16 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In establishing 

17 the database under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 

18 consult and collaborate with appropriate stakeholders, in19 cluding labor organizations (including those representing 

20 aviation workers and FAA aviation safety inspectors) and 

21 industry stakeholders. 

22 (d) REGULATORY GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS DE23 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘regulatory guidance 

24 documents’’ means all forms of written information issued 

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1 pret or apply FAA regulations and requirements, includ2 ing information an individual or entity may use to deter3 mine acceptable means of compliance with such regula4 tions and requirements. 

5 SEC. 234. REGULATORY CONSISTENCY COMMUNICATIONS 

6 BOARD. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

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

9 the FAA shall establish a Regulatory Consistency Commu10 nications Board (in this section referred to as the 

11 ‘‘Board’’). 

12 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In establishing 

13 the Board, the Administrator shall consult and collaborate 

14 with appropriate stakeholders, including FAA labor orga15 nizations (including labor organizations representing FAA 

16 aviation safety inspectors) and industry stakeholders. 

17 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 

18 FAA representatives, appointed by the Administrator, 

19 from— 

20 (1) the Flight Standards Service; 

21 (2) the Aircraft Certification Service; and 

22 (3) the Office of the Chief Counsel. 

23 (d) FUNCTIONS.—The Board shall carry out the fol24 lowing functions: 


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1 (1) Establish, at a minimum, processes by 

2 which— 

3 (A) FAA personnel and regulated entities 

4 may submit anonymous regulatory interpreta5 tion questions without fear of retaliation; and 

6 (B) FAA personnel may submit written 

7 questions, and receive written responses, as to 

8 whether a previous approval or regulatory inter9 pretation issued by FAA personnel in another 

10 office or region is correct or incorrect. 

11 (2) Meet on a regular basis to discuss and re12 solve questions submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) 

13 and the appropriate application of regulations and 

14 policy with respect to each question. 

15 (3) Provide to an individual or entity that sub16 mitted a question pursuant to paragraph (1) a time17 ly response to the question. 

18 (4) Establish a process to make resolutions of 

19 common regulatory interpretation questions publicly 

20 available to FAA personnel and regulated entities 

21 without providing any identifying data of the indi22 viduals or entities that submitted the questions and 

23 in a manner that protects any proprietary informa24 tion. 


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1 (5) Ensure the incorporation of resolutions of 

2 questions submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) into 

3 regulatory guidance documents. 

4 (e) PERFORMANCE METRICS, TIMELINES, AND

5 GOALS.—Not later than 180 days after the date on which 

6 the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Com7 mittee establishes performance metrics for the FAA and 

8 the regulated aviation industry under section 202, the Ad9 ministrator, in collaboration with the Advisory Committee, 

10 shall— 

11 (1) establish performance metrics, timelines, 

12 and goals to measure the progress of the Board in 

13 resolving regulatory interpretation questions sub14 mitted pursuant to subsection (d)(1); and 

15 (2) implement a process for tracking the 

16 progress of the Board in meeting the metrics, 

17 timelines, and goals established under paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 Subtitle D—Safety Workforce 

20 SEC. 241. SAFETY WORKFORCE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

21 (a) SAFETY WORKFORCE TRAINING STRATEGY.— 

22 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, the Administrator of the FAA shall establish a safety 

24 workforce training strategy that— 


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1 (1) allows employees participating in organiza2 tion management teams or conducting ODA pro3 gram audits to complete, in a timely fashion, appro4 priate training, including recurrent training, in au5 diting and a systems safety approach to oversight; 

6 (2) seeks knowledge-sharing opportunities be7 tween the FAA and the aviation industry regarding 

8 new equipment and systems, best practices, and 

9 other areas of interest; 

10 (3) functions within the current and anticipated 

11 budgetary environments; and 

12 (4) includes milestones and metrics for meeting 

13 the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

15 of establishment of the strategy required under subsection 

16 (a), the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep18 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the imple20 mentation of the strategy and progress in meeting any 

21 milestones and metrics included in the strategy. 

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi23 nitions apply: 

24 (1) ODA; ODA HOLDER.—The terms ‘‘ODA’’ 

25 and ‘‘ODA holder’’ have the meanings given those 


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1 terms in section 44736 of title 49, United States 

2 Code, as added by this Act. 

3 (2) ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT TEAM.—The 

4 term ‘‘organization management team’’ means a 

5 team consisting of FAA aviation safety engineers, 

6 flight test pilots, and aviation safety inspectors over7 seeing an ODA holder and its certification activity. 

8 SEC. 242. WORKFORCE REVIEW. 

9 (a) WORKFORCE REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

11 General of the United States shall conduct a review to as12 sess the workforce and training needs of the FAA Office 

13 of Aviation Safety in the anticipated budgetary environ14 ment. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The review required under sub16 section (a) shall include— 

17 (1) a review of current aviation safety inspector 

18 and aviation safety engineer hiring, training, and re19 current training requirements; 

20 (2) an analysis of the skills and qualifications 

21 required of aviation safety inspectors and aviation 

22 safety engineers for successful performance in the 

23 current and future projected aviation safety regu24 latory environment, including the need for a systems 

25 engineering discipline within the FAA to guide the 


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1 engineering of complex systems, with an emphasis 

2 on auditing designated authorities; 

3 (3) a review of current performance incentive 

4 policies of the FAA, as applied to the Office of Avia5 tion Safety, including awards for performance; 

6 (4) an analysis of ways the FAA can work with 

7 industry and labor, including labor groups rep8 resenting FAA aviation safety inspectors and avia9 tion safety engineers, to establish knowledge-sharing 

10 opportunities between the FAA and the aviation in11 dustry regarding new equipment and systems, best 

12 practices, and other areas of interest; and 

13 (5) recommendations on the most effective 

14 qualifications, training programs (including e-learn15 ing training), and performance incentive approaches 

16 to address the needs of the future projected aviation 

17 safety regulatory system in the anticipated budg18 etary environment. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra22 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

24 Senate a report on the results of the review required under 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 Subtitle E—International Aviation 

2 SEC. 251. PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES AEROSPACE 

3 STANDARDS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES 

4 ABROAD. 

5 Section 40104 of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES AEROSPACE

8 STANDARDS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ABROAD.—The 

9 Administrator shall take appropriate actions to— 

10 ‘‘(1) promote United States aerospace safety 

11 standards abroad; 

12 ‘‘(2) facilitate and vigorously defend approvals 

13 of United States aerospace products and services 

14 abroad; 

15 ‘‘(3) with respect to bilateral partners, utilize 

16 bilateral safety agreements and other mechanisms to 

17 improve validation of United States type certificated 

18 aeronautical products and appliances and enhance 

19 mutual acceptance in order to eliminate 

20 redundancies and unnecessary costs; and 

21 ‘‘(4) with respect to foreign safety authorities, 

22 streamline validation and coordination processes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 252. BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVERSIGHT 

2 RESPONSIBILITIES. 

3 Section 44701(e) of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5) FOREIGN AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) ACCEPTANCE.—The Administrator 

7 may accept an airworthiness directive issued by 

8 an aeronautical safety authority of a foreign 

9 country, and leverage that authority’s regu10 latory process, if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the country is the state of design 

12 for the product that is the subject of the 

13 airworthiness directive; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the United States has a bilateral 

15 safety agreement relating to aircraft cer16 tification with the country; 

17 ‘‘(iii) as part of the bilateral safety 

18 agreement with the country, the Adminis19 trator has determined that such aero20 nautical safety authority has a certification 

21 system relating to safety that produces a 

22 level of safety equivalent to the level pro23 duced by the system of the Federal Avia24 tion Administration; 

25 ‘‘(iv) the aeronautical safety authority 

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1 parent notice and comment process in the 

2 issuance of airworthiness directives; and 

3 ‘‘(v) the airworthiness directive is nec4 essary to provide for the safe operation of 

5 the aircraft subject to the directive. 

6 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS.— 

7 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Admin8 istrator may issue a Federal Aviation Adminis9 tration airworthiness directive instead of accept10 ing an airworthiness directive otherwise eligible 

11 for acceptance under such subparagraph, if the 

12 Administrator determines that such issuance is 

13 necessary for safety or operational reasons due 

14 to the complexity or unique features of the Fed15 eral Aviation Administration airworthiness di16 rective or the United States aviation system. 

17 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF COMPLI18 ANCE.—The Administrator may— 

19 ‘‘(i) accept an alternative means of 

20 compliance, with respect to an airworthi21 ness directive accepted under subpara22 graph (A), that was approved by the aero23 nautical safety authority of the foreign 

24 country that issued the airworthiness di25 rective; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding subparagraph 

2 (A), and at the request of any person af3 fected by an airworthiness directive accept4 ed under such subparagraph, approve an 

5 alternative means of compliance with re6 spect to the airworthiness directive. 

7 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—The Administrator 

8 may not accept an airworthiness directive 

9 issued by an aeronautical safety authority of a 

10 foreign country if the airworthiness directive 

11 addresses matters other than those involving 

12 the safe operation of an aircraft.’’. 

13 SEC. 253. FAA LEADERSHIP ABROAD. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—To promote United States aero15 space safety standards, reduce redundant regulatory activ16 ity, and facilitate acceptance of FAA design and produc17 tion approvals abroad, the Administrator of the FAA 

18 shall— 

19 (1) attain greater expertise in issues related to 

20 dispute resolution, intellectual property, and export 

21 control laws to better support FAA certification and 

22 other aerospace regulatory activities abroad; 

23 (2) work with United States companies to more 

24 accurately track the amount of time it takes foreign 

25 authorities, including bilateral partners, to validate 


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1 United States type certificated aeronautical prod2 ucts; 

3 (3) provide assistance to United States compa4 nies that have experienced significantly long foreign 

5 validation wait times; 

6 (4) work with foreign authorities, including bi7 lateral partners, to collect and analyze data to deter8 mine the timeliness of the acceptance and validation 

9 of FAA design and production approvals by foreign 

10 authorities and the acceptance and validation of for11 eign-certified products by the FAA; 

12 (5) establish appropriate benchmarks and 

13 metrics to measure the success of bilateral aviation 

14 safety agreements and to reduce the validation time 

15 for United States type certificated aeronautical 

16 products abroad; and 

17 (6) work with foreign authorities, including bi18 lateral partners, to improve the timeliness of the ac19 ceptance and validation of FAA design and produc20 tion approvals by foreign authorities and the accept21 ance and validation of foreign-certified products by 

22 the FAA. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the FAA 

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1 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

3 Senate a report that— 

4 (1) describes the FAA’s strategic plan for inter5 national engagement; 

6 (2) describes the structure and responsibilities 

7 of all FAA offices that have international respon8 sibilities, including the Aircraft Certification Office, 

9 and all the activities conducted by those offices re10 lated to certification and production; 

11 (3) describes current and forecasted staffing 

12 and travel needs for the FAA’s international engage13 ment activities, including the needs of the Aircraft 

14 Certification Office in the current and forecasted 

15 budgetary environment; 

16 (4) provides recommendations, if appropriate, 

17 to improve the existing structure and personnel and 

18 travel policies supporting the FAA’s international 

19 engagement activities, including the activities of the 

20 Aviation Certification Office, to better support the 

21 growth of United States aerospace exports; and 

22 (5) identifies cost-effective policy initiatives, 

23 regulatory initiatives, or legislative initiatives needed 

24 to improve and enhance the timely acceptance of 

25 United States aerospace products abroad. 


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1 (c) INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL.—The Administrator of 

2 the FAA, or the Administrator’s designee, may authorize 

3 international travel for any FAA employee, without the 

4 approval of any other person or entity, if the Adminis5 trator determines that the travel is necessary— 

6 (1) to promote United States aerospace safety 

7 standards; or 

8 (2) to support expedited acceptance of FAA de9 sign and production approvals. 

10 SEC. 254. REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATION, AND RELATED 

11 FEES. 

12 Section 45305 of title 49, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Subject to 

15 subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection 

16 (c)’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

18 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION SERVICES.—Subject to sub22 section (c), and notwithstanding section 45301(a), the Ad23 ministrator may establish and collect a fee from a foreign 

24 government or entity for services related to certification, 

25 regardless of where the services are provided, if the fee— 


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1 ‘‘(1) is established and collected in a manner 

2 consistent with aviation safety agreements; and 

3 ‘‘(2) does not exceed the estimated costs of the 

4 services.’’. 

5 TITLE III—SAFETY 

6 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

7 SEC. 301. FAA TECHNICAL TRAINING. 

8 (a) E-LEARNING TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM.—Not 

9 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 

11 in collaboration with the exclusive bargaining representa12 tives of covered FAA personnel, shall establish an e-learn13 ing training pilot program in accordance with the require14 ments of this section. 

15 (b) CURRICULUM.—The pilot program shall— 

16 (1) include a recurrent training curriculum for 

17 covered FAA personnel to ensure that the personnel 

18 receive instruction on the latest aviation tech19 nologies, processes, and procedures; 

20 (2) focus on providing specialized technical 

21 training for covered FAA personnel, as determined 

22 necessary by the Administrator; 

23 (3) include training courses on applicable regu24 lations of the Federal Aviation Administration; and 


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1 (4) consider the efficacy of instructor-led online 

2 training. 

3 (c) PILOT PROGRAM TERMINATION.—The pilot pro4 gram shall terminate 1 year after the date of establish5 ment of the pilot program. 

6 (d) E-LEARNING TRAINING PROGRAM.—Upon termi7 nation of the pilot program, the Administrator shall estab8 lish an e-learning training program that incorporates les9 sons learned for covered FAA personnel as a result of the 

10 pilot program. 

11 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi12 nitions apply: 

13 (1) COVERED FAA PERSONNEL.—The term 

14 ‘‘covered FAA personnel’’ means airway transpor15 tation systems specialists and aviation safety inspec16 tors of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

17 (2) E-LEARNING TRAINING.—The term ‘‘e18 learning training’’ means learning utilizing electronic 

19 technologies to access educational curriculum outside 

20 of a traditional classroom. 

21 SEC. 302. SAFETY CRITICAL STAFFING. 

22 (a) UPDATE OF FAA’S SAFETY CRITICAL STAFFING

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1 ing model of the Administration to determine the number 

2 of aviation safety inspectors that will be needed to fulfill 

3 the safety oversight mission of the Administration. 

4 (b) AUDIT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the date on which the Administrator has updated 

7 the safety critical staffing model under subsection 

8 (a), the Inspector General of the Department of 

9 Transportation shall conduct an audit of the staffing 

10 model. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The audit shall include, at a 

12 minimum— 

13 (A) a review of the assumptions and meth14 odologies used in devising and implementing the 

15 staffing model to assess the adequacy of the 

16 staffing model in predicting the number of avia17 tion safety inspectors needed— 

18 (i) to properly fulfill the mission of 

19 the Administration; and 

20 (ii) to meet the future growth of the 

21 aviation industry; and 

22 (B) a determination on whether the staff23 ing model takes into account the Administra24 tion’s authority to fully utilize designees. 

25 (3) REPORT ON AUDIT.— 


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1 (A) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later 

2 than 30 days after the date of completion of the 

3 audit, the Inspector General shall submit to the 

4 Secretary a report on the results of the audit. 

5 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

6 than 60 days after the date of receipt of the re7 port, the Secretary shall submit to the Com8 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

9 the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor11 tation of the Senate a copy of the report, to12 gether with, if appropriate, a description of any 

13 actions taken or to be taken to address the re14 sults of the audit. 

15 SEC. 303. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS REGARDING TRACK16 ING OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT. 

17 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis18 tration shall exercise leadership on creating a global ap19 proach to improving aircraft tracking by working with— 

20 (1) foreign counterparts of the Administrator in 

21 the International Civil Aviation Organization and its 

22 subsidiary organizations; 

23 (2) other international organizations and fora; 

24 and 

25 (3) the private sector. 


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1 SEC. 304. AIRCRAFT DATA ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL SYS2 TEMS. 

3 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

5 Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate an assess6 ment of aircraft data access and retrieval systems for part 

7 121 air carrier aircraft that are used in extended 

8 overwater operations to— 

9 (1) determine if the systems provide improved 

10 access and retrieval of aircraft data and cockpit 

11 voice recordings in the event of an aircraft accident; 

12 and 

13 (2) assess the cost effectiveness of each system 

14 assessed. 

15 (b) SYSTEMS TO BE EXAMINED.—The systems to be 

16 examined under this section shall include, at a minimum— 

17 (1) automatic deployable flight recorders; 

18 (2) emergency locator transmitters; and 

19 (3) satellite-based solutions. 

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

21 of initiation of the assessment, the Administrator shall 

22 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra23 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

25 Senate a report on the results of the assessment. 


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1 (d) PART 121 AIR CARRIER DEFINED.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘‘part 121 air carrier’’ means an air carrier 

3 that holds a certificate issued under part 121 of title 14, 

4 Code of Federal Regulations. 

5 SEC. 305. ADVANCED COCKPIT DISPLAYS. 

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

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

8 Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate a review of 

9 heads-up display systems, heads-down display systems em10 ploying synthetic vision systems, and enhanced vision sys11 tems (in this section referred to as ‘‘HUD systems’’, 

12 ‘‘SVS’’, and ‘‘EVS’’, respectively). 

13 (b) CONTENTS.—The review shall— 

14 (1) evaluate the impacts of single- and dual-in15 stalled HUD systems, SVS, and EVS on the safety 

16 and efficiency of aircraft operations within the na17 tional airspace system; and 

18 (2) review a sufficient quantity of commercial 

19 aviation accidents or incidents in order to evaluate 

20 if HUD systems, SVS, and EVS would have pro21 duced a better outcome in that accident or incident. 

22 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the review, the 

23 Administrator shall consult with aviation manufacturers, 

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1 tions, and any government agencies the Administrator 

2 considers appropriate. 

3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

5 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

7 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

8 report containing the results of the review, the actions the 

9 Administrator plans to take with respect to the systems 

10 reviewed, and the associated timeline for such actions. 

11 SEC. 306. MARKING OF TOWERS. 

12 Section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Se13 curity Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 44718 note) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking subsections (a) through (c) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 

18 paragraph (2), not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 

20 2018 or the availability of the database developed by 

21 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis22 tration pursuant to subsection (c), whichever is 

23 later, all covered towers shall be either— 

24 ‘‘(A) clearly marked consistent with appli25 cable guidance in the advisory circular of the 


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1 Federal Aviation Administration issued Decem2 ber 4, 2015 (AC 70/7460–IL); or 

3 ‘‘(B) included in the database described in 

4 subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(2) METEOROLOGICAL EVALUATION TOWER.— 

6 A covered tower that is a meteorological evaluation 

7 tower shall be subject to the requirements of para8 graphs (1)(A) and (1)(B).’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

10 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; 

11 (3) in subsection (b)(1)(A) (as so redesig12 nated)— 

13 (A) in clause (i)(I) by striking ‘‘self-stand14 ing or’’ and inserting ‘‘a meteorological evalua15 tion tower or tower’’; and 

16 (B) in clause (ii)— 

17 (i) in subclause (IV) by striking ‘‘or’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (ii) in subclause (V) by striking the 

20 period at the end and inserting a semi21 colon; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(VI) is located within the right25 of-way of a rail carrier, including 


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1 within the boundaries of a rail yard, 

2 and is used for a railroad purpose; 

3 ‘‘(VII) is determined by the Ad4 ministrator to pose no hazard to air 

5 navigation; or 

6 ‘‘(VIII) has already mitigated 

7 any hazard to aviation safety in ac8 cordance with Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration guidance or as otherwise 

10 approved by the Administrator.’’; and 

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

12 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) develop a database that contains the loca15 tion and height of each covered tower that, pursuant 

16 to subsection (a), the owner or operator of such 

17 tower elects not to mark, except that meteorological 

18 evaluation towers shall be marked and contained in 

19 the database;’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (C) in paragraph (4) by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(5) ensure that the tower information in the 

2 database is de-identified and that the information 

3 only includes the location and height of covered tow4 ers; and 

5 ‘‘(6) make the database available for use not 

6 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

7 FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.’’. 

8 SEC. 307. CABIN EVACUATION. 

9 (a) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Federal 

10 Aviation Administration shall review— 

11 (1) evacuation certification of transport-cat12 egory aircraft used in air transportation, with regard 

13 to— 

14 (A) emergency conditions, including im15 pacts into water; 

16 (B) crew procedures used for evacuations 

17 under actual emergency conditions; and 

18 (C) any relevant changes to passenger de19 mographics and legal requirements (including 

20 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) 

21 that affect emergency evacuations; and 

22 (2) recent accidents and incidents where pas23 sengers evacuated such aircraft. 

24 (b) CONSULTATION; REVIEW OF DATA.—In con25 ducting the review, the Administrator shall— 


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1 (1) consult with the National Transportation 

2 Safety Board, transport-category aircraft manufac3 turers, air carriers, and other relevant experts and 

4 Federal agencies, including groups representing pas5 sengers, airline crewmembers, maintenance employ6 ees, and emergency responders; and 

7 (2) review relevant data with respect to evacu8 ation certification of transport-category aircraft. 

9 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In12 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

14 Senate a report on the results of the review and related 

15 recommendations, if any, including any recommendations 

16 for revisions to the assumptions and methods used for as17 sessing evacuation certification of transport-category air18 craft. 

19 SEC. 308. ODA STAFFING AND OVERSIGHT. 

20 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 270 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

22 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to the 

23 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

2 on the Administration’s progress with respect to— 

3 (1) determining what additional model inputs 

4 and labor distribution codes are needed to identify 

5 ODA oversight staffing needs; 

6 (2) developing and implementing system-based 

7 evaluation criteria and risk-based tools to aid ODA 

8 team members in targeting their oversight activities; 

9 (3) developing agreements and processes for 

10 sharing resources to ensure adequate oversight of 

11 ODA personnel performing certification and inspec12 tion work at supplier and company facilities; and 

13 (4) ensuring full utilization of ODA authority. 

14 (b) ODA DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘‘ODA’’ has the meaning given that term in section 44736 

16 of title 49, United States Code, as added by this Act. 

17 SEC. 309. EMERGENCY MEDICAL EQUIPMENT ON PAS18 SENGER AIRCRAFT. 

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

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

21 Federal Aviation Administration shall evaluate and revise, 

22 as appropriate, regulations in part 121 of title 14, Code 

23 of Federal Regulations, regarding emergency medical 

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1 ble to all certificate holders operating passenger aircraft 

2 under that part. 

3 (b) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

4 the Administrator shall consider whether the minimum 

5 contents of approved emergency medical kits, including 

6 approved first-aid kits, include appropriate medications 

7 and equipment to meet the emergency medical needs of 

8 children and pregnant women. 

9 SEC. 310. HIMS PROGRAM. 

10 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad12 ministration shall conduct a human intervention motiva13 tion study (HIMS) program for flight crewmembers em14 ployed by commercial air carriers operating in United 

15 States airspace. 

16 SEC. 311. ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUNTARILY PROVIDED SAFE17 TY INFORMATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a presumption that 

19 an individual’s voluntary disclosure of an operational or 

20 maintenance issue related to aviation safety under an avia21 tion safety action program meets the criteria for accept22 ance as a valid disclosure under such program. 

23 (b) DISCLAIMER REQUIRED.—Any dissemination of 

24 a disclosure that was submitted and accepted under an 

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1 tion under subsection (a), but that has not undergone re2 view by an event review committee, shall be accompanied 

3 by a disclaimer stating that the disclosure— 

4 (1) has not been reviewed by an event review 

5 committee tasked with reviewing such disclosures; 

6 and 

7 (2) may subsequently be determined to be ineli8 gible for inclusion in the aviation safety action pro9 gram. 

10 (c) REJECTION OF DISCLOSURE.—A disclosure de11 scribed under subsection (a) shall be rejected from an 

12 aviation safety action program if, after a review of the dis13 closure, an event review committee tasked with reviewing 

14 such disclosures determines that the disclosure fails to 

15 meet the criteria for acceptance under such program. 

16 (d) AVIATION SAFETY ACTION PROGRAM DE17 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘aviation safety action 

18 program’’ means a program established in accordance with 

19 Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 120– 

20 66B, issued November 15, 2002 (including any similar 

21 successor advisory circular), to allow an individual to vol22 untarily disclose operational or maintenance issues related 

23 to aviation safety. 


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1 SEC. 312. FLIGHT ATTENDANT DUTY PERIOD LIMITATIONS 

2 AND REST REQUIREMENTS. 

3 (a) MODIFICATION OF FINAL RULE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

6 Transportation shall modify the final rule of the 

7 Federal Aviation Administration published in the 

8 Federal Register on August 19, 1994 (59 Fed. Reg. 

9 42974; relating to flight attendant duty period limi10 tations and rest requirements) in accordance with 

11 the requirements of this subsection. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—The final rule, as modified 

13 under paragraph (1), shall ensure that— 

14 (A) a flight attendant scheduled to a duty 

15 period of 14 hours or less is given a scheduled 

16 rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours; and 

17 (B) the rest period is not reduced under 

18 any circumstances. 

19 (b) FATIGUE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

20 (1) SUBMISSION OF PLAN BY PART 121 AIR CAR21 RIERS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of en22 actment of this Act, each air carrier operating under 

23 part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (in 

24 this section referred to as a ‘‘part 121 air carrier’’), 

25 shall submit to the Administrator of the Federal 

26 Aviation Administration for review and acceptance a 


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1 fatigue risk management plan for the carrier’s flight 

2 attendants. 

3 (2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A fatigue risk man4 agement plan submitted by a part 121 air carrier 

5 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

6 (A) Current flight time and duty period 

7 limitations. 

8 (B) A rest scheme consistent with such 

9 limitations that enables the management of 

10 flight attendant fatigue, including annual train11 ing to increase awareness of— 

12 (i) fatigue; 

13 (ii) the effects of fatigue on flight at14 tendants; and 

15 (iii) fatigue countermeasures. 

16 (C) Development and use of a methodology 

17 that continually assesses the effectiveness of im18 plementation of the plan, including the ability 

19 of the plan— 

20 (i) to improve alertness; and 

21 (ii) to mitigate performance errors. 

22 (3) REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

24 shall review and accept or reject each fatigue risk 

25 management plan submitted under this subsection. 


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1 If the Administrator rejects a plan, the Adminis2 trator shall provide suggested modifications for re3 submission of the plan. 

4 (4) PLAN UPDATES.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A part 121 air carrier 

6 shall update its fatigue risk management plan 

7 under paragraph (1) every 2 years and submit 

8 the update to the Administrator for review and 

9 acceptance. 

10 (B) REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of submission of a plan update under 

12 subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall re13 view and accept or reject the update. If the Ad14 ministrator rejects an update, the Adminis15 trator shall provide suggested modifications for 

16 resubmission of the update. 

17 (5) COMPLIANCE.—A part 121 air carrier shall 

18 comply with the fatigue risk management plan of the 

19 air carrier that is accepted by the Administrator 

20 under this subsection. 

21 (6) CIVIL PENALTIES.—A violation of this sub22 section by a part 121 air carrier shall be treated as 

23 a violation of chapter 447 of title 49, United States 

24 Code, for purposes of the application of civil pen25 alties under chapter 463 of that title. 


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1 SEC. 313. SECONDARY COCKPIT BARRIERS. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad4 ministration shall issue an order requiring the installation 

5 of a secondary cockpit barrier on each aircraft that is 

6 manufactured for delivery to a passenger air carrier in the 

7 United States operating under the provisions of part 121 

8 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 SEC. 314. AVIATION MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY TECHNICAL 

10 WORKFORCE. 

11 (a) WORKFORCE READINESS.—The Administrator of 

12 the Federal Aviation Administration shall coordinate with 

13 government, educational institutions, labor organizations 

14 representing aviation maintenance workers, and busi15 nesses to develop guidance or model curricula for aviation 

16 maintenance technician schools certificated under part 

17 147 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations to en18 sure workforce readiness for industry needs, including cur19 ricula related to training in avionics, troubleshooting, and 

20 other areas of industry needs. 

21 (1) Not later than 1 year after the date of en22 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall publish 

23 the guidance or model curricula. 

24 (2) The Administrator shall publish updates to 

25 the guidance or model curricula at least once every 

26 2 years from the date of initial publication. 


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1 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

2 States shall conduct a study on technical workers in the 

3 aviation maintenance industry. 

4 (c) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Comp5 troller General shall— 

6 (1) analyze the current Standard Occupational 

7 Classification system with regard to the aviation 

8 profession, particularly technical workers in the avia9 tion maintenance industry; 

10 (2) analyze how changes to the Federal employ11 ment classification of aviation maintenance industry 

12 workers might affect government data on unemploy13 ment rates and wages; 

14 (3) analyze how changes to the Federal employ15 ment classification of aviation maintenance industry 

16 workers might affect projections for future aviation 

17 maintenance industry workforce needs and project 

18 technical worker shortfalls; 

19 (4) analyze the impact of Federal regulation, 

20 including Federal Aviation Administration oversight 

21 of certification, testing, and education programs, on 

22 employment of technical workers in the aviation 

23 maintenance industry; 

24 (5) develop recommendations on how Federal 

25 Aviation Administration regulations and policies 


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1 could be improved to address aviation maintenance 

2 industry needs for technical workers; 

3 (6) develop recommendations for better coordi4 nating actions by government, educational institu5 tions, and businesses to support workforce growth in 

6 the aviation maintenance industry; and 

7 (7) develop recommendations for addressing the 

8 needs for government funding, private investment, 

9 equipment for training purposes, and other re10 sources necessary to strengthen existing training 

11 programs or develop new training programs to sup12 port workforce growth in the aviation industry. 

13 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

15 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra16 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

18 Senate a report on the results of the study. 

19 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi20 nitions apply: 

21 (1) AVIATION MAINTENANCE INDUSTRY.—The 

22 term ‘‘aviation maintenance industry’’ means repair 

23 stations certificated under part 145 of title 14, Code 

24 of Federal Regulations. 


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1 (2) TECHNICAL WORKER.—The term ‘‘technical 

2 worker’’ means an individual authorized under part 

3 43 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to main4 tain, rebuild, alter, or perform preventive mainte5 nance on an aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, pro6 peller, appliance, or component part or employed by 

7 an entity so authorized to perform such a function. 

8 SEC. 315. CRITICAL AIRFIELD MARKINGS. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad11 ministration shall issue a request for proposal for a study 

12 that includes— 

13 (1) an independent, third party study to assess 

14 the durability of Type III and Type I glass beads 

15 applied to critical markings over a 2-year period at 

16 not fewer than 2 primary airports in varying weath17 er conditions to measure the retroreflectivity levels 

18 of such markings on a quarterly basis; and 

19 (2) a study at 2 other airports carried out by 

20 applying Type III beads on half of the centerline 

21 and Type I beads to the other half and providing for 

22 assessments from pilots through surveys adminis23 tered by a third party as to the visibility and per24 formance of the Type III glass beads as compared 

25 to the Type I glass beads over a 1-year period. 


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1 SEC. 316. REGULATORY REFORM. 

2 Section 106(p)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by inserting ‘‘or aerospace’’ after ‘‘aviation’’. 

4 SEC. 317. FAA AND NTSB REVIEW OF GENERAL AVIATION 

5 SAFETY. 

6 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

8 the Federal Aviation Administration, in coordination with 

9 the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety 

10 Board, shall initiate a study of general aviation safety. 

11 (b) STUDY CONTENTS.—The study required under 

12 subsection (a) shall include— 

13 (1) a review of all general aviation accidents 

14 since 2000, including a review of— 

15 (A) the number of such accidents; 

16 (B) the number of injuries and fatalities, 

17 including with respect to both occupants of air18 craft and individuals on the ground, as a result 

19 of such accidents; 

20 (C) the number of such accidents inves21 tigated by the National Transportation Safety 

22 Board; 

23 (D) the number of such accidents inves24 tigated by the Federal Aviation Administration; 

25 and 


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1 (E) a summary of the factual findings and 

2 probable cause determinations with respect to 

3 such accidents; 

4 (2) an assessment of the most common prob5 able cause determinations issued for general aviation 

6 accidents since 2000; 

7 (3) an assessment of the most common facts 

8 analyzed by the Federal Aviation Administration and 

9 the National Transportation Safety Board in the 

10 course of investigations of general aviation accidents 

11 since 2000, including operational details; 

12 (4) a review of the safety recommendations of 

13 the National Transportation Safety Board related to 

14 general aviation accidents since 2000; 

15 (5) an assessment of the responses of the Fed16 eral Aviation Administration and the general avia17 tion community to the safety recommendations of 

18 the National Transportation Safety Board related to 

19 general aviation accidents since 2000; 

20 (6) an assessment of the most common general 

21 aviation safety issues; 

22 (7) a review of the total costs to the Federal 

23 Government to conduct investigations of general 

24 aviation accidents over the last 10 years; and 


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1 (8) other matters the Administrator or the 

2 Chairman considers appropriate. 

3 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS TO ADDRESS

4 GENERAL AVIATION SAFETY.—Based on the results of the 

5 study required under subsection (a), the Administrator, in 

6 consultation with the Chairman, shall make such rec7 ommendations, including with respect to regulations and 

8 enforcement activities, as the Administrator considers nec9 essary to— 

10 (1) address general aviation safety issues identi11 fied under the study; 

12 (2) protect persons and property on the ground; 

13 and 

14 (3) improve the safety of general aviation oper15 ators in the United States. 

16 (d) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the Administrator shall have the authority to 

18 undertake actions to address the recommendations made 

19 under subsection (c). 

20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

23 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

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1 section (a), including the recommendations described in 

2 subsection (c). 

3 (f) GENERAL AVIATION DEFINED.—In this section, 

4 the term ‘‘general aviation’’ means aircraft operation for 

5 personal, recreational, or other noncommercial purposes. 

6 SEC. 318. CALL TO ACTION AIRLINE ENGINE SAFETY RE7 VIEW. 

8 (a) CALL TO ACTION AIRLINE ENGINE SAFETY RE9 VIEW.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact10 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Avia11 tion Administration shall initiate a Call to Action safety 

12 review on airline engine safety in order to bring stake13 holders together to share best practices and implement ac14 tions to address airline engine safety. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The Call to Action safety review re16 quired pursuant to subsection (a) shall include— 

17 (1) a review of Administration regulations, 

18 guidance, and directives related to airline engines 

19 during design and production, including the over20 sight of those processes; 

21 (2) a review of Administration regulations, 

22 guidance, and directives related to airline engine op23 eration and maintenance and the oversight of those 

24 processes; 


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1 (3) a review of reportable accidents and inci2 dents involving airline engines during calendar years 

3 2014 through 2018, including any identified contrib4 uting factors to the reportable accident or incident; 

5 and 

6 (4) a process for stakeholders, including inspec7 tors, manufacturers, maintenance providers, airlines, 

8 and aviation safety experts, to provide feedback and 

9 share best practices. 

10 (c) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

11 than 90 days after the conclusion of the Call to Action 

12 safety review pursuant to subsection (a), the Adminis13 trator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

14 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

15 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

16 of the Senate a report on the results of the review and 

17 any recommendations for actions or best practices to im18 prove airline engine safety. 

19 SEC. 319. SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN AIRCRAFT OPER20 ATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

22 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 44737. Special rule for certain aircraft operations 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The operator of an aircraft with 

3 a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental cat4 egory may— 

5 ‘‘(1) operate the aircraft for the purpose of con6 ducting a commercial space transportation support 

7 flight; and 

8 ‘‘(2) conduct such flight under such certificate 

9 carrying persons or property for compensation or 

10 hire notwithstanding any rule or term of a certificate 

11 issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

12 Administration that would prohibit flight for com13 pensation or hire. 

14 ‘‘(b) LIMITED APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall 

15 apply only to a commercial space transportation support 

16 flight that satisfies each of the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) The aircraft conducting the commercial 

18 space transportation support flight— 

19 ‘‘(A) takes flight and lands at a single site 

20 that is licensed for operation under chapter 509 

21 of title 51; and 

22 ‘‘(B) is used only to simulate space flight 

23 conditions in support of— 

24 ‘‘(i) training for potential space flight 

25 participants or crew (as those terms are 

26 defined in chapter 509 of title 51); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the testing of hardware to be 

2 used in space flight. 

3 ‘‘(2) The operator of the commercial space 

4 transportation support flight— 

5 ‘‘(A) informs, in writing, any individual 

6 serving as crew of the aircraft that the United 

7 States Government has not certified the aircraft 

8 as safe for carrying crew or passengers prior to 

9 executing any contract or other arrangement to 

10 employ that individual (or, in the case of an in11 dividual already employed as of the date of en12 actment of this section, prior to any commercial 

13 space transportation support flight in which the 

14 individual will participate as crew); 

15 ‘‘(B) prior to receiving any compensation 

16 for carrying any passengers on the aircraft— 

17 ‘‘(i) informs, in writing, the pas18 sengers about the risks of the aircraft and 

19 commercial space transportation support 

20 flight, including the safety record for the 

21 operator’s fleet of similar vehicle types and 

22 information sufficient to adequately de23 scribe the safety record for the vehicle type 

24 regardless of operator; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) informs, in writing, any pas2 senger that the United States Government 

3 has not certified the aircraft as safe for 

4 carrying crew or passengers; 

5 ‘‘(C) provides any passenger an oppor6 tunity to ask questions orally to acquire a bet7 ter understanding of the safety record of the 

8 aircraft and commercial space transportation 

9 support flight; and 

10 ‘‘(D) obtains written informed consent 

11 from any individual serving as crew and all pas12 sengers of the commercial space transportation 

13 support flight that— 

14 ‘‘(i) identifies the specific aircraft the 

15 consent covers; 

16 ‘‘(ii) states that the individual under17 stands the risk and that the presence of 

18 the individual on board the aircraft is vol19 untary; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) is signed and dated by the indi21 vidual. 

22 ‘‘(3) When the aircraft is also a launch vehicle, 

23 reentry vehicle, or component of a launch or reentry 

24 vehicle, the operator of the aircraft holds a license 


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1 or permit issued under chapter 509 of title 51 for 

2 that vehicle or vehicle component. 

3 ‘‘(4) Any other requirements that the Adminis4 trator may prescribe to permit a commercial space 

5 transportation support flight under this section. 

6 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) Section 44711(a)(1) shall not apply to a 

8 person conducting a commercial space transpor9 tation support flight under this section only to the 

10 extent that a term of the experimental certificate 

11 under which the person is operating the aircraft pro12 hibits the carriage of persons or property for com13 pensation or hire. 

14 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed 

15 to limit the authority of the Administrator to exempt 

16 a person from a regulatory prohibition on the car17 riage of persons or property for compensation or 

18 hire subject to terms and conditions other than 

19 those described in this section.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap21 ter 447 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 

22 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘44737. Special rule for certain aircraft operations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 320. EXIT ROWS. 

2 (a) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Federal 

3 Aviation Administration shall conduct a review of current 

4 safety procedures regarding unoccupied exit rows on a cov5 ered aircraft in passenger air transportation during all 

6 stages of flight. 

7 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the review, the 

8 Administrator shall consult with air carriers, aviation 

9 manufacturers, and labor stakeholders. 

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

11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

12 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

15 report on the results of the review. 

16 (d) COVERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this section, 

17 the term ‘‘covered aircraft’’ means an aircraft operating 

18 under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

19 SEC. 321. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON FAA EN20 FORCEMENT POLICY. 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall complete a study, and report to the Committee on 

24 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep25 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

26 and Transportation of the United States Senate on the 


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1 results thereof, on the effectiveness of Order 8000.373, 

2 Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Philosophy, 

3 announced on June 26, 2015. Such study shall include 

4 information about— 

5 (1) whether reports of safety incidents in6 creased following the order; 

7 (2) whether reduced enforcement penalties in8 creased the overall number of safety incidents that 

9 occurred; and 

10 (3) whether FAA enforcement staff registered 

11 complaints about reduced enforcement reducing 

12 compliance with safety regulations. 

13 Subtitle B—Unmanned Aircraft 

14 Systems 

15 SEC. 331. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Except as otherwise provided, the definitions con17 tained in section 45501 of title 49, United States Code 

18 (as added by this Act), shall apply to this subtitle. 

19 SEC. 332. CODIFICATION OF EXISTING LAW; ADDITIONAL 

20 PROVISIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle VII of title 49, United 

22 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 453 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 455—UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 

2 SYSTEMS 

‘‘45501. Definitions. 

‘‘45502. Integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into national airspace 

system. 

‘‘45503. Risk-based permitting of unmanned aircraft systems. 

‘‘45504. Public unmanned aircraft systems. 

‘‘45505. Special rules for certain unmanned aircraft systems. 

‘‘45506. Certification of new air navigation facilities for unmanned aircraft and 

other aircraft. 

‘‘45507. Special rules for certain UTM and low-altitude CNS. 

‘‘45508. Operation of small unmanned aircraft. 

‘‘45509. Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft. 

‘‘45510. Carriage of property for compensation or hire. 

‘‘45511. Micro UAS operations. 

3 ‘‘§ 45501. Definitions 

4 ‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) AERIAL DATA COLLECTION.—The term 

6 ‘aerial data collection’ means the gathering of data 

7 by a device aboard an unmanned aircraft during 

8 flight, including imagery, sensing, and measurement 

9 by such device. 

10 ‘‘(2) ARCTIC.—The term ‘Arctic’ means the 

11 United States zone of the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort 

12 Sea, and Bering Sea north of the Aleutian chain. 

13 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATE OF WAIVER; CERTIFICATE

14 OF AUTHORIZATION.—The terms ‘certificate of waiv15 er’ and ‘certificate of authorization’ mean a Federal 

16 Aviation Administration grant of approval for a spe17 cific flight operation. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CNS.—The term ‘CNS’ means a commu2 nication, navigation, or surveillance system or serv3 ice. 

4 ‘‘(5) MODEL AIRCRAFT.—the term ‘model air5 craft’ means an unmanned aircraft that is— 

6 ‘‘(A) capable of sustained flight in the at7 mosphere; 

8 ‘‘(B) flown within visual line of sight of the 

9 person operating the aircraft; and 

10 ‘‘(C) flown for hobby or recreational pur11 poses. 

12 ‘‘(6) PERMANENT AREAS.—The term ‘perma13 nent areas’ means areas on land or water that pro14 vide for launch, recovery, and operation of small un15 manned aircraft. 

16 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.— 

17 The term ‘public unmanned aircraft system’ means 

18 an unmanned aircraft system that meets the quali19 fications and conditions required for operation of a 

20 public aircraft (as defined in section 40102(a)). 

21 ‘‘(8) SENSE-AND-AVOID CAPABILITY.—The term 

22 ‘sense-and-avoid capability’ means the capability of 

23 an unmanned aircraft to remain a safe distance 

24 from and to avoid collisions with other airborne air25 craft. 


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1 ‘‘(9) SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—The term 

2 ‘small unmanned aircraft’ means an unmanned air3 craft weighing less than 55 pounds, including every4 thing that is on board or otherwise attached to the 

5 aircraft. 

6 ‘‘(10) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘un7 manned aircraft’ means an aircraft that is operated 

8 without the possibility of direct human intervention 

9 from within or on the aircraft. 

10 ‘‘(11) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The 

11 term ‘unmanned aircraft system’ means an un12 manned aircraft and associated elements (including 

13 communication links and the components that con14 trol the unmanned aircraft) that are required for the 

15 pilot in command to operate safely and efficiently in 

16 the national airspace system. 

17 ‘‘(12) UTM.—The term ‘UTM’ means an un18 manned aircraft traffic management system or serv19 ice. 

20 ‘‘§ 45502. Integration of civil unmanned aircraft sys21 tems into national airspace system 

22 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED PLANNING FOR INTEGRATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—Not later than 

24 November 10, 2012, the Secretary of Transpor25 tation, in consultation with representatives of the 


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1 aviation industry, Federal agencies that employ un2 manned aircraft systems technology in the national 

3 airspace system, and the unmanned aircraft systems 

4 industry, shall develop a comprehensive plan to safe5 ly accelerate the integration of civil unmanned air6 craft systems into the national airspace system. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required 

8 under paragraph (1) shall contain, at a minimum, 

9 recommendations or projections on— 

10 ‘‘(A) the rulemaking to be conducted under 

11 subsection (b), with specific recommendations 

12 on how the rulemaking will— 

13 ‘‘(i) define the acceptable standards 

14 for operation and certification of civil un15 manned aircraft systems; 

16 ‘‘(ii) ensure that any civil unmanned 

17 aircraft system includes a sense-and-avoid 

18 capability; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) establish standards and require20 ments for the operator and pilot of a civil 

21 unmanned aircraft system, including 

22 standards and requirements for registra23 tion and licensing; 

24 ‘‘(B) the best methods to enhance the tech25 nologies and subsystems necessary to achieve 


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1 the safe and routine operation of civil un2 manned aircraft systems in the national air3 space system; 

4 ‘‘(C) a phased-in approach to the integra5 tion of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the 

6 national airspace system; 

7 ‘‘(D) a timeline for the phased-in approach 

8 described under subparagraph (C); 

9 ‘‘(E) creation of a safe airspace designa10 tion for cooperative manned and unmanned 

11 flight operations in the national airspace sys12 tem; 

13 ‘‘(F) establishment of a process to develop 

14 certification, flight standards, and air traffic re15 quirements for civil unmanned aircraft systems 

16 at test ranges where such systems are subject 

17 to testing; 

18 ‘‘(G) the best methods to ensure the safe 

19 operation of civil unmanned aircraft systems 

20 and public unmanned aircraft systems simulta21 neously in the national airspace system; and 

22 ‘‘(H) incorporation of the plan into the an23 nual NextGen Implementation Plan document 

24 (or any successor document) of the Federal 

25 Aviation Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The plan required under 

2 paragraph (1) shall provide for the safe integration 

3 of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national 

4 airspace system as soon as practicable, but not later 

5 than September 30, 2015. 

6 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

7 February 14, 2013, the Secretary shall submit to 

8 Congress a copy of the plan required under para9 graph (1). 

10 ‘‘(5) ROADMAP.—Not later than February 14, 

11 2013, the Secretary shall approve and make avail12 able in print and on the Administration’s internet 

13 website a 5-year roadmap for the introduction of 

14 civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national 

15 airspace system, as coordinated by the Unmanned 

16 Aircraft Program Office of the Administration. The 

17 Secretary shall update, in coordination with the Ad18 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

19 Administration (NASA) and relevant stakeholders, 

20 including those in industry and academia, the road21 map annually. The roadmap shall include, at a min22 imum— 

23 ‘‘(A) cost estimates, planned schedules, 

24 and performance benchmarks, including specific 

25 tasks, milestones, and timelines, for unmanned 


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1 aircraft systems integration into the national 

2 airspace system, including an identification of— 

3 ‘‘(i) the role of the unmanned aircraft 

4 systems test ranges established under sub5 section (c) and the Unmanned Aircraft 

6 Systems Center of Excellence; 

7 ‘‘(ii) performance objectives for un8 manned aircraft systems that operate in 

9 the national airspace system; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) research and development prior11 ities for tools that could assist air traffic 

12 controllers as unmanned aircraft systems 

13 are integrated into the national airspace 

14 system, as appropriate; 

15 ‘‘(B) a description of how the Administra16 tion plans to use research and development, in17 cluding research and development conducted 

18 through NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

19 Traffic Management initiatives, to accommo20 date, integrate, and provide for the evolution of 

21 unmanned aircraft systems in the national air22 space system; 

23 ‘‘(C) an assessment of critical performance 

24 abilities necessary to integrate unmanned air25 craft systems into the national airspace system, 


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1 and how these performance abilities can be 

2 demonstrated; and 

3 ‘‘(D) an update on the advancement of 

4 technologies needed to integrate unmanned air5 craft systems into the national airspace system, 

6 including decisionmaking by adaptive systems, 

7 such as sense-and-avoid capabilities and cyber 

8 physical systems security. 

9 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after 

10 the date on which the plan required under subsection 

11 (a)(1) is submitted to Congress under subsection (a)(4), 

12 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register— 

13 ‘‘(1) a final rule on small unmanned aircraft 

14 systems that will allow for civil operation of such 

15 systems in the national airspace system, to the ex16 tent the systems do not meet the requirements for 

17 expedited operational authorization under section 

18 45508; 

19 ‘‘(2) a notice of proposed rulemaking to imple20 ment the recommendations of the plan required 

21 under subsection (a)(1), with the final rule to be 

22 published not later than 16 months after the date of 

23 publication of the notice; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) an update to the Administration’s most re2 cent policy statement on unmanned aircraft systems, 

3 contained in Docket No. FAA–2006–25714. 

4 ‘‘(c) EXPANDING USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

5 SYSTEMS IN ARCTIC.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 12, 

7 2012, the Secretary shall develop a plan and initiate 

8 a process to work with relevant Federal agencies and 

9 national and international communities to designate 

10 permanent areas in the Arctic where small un11 manned aircraft may operate 24 hours per day for 

12 research and commercial purposes. The plan for op13 erations in these permanent areas shall include the 

14 development of processes to facilitate the safe oper15 ation of unmanned aircraft beyond line of sight. 

16 Such areas shall enable over-water flights from the 

17 surface to at least 2,000 feet in altitude, with in18 gress and egress routes from selected coastal launch 

19 sites. 

20 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS.—To implement the plan 

21 under paragraph (1), the Secretary may enter into 

22 an agreement with relevant national and inter23 national communities. 

24 ‘‘(3) AIRCRAFT APPROVAL.—Not later than 1 

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1 essary to effectuate the purposes of this subsection, 

2 the Secretary shall work with relevant national and 

3 international communities to establish and imple4 ment a process, or may apply an applicable process 

5 already established, for approving the use of un6 manned aircraft in the designated permanent areas 

7 in the Arctic without regard to whether an un8 manned aircraft is used as a public aircraft, a civil 

9 aircraft, or a model aircraft. 

10 ‘‘§ 45503. Risk-based permitting of unmanned aircraft 

11 systems 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

14 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish pro15 cedures for issuing permits under this section with respect 

16 to certain unmanned aircraft systems and operations 

17 thereof. 

18 ‘‘(b) PERMITTING STANDARDS.—Upon the submis19 sion of an application in accordance with subsection (d), 

20 the Administrator shall issue a permit with respect to the 

21 proposed operation of an unmanned aircraft system if the 

22 Administrator determines that the unmanned aircraft sys23 tem and the proposed operation achieve a level of safety 

24 that is equivalent to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) other unmanned aircraft systems and op2 erations permitted under regulation, exemption, or 

3 other authority granted by the Administrator; or 

4 ‘‘(2) any other aircraft operation approved by 

5 the Administrator with similar risk characteristics or 

6 profiles. 

7 ‘‘(c) SAFETY CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION.—In 

8 determining whether a proposed operation meets the 

9 standards described in subsection (b), the Administrator 

10 shall consider the following safety criteria: 

11 ‘‘(1) The kinetic energy of the unmanned air12 craft system. 

13 ‘‘(2) The location of the proposed operation, in14 cluding the proximity to— 

15 ‘‘(A) structures; 

16 ‘‘(B) congested areas; 

17 ‘‘(C) special-use airspace; and 

18 ‘‘(D) persons on the ground. 

19 ‘‘(3) The nature of the operation, including any 

20 proposed risk mitigation. 

21 ‘‘(4) Any known hazard of the proposed oper22 ation and the severity and likelihood of such hazard. 

23 ‘‘(5) Any known failure modes of the unmanned 

24 aircraft system, failure mode effects and criticality, 

25 and any mitigating features or capabilities. 


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1 ‘‘(6) The operational history of relevant tech2 nologies, if available. 

3 ‘‘(7) Any history of civil penalties or certificate 

4 actions by the Administrator against the applicant 

5 seeking the permit. 

6 ‘‘(8) Any other safety criteria the Administrator 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An application under this sec9 tion shall include evidence that the unmanned aircraft sys10 tem and the proposed operation thereof meet the stand11 ards described in subsection (b) based on the criteria de12 scribed in subsection (c). 

13 ‘‘(e) SCOPE OF PERMIT.—A permit issued under this 

14 section shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) be valid for 5 years; 

16 ‘‘(2) constitute approval of both the airworthi17 ness of the unmanned aircraft system and the pro18 posed operation of such system; 

19 ‘‘(3) be renewable for additional 5-year periods; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(4) contain any terms necessary to ensure 

22 aviation safety. 

23 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—Not later than 120 days after the Ad24 ministrator receives a complete application under sub25 section (d), the Administrator shall provide the applicant 


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1 written notice of a decision to approve or disapprove of 

2 the application or to request a modification of the applica3 tion that is necessary for approval of the application. 

4 ‘‘(g) PERMITTING PROCESS.—The Administrator 

5 shall issue a permit under this section without regard to 

6 subsections (b) through (d) of section 553 of title 5 and 

7 chapter 35 of title 44 if the Administrator determines that 

8 the operation permitted will not occur near a congested 

9 area. 

10 ‘‘(h) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 To the extent consistent with aviation safety, the Adminis12 trator may exempt applicants under this section from 

13 paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 44711(a). 

14 ‘‘(i) WITHDRAWAL.—The Administrator may, at any 

15 time, modify or withdraw a permit issued under this sec16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(j) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall not apply to 

18 small unmanned aircraft systems and operations author19 ized by the final rule on small unmanned aircraft systems 

20 issued pursuant to section 45502(b)(1). 

21 ‘‘(k) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—The Administrator shall 

22 review and act upon applications under this section on an 

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1 sponse, or disaster recovery efforts, including efforts in 

2 connection with natural disasters and severe weather 

3 events. 

4 ‘‘§ 45504. Public unmanned aircraft systems 

5 ‘‘(a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than November 10, 

6 2012, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue guidance 

7 regarding the operation of public unmanned aircraft sys8 tems to— 

9 ‘‘(1) expedite the issuance of a certificate of au10 thorization process; 

11 ‘‘(2) provide for a collaborative process with 

12 public agencies to allow for an incremental expan13 sion of access to the national airspace system as 

14 technology matures and the necessary safety anal15 ysis and data become available, and until standards 

16 are completed and technology issues are resolved; 

17 ‘‘(3) facilitate the capability of public agencies 

18 to develop and use test ranges, subject to operating 

19 restrictions required by the Federal Aviation Admin20 istration, to test and operate unmanned aircraft sys21 tems; and 

22 ‘‘(4) provide guidance on a public entity’s re23 sponsibility when operating an unmanned aircraft 

24 without a civil airworthiness certificate issued by the 

25 Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(b) STANDARDS FOR OPERATION AND CERTIFI2 CATION.—Not later than December 31, 2015, the Admin3 istrator shall develop and implement operational and cer4 tification requirements for the operation of public un5 manned aircraft systems in the national airspace system. 

6 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENTS WITH GOVERNMENT AGEN7 CIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 14, 

9 2012, the Secretary shall enter into agreements with 

10 appropriate government agencies to simplify the 

11 process for issuing certificates of waiver or author12 ization with respect to applications seeking author13 ization to operate public unmanned aircraft systems 

14 in the national airspace system. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The agreements shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) with respect to an application de17 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(i) provide for an expedited review of 

19 the application; 

20 ‘‘(ii) require a decision by the Admin21 istrator on approval or disapproval within 

22 60 business days of the date of submission 

23 of the application; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) allow for an expedited appeal if 

25 the application is disapproved; 


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1 ‘‘(B) allow for a one-time approval of simi2 lar operations carried out during a fixed period 

3 of time; and 

4 ‘‘(C) allow a government public safety 

5 agency to operate unmanned aircraft weighing 

6 4.4 pounds or less, if operated— 

7 ‘‘(i) within the line of sight of the op8 erator; 

9 ‘‘(ii) less than 400 feet above the 

10 ground; 

11 ‘‘(iii) during daylight conditions; 

12 ‘‘(iv) within Class G airspace; and 

13 ‘‘(v) outside of 5 statute miles from 

14 any airport, heliport, seaplane base, space15 port, or other location with aviation activi16 ties. 

17 ‘‘§ 45505. Special rules for certain unmanned aircraft 

18 systems 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other re20 quirement of this subtitle, and not later than August 12, 

21 2012, the Secretary of Transportation shall determine if 

22 certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in 

23 the national airspace system before completion of the plan 

24 and rulemaking required by section 45502 or the guidance 

25 required under section 45504. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYS2 TEMS.—In making the determination under subsection 

3 (a), the Secretary shall determine, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(1) which types of unmanned aircraft systems, 

5 if any, as a result of their size, weight, speed, oper6 ational capability, proximity to airports and popu7 lated areas, and operation within visual line of sight 

8 do not create a hazard to users of the national air9 space system or the public or pose a threat to na10 tional security; and 

11 ‘‘(2) whether a certificate of waiver, certificate 

12 of authorization, or airworthiness certification under 

13 section 44704 is required for the operation of un14 manned aircraft systems identified under paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR SAFE OPERATION.—If the 

17 Secretary determines under this section that certain un18 manned aircraft systems may operate safely in the na19 tional airspace system, the Secretary shall establish re20 quirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems 

21 in the national airspace system. 

22 ‘‘§ 45506. Certification of new air navigation facilities 

23 for unmanned aircraft and other aircraft 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

25 the date of enactment of this section, and notwithstanding 


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1 section 2208 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security 

2 Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note), the Administrator 

3 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate a 

4 rulemaking to establish procedures for issuing air naviga5 tion facility certificates pursuant to section 44702 to oper6 ators of— 

7 ‘‘(1) UTM for unmanned aircraft operations 

8 that occur primarily or exclusively in airspace 400 

9 feet above ground level and below; and 

10 ‘‘(2) low-altitude CNS for aircraft operations 

11 that occur primarily or exclusively in airspace 400 

12 feet above ground level and below. 

13 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—In issuing a final 

14 rule pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator, at a 

15 minimum, shall provide for the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION STANDARDS.—The Admin17 istrator shall issue an air navigation facility certifi18 cate under the final rule if the Administrator deter19 mines that a UTM or low-altitude CNS facilitates or 

20 improves the safety of unmanned aircraft or other 

21 aircraft operations that occur primarily or exclu22 sively in airspace 400 feet above ground level and 

23 below, including operations conducted under a waiv24 er issued pursuant to subpart D of part 107 of title 

25 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION.—In deter2 mining whether a UTM or low-altitude CNS meets 

3 the standard described in paragraph (1), the Admin4 istrator shall, as appropriate, consider— 

5 ‘‘(A) protection of persons and property on 

6 the ground; 

7 ‘‘(B) remote identification of aircraft; 

8 ‘‘(C) collision avoidance with respect to ob9 stacles and aircraft; 

10 ‘‘(D) deconfliction of aircraft trajectories; 

11 ‘‘(E) safe and reliable interoperability or 

12 noninterference with air traffic control and 

13 other systems operated in the national airspace 

14 system; 

15 ‘‘(F) detection of noncooperative aircraft; 

16 ‘‘(G) geographic and local factors; 

17 ‘‘(H) aircraft equipage; and 

18 ‘‘(I) qualifications, if any, necessary to op19 erate the UTM or low-altitude CNS. 

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An application for an air 

21 navigation facility certificate under the final rule 

22 shall include evidence that the UTM or low-altitude 

23 CNS meets the standard described in paragraph (1) 

24 based on the criteria described in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) SCOPE OF CERTIFICATE.—The Adminis2 trator shall ensure that an air navigation facility 

3 certificate issued under the final rule— 

4 ‘‘(A) constitutes approval of the UTM or 

5 low-altitude CNS for the duration of the term 

6 of the certificate; 

7 ‘‘(B) constitutes authorization to operate 

8 the UTM or low-altitude CNS for the duration 

9 of the term of the certificate; and 

10 ‘‘(C) contains such limitations and condi11 tions as may be necessary to ensure aviation 

12 safety. 

13 ‘‘(5) NOTICE.—Not later than 120 days after 

14 the Administrator receives a complete application 

15 under the final rule, the Administrator shall provide 

16 the applicant with a written approval, disapproval, 

17 or request to modify the application. 

18 ‘‘(6) LOW RISK AREAS.—Under the final rule, 

19 the Administrator shall establish expedited proce20 dures for approval of UTM or low-altitude CNS op21 erated in— 

22 ‘‘(A) airspace away from congested areas; 

23 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) other airspace above areas in which 

2 operations of unmanned aircraft pose very low 

3 risk. 

4 ‘‘(7) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REQUIRE5 MENTS.—To the extent consistent with aviation safe6 ty, the Administrator may exempt applicants under 

7 the final rule from requirements under sections 

8 44702, 44703, and 44711. 

9 ‘‘(8) CERTIFICATE MODIFICATIONS AND REV10 OCATIONS.—A certificate issued under the final rule 

11 may, at any time, be modified or revoked by the Ad12 ministrator. 

13 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

14 the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agen15 cies, as appropriate. 

16 ‘‘§ 45507. Special rules for certain UTM and low-alti17 tude CNS 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other re19 quirement of this chapter, and not later than 120 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

21 of Transportation shall determine if certain UTM and low22 altitude CNS may operate safely in the national airspace 

23 system before completion of the rulemaking required by 

24 section 45506. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF UTM AND LOW-ALTITUDE

2 CNS.—In making the determination under subsection (a), 

3 the Secretary shall determine, at a minimum, which types 

4 of UTM and low-altitude CNS, if any, as a result of their 

5 operational capabilities, reliability, intended use, and areas 

6 of operation, and the characteristics of the aircraft in7 volved, do not create a hazard to users of the national 

8 airspace system or the public. 

9 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR SAFE OPERATION.—If the 

10 Secretary determines that certain UTM and low-altitude 

11 CNS may operate safely in the national airspace system, 

12 the Secretary shall establish requirements for their safe 

13 operation in the national airspace system. 

14 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

15 provide expedited procedures for reviewing and approving 

16 UTM or low-altitude CNS operated to monitor or control 

17 aircraft operated primarily or exclusively in airspace 

18 above— 

19 ‘‘(1) croplands; 

20 ‘‘(2) areas other than congested areas; and 

21 ‘‘(3) other areas in which the operation of un22 manned aircraft poses very low risk. 

23 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

24 the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agen25 cies, as appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘§ 45508. Operation of small unmanned aircraft 

2 ‘‘(a) EXEMPTION AND CERTIFICATE OF WAIVER OR

3 AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN OPERATIONS.—Not later 

4 than 270 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

5 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

6 shall establish a procedure for granting an exemption and 

7 issuing a certificate of waiver or authorization for the op8 eration of a small unmanned aircraft system in United 

9 States airspace for the purposes described in section 

10 45501(1). 

11 ‘‘(b) OPERATION OF EXEMPTION AND CERTIFICATE

12 OF WAIVER OR AUTHORIZATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—An exemption granted 

14 under this section shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) exempt the operator of a small un16 manned aircraft from the provisions of title 14, 

17 Code of Federal Regulations, that are exempted 

18 in Exemption No. 11687, issued on May 26, 

19 2015, Regulatory Docket Number FAA–2015– 

20 0117, or in a subsequent exemption; and 

21 ‘‘(B) contain conditions and limitations de22 scribed in paragraphs 3 through 31 of such Ex23 emption No. 11687, or conditions and limita24 tions of a subsequent exemption. 

25 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATE OF WAIVER OR AUTHORIZA26 TION.—A certificate of waiver or authorization 


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1 issued under this section shall allow the operation of 

2 small unmanned aircraft according to— 

3 ‘‘(A) the standard provisions and air traf4 fic control special provisions of the certificate of 

5 waiver or authorization FAA Form 7711–1 (7– 

6 74); or 

7 ‘‘(B) the standard and special provisions of 

8 a subsequent certificate of waiver or authoriza9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—Before operating 

11 a small unmanned aircraft pursuant to a certificate of 

12 waiver or authorization granted under this section, the op13 erator shall provide written notice to the Administrator, 

14 in a form and manner specified by the Administrator, that 

15 contains such information and assurances as the Adminis16 trator determines necessary in the interest of aviation 

17 safety and the efficiency of the national airspace system, 

18 including a certification that the operator has read, under19 stands, and will comply with all terms, conditions, and lim20 itations of the certificate of waiver or authorization. 

21 ‘‘(d) WAIVER OF AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE.— 

22 Notwithstanding section 44711(a)(1), the holder of a cer23 tificate of waiver or authorization granted under this sec24 tion may operate a small unmanned aircraft under the 


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1 terms, conditions, and limitations of such certificate with2 out an airworthiness certificate. 

3 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURE.—The granting of an exemption or 

4 the issuance of a certificate of waiver or authorization, or 

5 any other action authorized by this section, shall be made 

6 without regard to— 

7 ‘‘(1) section 553 of title 5; or 

8 ‘‘(2) chapter 35 of title 44. 

9 ‘‘(f) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

10 section may be construed to— 

11 ‘‘(1) affect the issuance of a rule by or any 

12 other activity of the Secretary of Transportation or 

13 the Administrator under any other provision of law; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(2) invalidate an exemption or certificate of 

16 waiver or authorization issued by the Administrator 

17 before the date of enactment of this section. 

18 ‘‘(g) EFFECTIVE PERIODS.—An exemption or certifi19 cate of waiver or authorization issued under this section, 

20 or an amendment of such exemption or certificate, shall 

21 cease to be valid on the effective date of a final rule on 

22 small unmanned aircraft systems issued under section 

23 45502(b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘§ 45509. Exception for limited recreational oper2 ations of unmanned aircraft 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

4 (e), and notwithstanding chapter 447 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, a person may operate a small unmanned air6 craft without specific certification or operating authority 

7 from the Federal Aviation Administration if the operation 

8 adheres to all of the following limitations: 

9 ‘‘(1) The aircraft is flown strictly for rec10 reational purposes. 

11 ‘‘(2) The aircraft is operated in accordance with 

12 or within the programming of a community-based 

13 set of safety guidelines that conform with published 

14 Federal Aviation Administration advisory materials. 

15 ‘‘(3) The aircraft is flown within the visual line 

16 of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a vis17 ual observer co-located and in direct communication 

18 with the operator. 

19 ‘‘(4) The aircraft is operated in a manner that 

20 does not interfere with and gives way to any manned 

21 aircraft. 

22 ‘‘(5) In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace 

23 or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area 

24 of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the 

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1 ministrator or designee before operating and com2 plies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions. 

3 ‘‘(6) In Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown 

4 from the surface to not more than 400 feet above 

5 ground level and complies with all airspace restric6 tions and prohibitions. 

7 ‘‘(7) The operator has passed an aeronautical 

8 knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) 

9 and administered by the Federal Aviation Adminis10 tration online for the operation of unmanned aircraft 

11 systems and maintains proof of test passage to be 

12 made available to the Administrator or law enforce13 ment upon request. 

14 ‘‘(8) The aircraft is registered and marked in 

15 accordance with chapter 441 of this title and proof 

16 of registration is made available to the Adminis17 trator or a designee of the Administrator or law en18 forcement upon request. 

19 ‘‘(b) OTHER OPERATIONS.—Unmanned aircraft op20 erations that do not conform to the limitations in sub21 section (a) must comply with all statutes and regulations 

22 generally applicable to unmanned aircraft and unmanned 

23 aircraft systems. 

24 ‘‘(c) OPERATIONS AT FIXED SITES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) OPERATING PROCEDURE REQUIRED.—Per2 sons operating unmanned aircraft under subsection 

3 (a) from a fixed site within Class B, Class C, or 

4 Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of 

5 the surface area of Class E airspace designated for 

6 an airport, or a community-based organization con7 ducting a sanctioned event within such airspace, 

8 shall establish a mutually agreed upon operating 

9 procedure with the air traffic control facility. 

10 ‘‘(2) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT WEIGHING MORE

11 THAN 55 POUNDS.—A person may operate an un12 manned aircraft weighing more than 55 pounds, in13 cluding the weight of anything attached to or carried 

14 by the aircraft, under subsection (a) if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the unmanned aircraft complies with 

16 standards and limitations developed by a com17 munity-based organization and approved by the 

18 Administrator; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the aircraft is operated from a fixed 

20 site as described in paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(d) UPDATES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con23 sultation with government and industry stake24 holders, including community-based organizations, 

25 shall initiate a process to periodically update the 


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1 operational parameters under subsection (a), as ap2 propriate. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In updating an oper4 ational parameter under paragraph (1), the Admin5 istrator shall consider— 

6 ‘‘(A) appropriate operational limitations to 

7 mitigate risks to aviation safety and national 

8 security, including risk to the uninvolved public 

9 and critical infrastructure; 

10 ‘‘(B) operations outside the membership, 

11 guidelines, and programming of a community12 based organization; 

13 ‘‘(C) physical characteristics, technical 

14 standards, and classes of aircraft operating 

15 under this section; 

16 ‘‘(D) trends in use, enforcement, or inci17 dents involving unmanned aircraft systems; 

18 ‘‘(E) ensuring, to the greatest extent prac19 ticable, that updates to the operational param20 eters correspond to, and leverage, advances in 

21 technology; and 

22 ‘‘(F) equipage requirements that facilitate 

23 safe, efficient, and secure operations and fur24 ther integrate all unmanned aircraft into the 

25 National Airspace System. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub2 section shall be construed as expanding the author3 ity of the Administrator to require a person oper4 ating an unmanned aircraft under this section to 

5 seek permissive authority of the Administrator, be6 yond that required in subsection (a) of this section, 

7 prior to operation in the National Airspace System. 

8 ‘‘(e) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

9 section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Ad10 ministrator to pursue an enforcement action against a per11 son operating any unmanned aircraft who endangers the 

12 safety of the National Airspace System. 

13 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section prohibits 

14 the Administrator from promulgating rules generally ap15 plicable to unmanned aircraft, including those unmanned 

16 aircraft eligible for the exception set forth in this section, 

17 relating to— 

18 ‘‘(1) updates to the operational parameters for 

19 unmanned aircraft in subsection (a); 

20 ‘‘(2) the registration and marking of unmanned 

21 aircraft; 

22 ‘‘(3) the standards for remotely identifying 

23 owners and operators of unmanned aircraft systems 

24 and associated unmanned aircraft; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) other standards consistent with maintain2 ing the safety and security of the National Airspace 

3 System. 

4 ‘‘(g) AERONAUTICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SAFETY

5 TEST.— 

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

7 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad8 ministrator, in consultation with manufacturers of 

9 unmanned aircraft systems, other industry stake10 holders, and community-based aviation organiza11 tions, shall develop an aeronautical knowledge and 

12 safety test that can be administered electronically. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator shall 

14 ensure the aeronautical knowledge and safety test is 

15 designed to adequately demonstrate an operator’s— 

16 ‘‘(A) understanding of aeronautical safety 

17 knowledge; and 

18 ‘‘(B) knowledge of Federal Aviation Ad19 ministration regulations and requirements per20 taining to the operation of an unmanned air21 craft system in the National Airspace System. 

22 ‘‘§ 45510. Carriage of property for compensation or 

23 hire 

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

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1 portation shall issue a final rule authorizing the carriage 

2 of property by operators of small unmanned aircraft sys3 tems for compensation or hire within the United States. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The final rule required under sub5 section (a) shall provide for the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) SMALL UAS AIR CARRIER CERTIFICATE.— 

7 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis8 tration, at the direction of the Secretary, shall estab9 lish a small UAS air carrier certificate for persons 

10 that undertake directly, or by lease or other arrange11 ment, the operation of small unmanned aircraft sys12 tems to carry property in air transportation, includ13 ing commercial fleet operations with highly auto14 mated unmanned aircraft systems. The requirements 

15 to obtain a small UAS air carrier certificate shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) account for the unique characteristics 

17 of highly automated small unmanned aircraft 

18 systems; and 

19 ‘‘(B) include only those obligations nec20 essary for the safe operation of small unmanned 

21 aircraft systems. 

22 ‘‘(2) SMALL UAS AIR CARRIER CERTIFICATION

23 PROCESS.—The Administrator, at the direction of 

24 the Secretary, shall establish a process for the 

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) that is streamlined, simple, 

2 performance-based, and risk-based. Such certifi3 cation process shall consider— 

4 ‘‘(A) safety and the mitigation of oper5 ational risks from highly automated small un6 manned aircraft systems to the safety of other 

7 aircraft, and persons and property on the 

8 ground; 

9 ‘‘(B) the safety and reliability of highly 

10 automated small unmanned aircraft system de11 sign, including technological capabilities and 

12 operational limitations to mitigate such risks; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) the competencies and compliance pro15 grams of manufacturers, operators, and compa16 nies that both manufacture and operate small 

17 unmanned aircraft systems and components. 

18 ‘‘(3) SMALL UAS AIR CARRIER CLASSIFICA19 TION.—The Secretary shall develop a classification 

20 system for small unmanned aircraft systems air car21 riers to establish economic authority for the carriage 

22 of property by small unmanned aircraft systems for 

23 compensation or hire. Such classification shall only 

24 require— 


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1 ‘‘(A) registration with the Department of 

2 Transportation; and 

3 ‘‘(B) a valid small UAS air carrier certifi4 cate as described in paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘§ 45511. Micro UAS operations 

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

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

8 Federal Aviation Administration shall charter an aviation 

9 rulemaking advisory committee to develop recommenda10 tions for regulations under which any person may operate 

11 a micro unmanned aircraft system, the aircraft component 

12 of which weighs 4.4 pounds or less, including payload, 

13 without the person operating the system being required 

14 to pass any airman certification requirement, including 

15 any requirements under section 44703, part 61 of title 14, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations, or any other rule or regula17 tion relating to airman certification. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing recommenda19 tions for the operation of micro unmanned aircraft sys20 tems under subsection (a), the members of the aviation 

21 rulemaking advisory committee shall consider rules for op22 eration of such systems— 

23 ‘‘(1) at an altitude of less than 400 feet above 

24 ground level; 


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1 ‘‘(2) with an airspeed of not greater than 40 

2 knots; 

3 ‘‘(3) within the visual line of sight of the oper4 ator; 

5 ‘‘(4) during the hours between sunrise and sun6 set; 

7 ‘‘(5) by an operator who has passed an aero8 nautical knowledge and safety test administered by 

9 the Federal Aviation Administration online specifi10 cally for the operation of micro unmanned aircraft 

11 systems, with such test being of a length and dif12 ficulty that acknowledges the reduced operational 

13 complexity and low risk of micro unmanned aircraft 

14 systems; 

15 ‘‘(6) not over unprotected persons uninvolved in 

16 its operation; and 

17 ‘‘(7) at least 5 statute miles from the geo18 graphic center of a tower-controlled airport or air19 port denoted on a current Federal Aviation Adminis20 tration-published aeronautical chart, except that a 

21 micro unmanned aircraft system may be operated 

22 closer than 5 statute miles to the airport if the oper23 ator— 

24 ‘‘(A) provides prior notice to the airport 

25 operator; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) receives, for a tower-controlled air2 port, prior approval from the air traffic control 

3 facility located at the airport. 

4 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In developing recommenda6 tions for recommended regulations under subsection 

7 (a), the aviation rulemaking advisory committee 

8 shall consult with— 

9 ‘‘(A) unmanned aircraft systems stake10 holders, including manufacturers of micro un11 manned aircraft systems; 

12 ‘‘(B) community-based aviation organiza13 tions; 

14 ‘‘(C) the Center of Excellence for Un15 manned Aircraft Systems; and 

16 ‘‘(D) appropriate Federal agencies. 

17 ‘‘(2) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

18 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to an aviation 

19 rulemaking advisory committee chartered under this 

20 section. 

21 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of receipt of the recommendations under sub23 section (a), the Administrator shall issue regulations in24 corporating recommendations of the aviation rulemaking 


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1 advisory committee that provide for the operation of micro 

2 unmanned aircraft systems in the United States— 

3 ‘‘(1) without an airman certificate; and 

4 ‘‘(2) without an airworthiness certificate for the 

5 associated unmanned aircraft. 

6 ‘‘(e) SCOPE OF REGULATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether a 

8 person may operate an unmanned aircraft system 

9 under 1 or more of the circumstances described 

10 under paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b), 

11 the Administrator shall use a risk-based approach 

12 and consider, at a minimum, the physical and func13 tional characteristics of the unmanned aircraft sys14 tem. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may 

16 only issue regulations under this section for un17 manned aircraft systems that the Administrator de18 termines may be operated safely in the national air19 space system pursuant to those regulations. 

20 ‘‘(f) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

21 section may be construed— 

22 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a person from operating an un23 manned aircraft system under a circumstance de24 scribed under paragraphs (1) through (3) of sub25 section (b) if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the circumstance is allowed by regula2 tions issued under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the person operates the unmanned 

4 aircraft system in a manner prescribed by the 

5 regulations; or 

6 ‘‘(2) to limit or affect in any way the Adminis7 trator’s authority to conduct a rulemaking, make a 

8 determination, or carry out any activity related to 

9 unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft systems 

10 under any other provision of law.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) REPEALS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Sections 332(a), 

14 332(b), 332(d), 333, 334, and 336 of the FAA 

15 Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 

16 U.S.C. 40101 note) are repealed. 

17 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The items 

18 relating to sections 333, 334, and 336 of the 

19 FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

20 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) in the table of contents 

21 contained in section 1(b) of that Act are re22 pealed. 

23 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 46301 of title 49, 

24 United States Code, is amended— 

25 (A) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting 

2 ‘‘chapter 455,’’ after ‘‘chapter 451,’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (5)(A)(i) by striking 

4 ‘‘or chapter 451,’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 

5 451, chapter 455,’’; 

6 (B) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting 

7 ‘‘chapter 455,’’ after ‘‘chapter 451,’’; and 

8 (C) in subsection (f)(1)(A)(i) by striking 

9 ‘‘or chapter 451’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 451, 

10 or chapter 455’’. 

11 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

12 subtitle VII of title 49, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 chapter 453 the following: 

‘‘455. Unmanned aircraft systems ..............................................45501’’. 

15 SEC. 333. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TEST RANGES. 

16 (a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 332(c)(1) of 

17 the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 

18 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 

19 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘the date that is 6 years after 

20 the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act 

21 of 2018’’. 

22 (b) SENSE-AND-AVOID AND BEYOND LINE OF SIGHT

23 SYSTEMS AT TEST RANGES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent consistent 

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1 eral Aviation Administration shall permit and en2 courage flights of unmanned aircraft equipped with 

3 sense-and-avoid and beyond line of sight systems at 

4 the 6 test ranges designated under section 332(c) of 

5 the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. 

6 (2) WAIVERS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

7 the Administrator may waive the requirements of 

8 section 44711 of title 49, United States Code, in9 cluding related regulations, to the extent consistent 

10 with aviation safety. 

11 (c) TEST RANGE DEFINED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

13 ‘‘test range’’ means a defined geographic area where 

14 research and development are conducted as author15 ized by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

16 Administration. 

17 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes any of 

18 the 6 test ranges established by the Administrator of 

19 the Federal Aviation Administration under section 

20 332(c) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 

21 of 2012, as in effect on the day before the date of 

22 enactment of this subsection, and any public entity 

23 authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration 

24 as an unmanned aircraft system flight test center 

25 before January 1, 2009. 


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1 SEC. 334. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNMANNED 

2 AIRCRAFT SAFETY. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) the unauthorized operation of unmanned 

5 aircraft near airports presents a serious hazard to 

6 aviation safety; 

7 (2) a collision between an unmanned aircraft 

8 and a conventional aircraft in flight could jeopardize 

9 the safety of persons aboard the aircraft and on the 

10 ground; 

11 (3) Federal aviation regulations, including sec12 tions 91.126 through 91.131 of title 14, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations, prohibit unauthorized operation 

14 of an aircraft in controlled airspace near an airport; 

15 (4) Federal aviation regulations, including sec16 tion 91.13 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, 

17 prohibit the operation of an aircraft in a careless or 

18 reckless manner so as to endanger the life or prop19 erty of another; 

20 (5) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

21 Administration should pursue all available civil and 

22 administrative remedies available to the Adminis23 trator, including referrals to other government agen24 cies for criminal investigations, with respect to per25 sons who operate unmanned aircraft in an unauthor26 ized manner; 


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1 (6) the Administrator should— 

2 (A) place particular priority in continuing 

3 measures, including partnering with nongovern4 mental organizations and State and local agen5 cies, to educate the public about the dangers to 

6 public safety of operating unmanned aircraft 

7 over areas that have temporary flight restric8 tions in place, for purposes such as wildfires, 

9 without appropriate approval or authorization 

10 from the Forest Service; and 

11 (B) partner with State and local agencies 

12 to effectively enforce relevant laws so that un13 manned aircrafts do not interfere with the ef14 forts of emergency responders; 

15 (7) the Administrator should place particular 

16 priority on continuing measures, including partner17 ships with nongovernmental organizations, to edu18 cate the public about the dangers to the public safe19 ty of operating unmanned aircraft near airports 

20 without the appropriate approvals or authorizations; 

21 and 

22 (8) manufacturers and retail sellers of small 

23 unmanned aircraft systems should take steps to edu24 cate consumers about the safe and lawful operation 

25 of such systems. 


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1 SEC. 335. UAS PRIVACY REVIEW. 

2 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Transportation, in 

3 consultation with the heads of appropriate Federal agen4 cies, appropriate State and local officials, and subject-mat5 ter experts and in consideration of relevant efforts led by 

6 the National Telecommunications and Information Ad7 ministration, shall carry out a review to identify any po8 tential reduction of privacy specifically caused by the inte9 gration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national 

10 airspace system. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the review, the 

12 Secretary shall consult with the National Telecommuni13 cations and Information Administration of the Depart14 ment of Commerce on its ongoing efforts responsive to the 

15 Presidential memorandum titled ‘‘Promoting Economic 

16 Competitiveness While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, 

17 and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft 

18 Systems’’ and dated February 15, 2015. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

21 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

22 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

24 on the results of the review required under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 336. PUBLIC UAS OPERATIONS BY TRIBAL GOVERN2 MENTS. 

3 (a) PUBLIC UAS OPERATIONS BY TRIBAL GOVERN4 MENTS.—Section 40102(a)(41) of title 49, United States 

5 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) An unmanned aircraft that is owned 

7 and operated by, or exclusively leased for at 

8 least 90 continuous days by, an Indian Tribal 

9 government, as defined in section 102 of the 

10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer11 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), except 

12 as provided in section 40125(b).’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 40125(b) 

14 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘or (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘(D), or (F)’’. 

16 SEC. 337. EVALUATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION FOR 

17 SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 

18 (a) METRICS.—Beginning not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

20 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop and 

21 track metrics to assess compliance with and effectiveness 

22 of the registration of small unmanned aircraft systems by 

23 the Federal Aviation Administration pursuant to the in24 terim final rule issued on December 16, 2015, entitled 

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1 manned Aircraft’’ (80 Fed. Reg. 78593) and any subse2 quent final rule, including metrics with respect to— 

3 (1) the levels of compliance with the interim 

4 final rule and any subsequent final rule; 

5 (2) the number of enforcement actions taken by 

6 the Administration for violations of or noncompli7 ance with the interim final rule and any subsequent 

8 final rule, together with a description of the actions; 

9 and 

10 (3) the effect of the interim final rule and any 

11 subsequent final rule on compliance with any fees 

12 associated with the use of small unmanned aircraft 

13 systems. 

14 (b) EVALUATION.—The Inspector General of the De15 partment of Transportation shall evaluate— 

16 (1) the Administration’s progress in developing 

17 and tracking the metrics set forth in subsection (a); 

18 and 

19 (2) the reliability, effectiveness, and efficiency 

20 of the Administration’s registration program for 

21 small unmanned aircraft. 

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

23 of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the De24 partment of Transportation shall submit to the Committee 

25 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 


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1 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report con3 taining— 

4 (1) the results of the evaluation required under 

5 subsection (b); and 

6 (2) recommendations to the Administrator and 

7 Congress for improvements to the registration proc8 ess for small unmanned aircraft. 

9 SEC. 338. STUDY ON ROLES OF GOVERNMENTS RELATING 

10 TO LOW-ALTITUDE OPERATION OF SMALL 

11 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 

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

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

14 the Department of Transportation shall initiate a study 

15 on— 

16 (1) the regulation and oversight of the low-alti17 tude operations of small unmanned aircraft and 

18 small unmanned aircraft systems; and 

19 (2) the appropriate roles and responsibilities of 

20 Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments in reg21 ulating and overseeing the operations of small un22 manned aircraft in airspace 400 feet above ground 

23 level and below. 

24 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the study, 

25 the Inspector General shall consider, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) the recommendations of Task Group 1 of 

2 the Drone Advisory Committee chartered by the 

3 Federal Aviation Administration on August 31, 

4 2016; 

5 (2) the legal and policy requirements necessary 

6 for the safe and financially viable development and 

7 growth of the unmanned aircraft industry; 

8 (3) the interests of Federal, State, local, and 

9 Tribal governments affected by low-altitude oper10 ations of small unmanned aircraft; 

11 (4) the existing authorities of Federal, State, 

12 local, and Tribal governments to protect the inter13 ests referenced in paragraph (3); 

14 (5) the degree of regulatory consistency re15 quired for the safe and financially viable growth and 

16 development of the unmanned aircraft industry; 

17 (6) the degree of local variance possible among 

18 regulations consistent with the safe and financially 

19 viable growth and development of the unmanned air20 craft industry; 

21 (7) the appropriate roles of State, local, and 

22 Tribal governments in regulating the operations of 

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1 ing emergency situations that may threaten public 

2 safety; 

3 (8) the subjects and types of regulatory author4 ity that should remain with the Federal Government; 

5 (9) the infrastructure requirements necessary 

6 for monitoring the low-altitude operations of small 

7 unmanned aircraft and enforcing applicable laws; 

8 (10) the number of small businesses involved in 

9 the various sectors of the unmanned aircraft indus10 try and operating as primary users of small un11 manned aircraft; and 

12 (11) any best practices, lessons learned, or poli13 cies of jurisdictions outside the United States relat14 ing to local or regional regulation and oversight of 

15 small unmanned aircraft and other emergent tech16 nologies. 

17 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after initiating the study, the Inspector General shall sub19 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc20 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

21 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

22 a report on the results of the study. 


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1 SEC. 339. STUDY ON FINANCING OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 

2 SERVICES. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

5 of the United States shall initiate a study on appropriate 

6 fee mechanisms to recover the costs of— 

7 (1) the regulation and safety oversight of un8 manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems; 

9 and 

10 (2) the provision of air navigation services to 

11 unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems. 

12 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the study, 

13 the Comptroller General shall consider, at a minimum— 

14 (1) the recommendations of Task Group 3 of 

15 the Drone Advisory Committee chartered by the 

16 Federal Aviation Administration on August 31, 

17 2016; 

18 (2) the total annual costs incurred by the Fed19 eral Aviation Administration for the regulation and 

20 safety oversight of activities related to unmanned 

21 aircraft; 

22 (3) the annual costs attributable to various 

23 types, classes, and categories of unmanned aircraft 

24 activities; 


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1 (4) air traffic services provided to unmanned 

2 aircraft operating under instrument flight rules, ex3 cluding public aircraft; 

4 (5) the number of full-time Federal Aviation 

5 Administration employees dedicated to unmanned 

6 aircraft programs; 

7 (6) the use of privately operated UTM and 

8 other privately operated unmanned aircraft systems; 

9 (7) the projected growth of unmanned aircraft 

10 operations for various applications and the estimated 

11 need for regulation, oversight, and other services; 

12 (8) the number of small businesses involved in 

13 the various sectors of the unmanned aircraft indus14 try and operating as primary users of unmanned air15 craft; and 

16 (9) any best practices or policies utilized by ju17 risdictions outside the United States relating to par18 tial or total recovery of regulation and safety over19 sight costs related to unmanned aircraft and other 

20 emergent technologies. 

21 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after initiating the study, the Comptroller General shall 

23 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra24 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 


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1 Senate a report containing recommendations on appro2 priate fee mechanisms to recover the costs of regulating 

3 and providing air navigation services to unmanned aircraft 

4 and unmanned aircraft systems. 

5 SEC. 340. UPDATE OF FAA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor8 tation shall update the comprehensive plan developed pur9 suant to section 332 of the FAA Modernization and Re10 form Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) to develop a 

11 concept of operations for the integration of unmanned air12 craft into the national airspace system. 

13 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the update, 

14 the Secretary shall consider, at a minimum— 

15 (1) the potential use of UTM and other tech16 nologies to ensure the safe and lawful operation of 

17 unmanned aircraft in the national airspace system; 

18 (2) the appropriate roles, responsibilities, and 

19 authorities of government agencies and the private 

20 sector in identifying and reporting unlawful or 

21 harmful operations and operators of unmanned air22 craft; 

23 (3) the use of models, threat assessments, prob24 abilities, and other methods to distinguish between 


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1 lawful and unlawful operations of unmanned air2 craft; and 

3 (4) appropriate systems, training, intergovern4 mental processes, protocols, and procedures to miti5 gate risks and hazards posed by unlawful or harmful 

6 operations of unmanned aircraft systems. 

7 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

8 the update in consultation with representatives of the avia9 tion industry, Federal agencies that employ unmanned air10 craft systems technology in the national airspace system, 

11 and the unmanned aircraft systems industry. 

12 (d) PROGRAM ALIGNMENT.—The Secretary shall 

13 submit a report to the House Committee on Transpor14 tation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on 

15 Commerce, Science, and Transportation within 90 days 

16 after enactment of this Act that describes how each of the 

17 following programs will be executed or implemented in a 

18 systematic and timely manner to avoid duplication, lever19 age capabilities learned across programs, and support the 

20 safe integration of UAS into the national airspace: 

21 (1) Commercially-operated Low Altitude Au22 thorization and Notification Capability. 

23 (2) The Unmanned Aircraft System Integration 

24 Pilot Program. 


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1 (3) The Unmanned Traffic Management Pilot 

2 Program. 

3 SEC. 341. COOPERATION RELATED TO CERTAIN COUNTER4 UAS TECHNOLOGY. 

5 In matters relating to the use of systems in the na6 tional airspace system intended to mitigate threats posed 

7 by errant or hostile unmanned aircraft system operations, 

8 the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the Sec9 retary of Defense to streamline deployment of such sys10 tems by drawing upon the expertise and experience of the 

11 Department of Defense in acquiring and operating such 

12 systems consistent with the safe and efficient operation 

13 of the national airspace system. 

14 SEC. 342. DEFINITIONS. 

15 Section 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(48) ‘counter-UAS system’ means a system or 

18 device capable of lawfully and safely disabling, dis19 rupting, or seizing control of an unmanned aircraft 

20 or unmanned aircraft system. 

21 ‘‘(49) ‘public unmanned aircraft system’ means 

22 an unmanned aircraft system that meets the quali23 fications and conditions required for operation of a 

24 public aircraft. 


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1 ‘‘(50) ‘small unmanned aircraft’ means an un2 manned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds, in3 cluding everything that is on board or otherwise at4 tached to the aircraft. 

5 ‘‘(51) ‘unmanned aircraft’ means an aircraft 

6 that is operated without the possibility of direct 

7 human intervention from within or on the aircraft. 

8 ‘‘(52) ‘unmanned aircraft system’ means an un9 manned aircraft and associated elements (including 

10 communication links and the components that con11 trol the unmanned aircraft) that are required for the 

12 pilot in command to operate safely and efficiently in 

13 the national airspace system. 

14 ‘‘(53) ‘UTM’ means an unmanned aircraft traf15 fic management system or service.’’. 

16 SEC. 343. SPECIAL RULES FOR MODEL AIRCRAFT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law relating to the incorporation of unmanned air19 craft systems into Federal Aviation Administration plans 

20 and policies, including this subtitle, the Administrator of 

21 the Federal Aviation Administration may not promulgate 

22 any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft or an 

23 aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, except for— 

24 (1) rules regarding the registration of certain 

25 model aircraft pursuant to section 44103; and 


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1 (2) rules regarding unmanned aircraft that by 

2 design provide advanced flight capabilities enabling 

3 active, sustained, and controlled navigation of the 

4 aircraft beyond the visual line of sight of the oper5 ator, if— 

6 (A) the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby 

7 or recreational use; 

8 (B) the model aircraft operator is a cur9 rent member of a community-based organiza10 tion and whose aircraft is operated in accord11 ance with the organization’s safety rules; 

12 (C) the aircraft is limited to not more than 

13 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a 

14 design, construction, inspection, flight test, and 

15 operational safety program administered by a 

16 community-based organization; 

17 (D) the aircraft is operated in a manner 

18 that does not interfere with and gives way to 

19 any manned aircraft; 

20 (E) the aircraft is not operated over or 

21 within the property of a fixed site facility that 

22 operates amusement rides available for use by 

23 the general public or the property extending 

24 500 lateral feet beyond the perimeter of such 


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1 facility unless the operation is authorized by the 

2 owner of the amusement facility; and 

3 (F) when flown within 5 miles of an air4 port, the operator of the aircraft provides the 

5 airport operator and the airport air traffic con6 trol tower (when an air traffic facility is located 

7 at the airport) with prior notice of the oper8 ation (model aircraft operators flying from a 

9 permanent location within 5 miles of an airport 

10 should establish a mutually agreed upon oper11 ating procedure with the airport operator and 

12 the airport air traffic control tower (when an 

13 air traffic facility is located at the airport)). 

14 (b) AUTOMATED INSTANT AUTHORIZATION.—When 

15 the FAA has developed and implemented an automated 

16 airspace authorization system for the airspace in which the 

17 operator wants to operate, the model aircraft operator 

18 shall use this system for authorization to controlled air19 space unless flown— 

20 (1) at a permanent location agreed to by the 

21 Administrator; and 

22 (2) in accordance with a mutually agreed upon 

23 operating procedure established with the airport op24 erator and the airport air traffic control tower (when 

25 an air traffic facility is located at the airport). 


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1 (d) COMMERCIAL OPERATION FOR INSTRUCTIONAL

2 OR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.—A flight of an unmanned 

3 aircraft shall be treated as a flight of a model aircraft 

4 for purposes of subsection (a) (regardless of any com5 pensation, reimbursement, or other consideration ex6 changed or incidental economic benefit gained in the 

7 course of planning, operating, or supervising the flight), 

8 if the flight is— 

9 (1) conducted for instructional or educational 

10 purposes; and 

11 (2) operated or supervised by a member of a 

12 community-based organization recognized pursuant 

13 to subsection (e). 

14 (e) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

15 section may be construed to limit the authority of the Ad16 ministrator to pursue enforcement action against persons 

17 operating model aircraft who endanger the safety of the 

18 national airspace system. 

19 (f) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

20 In this section, the term ‘‘community-based organization’’ 

21 means a nationwide membership-based association entity 

22 that— 

23 (1) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the In24 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; 


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1 (2) is exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

3 (3) the mission of which is demonstrably the 

4 furtherance of model aviation; 

5 (4) provides a comprehensive set of safety 

6 guidelines for all aspects of model aviation address7 ing the assembly and operation of model aircraft and 

8 that emphasize safe aeromodeling operations within 

9 the national airspace system and the protection and 

10 safety of individuals and property on the ground, 

11 and may provide a comprehensive set of safety rules 

12 and programming for the operation of unmanned 

13 aircraft that have the advanced flight capabilities en14 abling active, sustained, and controlled navigation of 

15 the aircraft beyond visual line of sight of the oper16 ator; 

17 (5) provides programming and support for any 

18 local charter organizations, affiliates, or clubs; and 

19 (6) provides assistance and support in the de20 velopment and operation of locally designated model 

21 aircraft flying sites. 

22 (g) RECOGNITION OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZA23 TIONS.—In collaboration with aeromodelling stakeholders, 

24 the Administrator shall publish an advisory circular within 

25 180 days of enactment that identifies the criteria and 


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1 process required for recognition of nationwide community2 based organizations. This recognition shall be in the form 

3 of a memorandum of agreement between the FAA and 

4 each community-based organization and does not require 

5 regulatory action to implement. 

6 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except for rules to imple7 ment remote identification for unmanned aircraft that by 

8 design provide advanced flight capabilities enabling active, 

9 sustained, and controlled navigation of the aircraft beyond 

10 the visual line of sight of the operator and for rules re11 garding the registration of certain model aircraft pursuant 

12 to section 44103, this section shall become effective when 

13 the rule, referred to in section 532 of the FAA Reauthor14 ization Act of 2018, regarding revisions to part 107 of 

15 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, becomes final. 

16 SEC. 344. RECREATIONAL UAS. 

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

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

19 the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue rules and 

20 regulations relating to small UAS flown for recreational 

21 or educational use, and that are not operated within all 

22 of the criteria outlined in the special rule for model air23 craft in section 45505 of title 49, United States Code, or 

24 the requirements of part 107 of title 14, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations. 


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1 (b) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—When issuing the 

2 rules and regulation pursuant to this section, the Adminis3 trator shall— 

4 (1) require the completion of an online or elec5 tronic educational tutorial that is focused on knowl6 edge of the primary rules necessary for the safe op7 eration of such UAS and whose completion time is 

8 of reasonable length and limited duration; 

9 (2) include provisions that enable the operation 

10 of such UAS by individuals under the age of 16 

11 without a certificated pilot; 

12 (3) require UAS operators within Class B, C, D 

13 and E airspace to obtain authorization, as the Ad14 ministrator may determine to be necessary within 

15 that airspace, but only after the Federal Aviation 

16 Administration has developed and implemented an 

17 automated airspace authorization system for the air18 space in which the operator wants to operate; and 

19 (4) include provisions that provide specific oper20 ational rules for UAS operating in close proximity to 

21 airports in class G airspace. 

22 (c) MAINTAINING BROAD ACCESS TO UAS TECH23 NOLOGY.—When issuing rules or regulations for the oper24 ation of UAS under this section, the Administrator shall 

25 not— 


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1 (1) require the pilot or operator of the UAS to 

2 obtain or hold an airman certificate; 

3 (2) require a practical flight examination, med4 ical examination, or the completion of a flight train5 ing program; 

6 (3) limit such UAS operations to pre-designated 

7 fixed locations or uncontrolled airspace; or 

8 (4) require airworthiness certification of any 

9 UAS operated pursuant to this section. 

10 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator shall carry 

11 out this section in collaboration with industry and commu12 nity-based organizations. 

13 SEC. 345. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION 

14 PILOT PROGRAM. 

15 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 

16 may establish a pilot program to enable enhanced drone 

17 operations as required in the October 25, 2017 Presi18 dential Memorandum entitled ‘‘Unmanned Aircraft Sys19 tems Integration Pilot Program’’ and described in 82 Fed20 eral Register 50301. 

21 (b) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall accept ap22 plications from State, local, and Tribal governments, in 

23 partnership with unmanned aircraft system operators and 

24 other private-sector stakeholders, to test and evaluate the 


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1 integration of civil and public UAS operations into the 

2 low-altitude national airspace system. 

3 (c) OBJECTIVES.—The purpose of the pilot program 

4 is to accelerate existing UAS integration plans by working 

5 to solve technical, regulatory, and policy challenges, while 

6 enabling advanced UAS operations in select areas subject 

7 to ongoing safety oversight and cooperation between the 

8 Federal Government and applicable State, local, or Tribal 

9 jurisdictions, in order to— 

10 (1) accelerate the safe integration of UAS into 

11 the NAS by testing and validating new concepts of 

12 beyond visual line of sight operations in a controlled 

13 environment, focusing on detect and avoid tech14 nologies, command and control links, navigation, 

15 weather, and human factors; 

16 (2) address ongoing concerns regarding the po17 tential security and safety risks associated with UAS 

18 operating in close proximity to human beings and 

19 critical infrastructure by ensuring that operators 

20 communicate more effectively with Federal, State, 

21 local, and Tribal law enforcement to enable law en22 forcement to determine if a UAS operation poses 

23 such a risk; 

24 (3) promote innovation in and development of 

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1 cially in sectors such as agriculture, emergency man2 agement, inspection, and transportation safety, in 

3 which there are significant public benefits to be 

4 gained from the deployment of UAS; and 

5 (4) identify the most effective models of bal6 ancing local and national interests in UAS integra7 tion. 

8 (d) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall 

9 establish application requirements and require applicants 

10 to include the following information: 

11 (1) Identification of the airspace to be used, in12 cluding shape files and altitudes. 

13 (2) Description of the types of planned oper14 ations. 

15 (3) Identification of stakeholder partners to test 

16 and evaluate planned operations. 

17 (4) Identification of available infrastructure to 

18 support planned operations. 

19 (5) Description of experience with UAS oper20 ations and regulations. 

21 (6) Description of existing UAS operator and 

22 any other stakeholder partnerships and experience. 

23 (7) Description of plans to address safety, secu24 rity, competition, privacy concerns, and community 

25 outreach. 


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1 (e) REASONABLE TIME, MANNER, AND PLACE LIMI2 TATIONS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (A) REQUESTS.—The Lead Applicant may 

5 request reasonable time, place and manner limi6 tations on low-altitude UAS operations within 

7 its jurisdiction to facilitate the proposed devel8 opment and testing of new and innovative UAS 

9 concepts of operations in addition to other se10 lection criteria. 

11 (B) SELF-IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS.— 

12 The Secretary shall require jurisdictions to en13 sure that any time, place and manner limita14 tions, including those adopted through means 

15 such as legislation or regulation, include self16 implementing provisions that automatically ter17 minate those restrictions upon the termination 

18 of the Memorandum of Agreement. 

19 (C) MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Monitoring and en21 forcement of any limitations enacted pur22 suant to this pilot project shall be the re23 sponsibility of the jurisdiction. 


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1 (ii) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

2 clause (i) may be construed to prevent the 

3 Secretary from enforcing Federal law. 

4 (2) EXAMPLES.—Examples of reasonable time, 

5 manner, and place limitations may include— 

6 (A) prohibiting flight during specified 

7 morning and evening rush hours or only permit8 ting flight during specified hours such as day9 light hours, sufficient to ensure reasonable air10 space access; 

11 (B) establishing designated take-off and 

12 landing zones, limiting operations over moving 

13 locations or fixed site public road and parks, 

14 sidewalks or private property based on zoning 

15 density, or other land use considerations; 

16 (C) requiring notice to public safety or 

17 zoning or land use authorities before operating; 

18 (D) limiting UAS operations within des19 ignated altitudes within airspace over the juris20 diction; 

21 (E) specifying maximum speed of flight 

22 over specified areas; 

23 (F) prohibiting operations in connection 

24 with community or sporting events that do not 


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1 remain in one place (for example, parades and 

2 running events); and 

3 (G) mandating equipage. 

4 (f) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In making determina5 tions, the Secretary shall evaluate whether applications 

6 meet or exceed the following criteria: 

7 (1) Overall economic, geographic, and climatic 

8 diversity of the selected jurisdictions. 

9 (2) Overall diversity of the proposed models of 

10 government involvement. 

11 (3) Overall diversity of the UAS operations to 

12 be conducted. 

13 (4) The location of critical infrastructure. 

14 (5) The involvement of commercial entities in 

15 the proposal and their ability to advance objectives 

16 that may serve the public interest as a result of fur17 ther integration of UAS into the NAS. 

18 (6) The involvement of affected communities in, 

19 and their support for, participating in the pilot pro20 gram. 

21 (7) The commitment of the governments and 

22 UAS operators involved in the proposal to comply 

23 with requirements related to national defense, home24 land security, and public safety and to address com25 petition, privacy, and civil liberties concerns. 


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1 (8) The commitment of the governments and 

2 UAS operators involved in the proposal to achieve 

3 the following policy objectives: 

4 (A) Promoting innovation and economic 

5 development. 

6 (B) Enhancing transportation safety. 

7 (C) Enhancing workplace safety. 

8 (D) Improving emergency response and 

9 search and rescue functions. 

10 (E) Using radio spectrum efficiently and 

11 competitively. 

12 (g) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall use the 

13 data collected and experience gained over the course of 

14 this pilot program to— 

15 (1) identify and resolve technical challenges to 

16 UAS integration; 

17 (2) address airspace use to safely and efficiently 

18 integrate all aircraft; 

19 (3) inform operational standards and proce20 dures to improve safety (for example, detect and 

21 avoid capabilities, navigation and altitude perform22 ance, and command and control link); 

23 (4) inform FAA standards that reduce the need 

24 for waivers (for example, for operations over human 


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1 beings, night operations, and beyond visual line of 

2 sight); and 

3 (5) address competing interests regarding UAS 

4 operational expansion, safety, security, roles and re5 sponsibilities of non-Federal Government entities, 

6 and privacy issues. 

7 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘Lead Applicant’’ means an eligi9 ble State, local or Tribal government that has sub10 mitted a timely application. 

11 (2) The term ‘‘NAS’’ means the low-altitude 

12 national airspace system. 

13 (3) The term ‘‘UAS’’ means unmanned aircraft 

14 system. 

15 SEC. 346. ENFORCEMENT. 

16 (a) UAS SAFETY ENFORCEMENT.—The Adminis17 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab18 lish a program to utilize available remote detection and 

19 identification technologies for safety oversight, including 

20 enforcement actions against operators of unmanned air21 craft systems that are not in compliance with applicable 

22 Federal aviation laws, including regulations. 

23 (b) REPORTING.—As part of the program, the Ad24 ministrator shall establish and publicize a mechanism for 

25 the public and Federal, State, and local law enforcement 


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1 to report suspected operation of unmanned aircraft in vio2 lation of applicable Federal laws and regulations. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization 

5 Act of 2018, and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

6 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

7 a report on the following: 

8 (1) The number of unauthorized unmanned air9 craft operations detected in restricted airspace, in10 cluding in and around airports, together with a de11 scription of such operations. 

12 (2) The number of enforcement cases brought 

13 by the Federal Aviation Administration or other 

14 Federal agencies for unauthorized operation of un15 manned aircraft detected through the program, to16 gether with a description of such cases. 

17 (3) Recommendations for safety and operational 

18 standards for unmanned aircraft detection and miti19 gation systems. 

20 (4) Recommendations for any legislative or reg21 ulatory changes related to mitigation or detection or 

22 identification of unmanned aircraft systems. 

23 SEC. 347. ACTIVELY TETHERED PUBLIC UAS. 

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

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


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1 Federal Aviation Administration shall issue such regula2 tions as are necessary to authorize the use of certain ac3 tively tethered public unmanned aircraft system by gov4 ernment public safety agencies without any requirement 

5 to obtain a certificate of waiver, certificate of authoriza6 tion, or other approval by the Federal Aviation Adminis7 tration. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu9 ant to subsection (a) shall establish risk-based operational 

10 conditions for operation of actively tethered public un11 manned aircraft systems by government public safety 

12 agencies that recognize and accommodate the unique oper13 ational circumstances of such systems, including the re14 quirements that the aircraft component may only be oper15 ated— 

16 (1) within the line of sight of the operator; 

17 (2) less than 200 feet above the ground; 

18 (3) within class G airspace; and 

19 (4) at least 5 statute miles from the geographic 

20 center of a tower-controller airport or airport de21 noted on a current aeronautical chart published by 

22 the Federal Aviation Administration, except that an 

23 actively tethered public unmanned aircraft system 

24 may be operated closer than 5 statute miles to the 

25 airport if— 


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1 (A) the operator of the actively tethered 

2 public unmanned aircraft system provides prior 

3 notice to the airport operator and receives, for 

4 a tower-controlled airport, prior approval from 

5 the air traffic control facilitate located at the 

6 airport; or 

7 (B) the exigent circumstances of an emer8 gency prevent the giving of notice contemplated 

9 by clause (i) and the actively tethered public 

10 unmanned aircraft system is operated outside 

11 the flight path of any manned aircraft. 

12 (c) DEFINITION OF ACTIVELY TETHERED PUBLIC

13 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘actively 

14 tethered public unmanned aircraft system’’ means public 

15 unmanned aircraft system in which the unmanned aircraft 

16 component— 

17 (1) weighs 4.4 pounds or less, including pay18 load; 

19 (2) is physically attached to a ground station 

20 with a taut, appropriately load-rated tether that pro21 vides continuous power to the unmanned aircraft; 

22 and 

23 (3) is capable of being controlled and retrieved 

24 by such ground station through physical manipula25 tion of the tether. 


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1 SEC. 348. REPORT ON POSSIBLE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 

2 SYSTEMS OPERATION ON SPECTRUM ALLO3 CATED FOR AVIATION USE. 

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

5 date of enactment of this Act, and after consultation with 

6 relevant stakeholders, the Federal Aviation Administra7 tion, the National Telecommunications and Information 

8 Administration, and the Federal Communications Com9 mission, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 

11 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

12 Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Com13 merce of the House of Representatives a report— 

14 (1) on whether unmanned aircraft systems op15 erations should be permitted on spectrum designated 

16 for aviation use, on an unlicensed, shared, or exclu17 sive basis, for operations within the UTM system or 

18 outside of such a system; 

19 (2) that addresses any technological, statutory, 

20 regulatory, and operational barriers to the use of 

21 such spectrum for unmanned aircraft systems oper22 ations; and 

23 (3) that, if it is determined that spectrum des24 ignated for aviation use is not suitable for operations 

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1 ommendations of other spectrum frequencies that 

2 may be appropriate for such operations. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ means an unmanned 

6 aircraft and associated elements (including commu7 nication links and the components that control the 

8 unmanned aircraft) that are required for the pilot in 

9 command to operate safely and efficiently in the na10 tional airspace system. 

11 (2) UTM.—The term ‘‘UTM’’ means an un12 manned aircraft traffic management system or serv13 ice. 

14 SEC. 349. U.S. COUNTER-UAS SYSTEM REVIEW OF INTER15 AGENCY COORDINATION PROCESSES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after that 

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

18 Federal Aviation Administration, in consultation with gov19 ernment agencies currently authorized to operate Counter20 Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) systems within the 

21 United States (including the territories and possessions of 

22 the United States), shall initiate a review of the following: 

23 (1) The process the Administration is utilizing 

24 for interagency coordination of C-UAS activity pur25 suant to a relevant Federal statute authorizing such 


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1 activity within the United States (including the ter2 ritories and possessions of the United States). 

3 (2) The standards the Administration is uti4 lizing for operation of a C-UAS systems pursuant to 

5 a relevant Federal statute authorizing such activity 

6 within the United States (including the territories 

7 and possessions of the United States), including 

8 whether the following criteria are being taken into 

9 consideration in the development of the standards: 

10 (A) Safety of the national airspace. 

11 (B) Protecting individuals and property on 

12 the ground. 

13 (C) Non-interference with avionics of 

14 manned aircraft, and unmanned aircraft, oper15 ating legally in the national airspace. 

16 (D) Non-interference with air traffic con17 trol systems. 

18 (E) Consistent procedures in the operation 

19 of C-UAS systems to the maximum extent prac20 ticable. 

21 (F) Adequate coordination procedures and 

22 protocols with the Federal Aviation Administra23 tion during the operation of C-UAS systems. 

24 (G) Adequate training for personnel oper25 ating C-UAS systems. 


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1 (H) Assessment of the efficiency and effec2 tiveness of the coordination and review proc3 esses to ensure national airspace safety while 

4 minimizing bureaucracy. 

5 (I) Such other matters the Administrator 

6 deems necessary for the safe and lawful oper7 ation of C-UAS systems. 

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

9 upon which the review in subsection (a) is initiated, the 

10 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Trans11 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa12 tives, the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 

13 Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation in the Senate, and the Com15 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate, a report on the 

16 Administration’s activities related to C-UAS systems, in17 cluding— 

18 (1) any coordination with Federal agencies and 

19 States, subdivisions and States, political authorities 

20 of at least 2 States that operate C-UAS systems; 

21 and 

22 (2) an assessment of the standards being uti23 lized for the operation of a counter-UAS systems 

24 within the United States (including the territories 

25 and possessions of the United States). 


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1 TITLE IV—AIR SERVICE 

2 IMPROVEMENTS 

3 Subtitle A—Airline Customer 

4 Service Improvements 

5 SEC. 401. RELIABLE AIR SERVICE IN AMERICAN SAMOA. 

6 Section 40109(g) of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking subparagraph 

9 (C) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) review the exemption at least every 30 

11 days (or, in the case of an exemption that is nec12 essary to provide and sustain air transportation in 

13 American Samoa between the islands of Tutuila and 

14 Manu’a, at least every 180 days) to ensure that the 

15 unusual circumstances that established the need for 

16 the exemption still exist.’’; and 

17 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(3) RENEWAL OF EXEMPTIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

21 subparagraph (B), the Secretary may renew an 

22 exemption (including renewals) under this sub23 section for not more than 30 days. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may 

25 renew an exemption (including renewals) under 


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1 this subsection that is necessary to provide and 

2 sustain air transportation in American Samoa 

3 between the islands of Tutuila and Manu’a for 

4 not more than 180 days. 

5 ‘‘(4) CONTINUATION OF EXEMPTIONS.—An ex6 emption granted by the Secretary under this sub7 section may continue for not more than 5 days after 

8 the unusual circumstances that established the need 

9 for the exemption cease.’’. 

10 SEC. 402. CELL PHONE VOICE COMMUNICATION BAN. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of 

12 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice com15 munications 

16 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation shall issue regulations— 

18 ‘‘(1) to prohibit an individual on an aircraft 

19 from engaging in voice communications using a mo20 bile communications device during a flight of that 

21 aircraft in scheduled passenger interstate or intra22 state air transportation; and 

23 ‘‘(2) that exempt from the prohibition described 

24 in paragraph (1) any— 


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1 ‘‘(A) member of the flight crew on duty on 

2 an aircraft; 

3 ‘‘(B) flight attendant on duty on an air4 craft; and 

5 ‘‘(C) Federal law enforcement officer act6 ing in an official capacity. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

8 definitions apply: 

9 ‘‘(1) FLIGHT.—The term ‘flight’ means, with 

10 respect to an aircraft, the period beginning when the 

11 aircraft takes off and ending when the aircraft 

12 lands. 

13 ‘‘(2) MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘mobile 

15 communications device’ means any portable 

16 wireless telecommunications equipment utilized 

17 for the transmission or reception of voice data. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The term ‘mobile com19 munications device’ does not include a phone in20 stalled on an aircraft.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap22 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

23 inserting after the item relating to section 41724 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘41725. Prohibition on certain cell phone voice communications.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AVIATION CON2 SUMER PROTECTION. 

3 Section 411 of the FAA Modernization and Reform 

4 Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 42301 prec. note) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

7 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(3) independent distributors of travel;’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (g) by striking ‘‘first 2 cal12 endar years’’ and inserting ‘‘first 6 calendar years’’; 

13 and 

14 (3) in subsection (h) by striking ‘‘2018’’ and in15 serting ‘‘2023’’. 

16 SEC. 404. IMPROVED NOTIFICATION OF INSECTICIDE USE. 

17 Section 42303(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—An air carrier, for20 eign air carrier, or ticket agent selling, in the United 

21 States, a ticket for a flight in foreign air transportation 

22 to a country listed on the internet website established 

23 under subsection (a) shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) disclose, on its own internet website or 

25 through other means, that the destination country 

26 may require the air carrier or foreign air carrier to 


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1 treat an aircraft passenger cabin with insecticides 

2 prior to the flight or to apply an aerosol insecticide 

3 in an aircraft cabin used for such a flight when the 

4 cabin is occupied with passengers; and 

5 ‘‘(2) refer the purchaser of the ticket to the 

6 internet website established under subsection (a) for 

7 additional information.’’. 

8 SEC. 405. ADVERTISEMENTS AND DISCLOSURE OF FEES 

9 FOR PASSENGER AIR TRANSPORTATION. 

10 (a) FULL FARE ADVERTISING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41712 of title 49, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) FULL FARE ADVERTISING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be an unfair or 

16 deceptive practice under subsection (a) for a covered 

17 entity to state in an advertisement or solicitation for 

18 passenger air transportation the base airfare for the 

19 air transportation if the covered entity clearly and 

20 separately discloses— 

21 ‘‘(A) the government-imposed fees and 

22 taxes associated with the air transportation; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) the total cost of the air transpor25 tation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FORM OF DISCLOSURE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para3 graph (1), the information described in para4 graphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) shall be disclosed in 

5 the advertisement or solicitation in a manner 

6 that clearly presents the information to the con7 sumer. 

8 ‘‘(B) INTERNET ADVERTISEMENTS AND

9 SOLICITATIONS.—For purposes of paragraph 

10 (1), with respect to an advertisement or solicita11 tion for passenger air transportation that ap12 pears on an internet website or a mobile appli13 cation, the information described in paragraphs 

14 (1)(A) and (1)(B) may be disclosed through a 

15 link or pop-up, as such terms may be defined 

16 by the Secretary, that displays the information 

17 in a manner that is easily accessible and 

18 viewable by the consumer. 

19 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol20 lowing definitions apply: 

21 ‘‘(A) BASE AIRFARE.—The term ‘base air22 fare’ means the cost of passenger air transpor23 tation, excluding government-imposed fees and 

24 taxes. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘cov2 ered entity’ means an air carrier, including an 

3 indirect air carrier, foreign air carrier, ticket 

4 agent, or other person offering to sell tickets for 

5 passenger air transportation or a tour or tour 

6 component that must be purchased with air 

7 transportation.’’. 

8 (2) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC9 TION.—Nothing in the amendment made by para10 graph (1) may be construed to affect any obligation 

11 of a person that sells air transportation to disclose 

12 the total cost of the air transportation, including 

13 government-imposed fees and taxes, prior to pur14 chase of the air transportation. 

15 (3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Transportation shall issue final regulations 

18 to carry out the amendment made by paragraph (1). 

19 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection, and 

20 the amendments made by this subsection, shall take 

21 effect on the earlier of— 

22 (A) the effective date of regulations issued 

23 under paragraph (3); and 

24 (B) the date that is 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—Section 41712 of title 

2 49, United States Code, as amended by this section, is 

3 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unfair or de6 ceptive practice under subsection (a) for any air car7 rier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent to fail to in8 clude, in an internet fare quotation for a specific 

9 itinerary in air transportation selected by a con10 sumer— 

11 ‘‘(A) a clear and prominent statement that 

12 additional fees for checked baggage and carry13 on baggage may apply; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a prominent link that connects di15 rectly to a list of all such fees. 

16 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub17 section may be construed to derogate or limit any 

18 responsibilities of an air carrier, foreign air carrier, 

19 or ticket agent under section 399.85 of title 14, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor provi21 sion.’’. 


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1 SEC. 406. INVOLUNTARILY BUMPING PASSENGERS AFTER 

2 AIRCRAFT BOARDED. 

3 Section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, as 

4 amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) INVOLUNTARILY DENIED BOARDING AFTER

7 AIRCRAFT BOARDED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an unfair or de9 ceptive practice under subsection (a) for an air car10 rier or foreign air carrier subject to part 250 of title 

11 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to involuntarily 

12 deplane a revenue passenger onboard an aircraft, if 

13 the revenue passenger— 

14 ‘‘(A) is traveling on a confirmed reserva15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(B) checked-in for the relevant flight 

17 prior to the check-in deadline. 

18 ‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub19 section may be construed to limit the authority of an 

20 air carrier, foreign air carrier, or airman to remove 

21 a passenger in accordance with— 

22 ‘‘(A) section 91.3, 121.533(d), or 121.580 

23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

24 successor provision; or 

25 ‘‘(B) any other applicable Federal, State, 

26 or local law.’’. 


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1 SEC. 407. AVAILABILITY OF CONSUMER RIGHTS INFORMA2 TION. 

3 Section 42302(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

6 striking ‘‘on the’’ and inserting ‘‘in a prominent 

7 place on the homepage of the primary’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (3) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at 

11 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(4) the air carrier’s customer service plan.’’. 

14 SEC. 408. CONSUMER COMPLAINTS HOTLINE. 

15 Section 42302 of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary 

18 shall periodically evaluate the benefits of using mobile 

19 phone applications or other widely used technologies to 

20 provide new means for air passengers to communicate 

21 complaints in addition to the telephone number estab22 lished under subsection (a) and shall provide such new 

23 means as the Secretary determines appropriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 409. WIDESPREAD DISRUPTIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 423 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 42304. Widespread disruptions 

6 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—In the event of a 

7 widespread disruption, a covered air carrier shall imme8 diately publish, via a prominent link on the air carrier’s 

9 public internet website, a clear statement indicating 

10 whether, with respect to a passenger of the air carrier 

11 whose travel is interrupted as a result of the widespread 

12 disruption, the air carrier will— 

13 ‘‘(1) provide for hotel accommodations; 

14 ‘‘(2) arrange for ground transportation; 

15 ‘‘(3) provide meal vouchers; 

16 ‘‘(4) arrange for air transportation on another 

17 air carrier or foreign air carrier to the passenger’s 

18 destination; and 

19 ‘‘(5) provide for sleeping facilities inside the air20 port terminal. 

21 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

22 definitions apply: 

23 ‘‘(1) WIDESPREAD DISRUPTION.—The term 

24 ‘widespread disruption’ means, with respect to a cov25 ered air carrier, the interruption of all or the over26 whelming majority of the air carrier’s systemwide 


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1 flight operations, including flight delays and can2 cellations, as the result of the failure of 1 or more 

3 computer systems or computer networks of the air 

4 carrier. 

5 ‘‘(2) COVERED AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘cov6 ered air carrier’ means an air carrier that provides 

7 scheduled passenger air transportation by operating 

8 an aircraft that as originally designed has a pas9 senger capacity of 30 or more seats. 

10 ‘‘(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

11 may be construed to modify, abridge, or repeal any obliga12 tion of an air carrier under section 42301.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

14 chapter 423 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘42304. Widespread disruptions.’’. 

16 SEC. 410. INVOLUNTARILY DENIED BOARDING COMPENSA17 TION. 

18 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue a 

20 final rule to revise part 250 of title 14, Code of Federal 

21 Regulations, to clarify that— 

22 (1) there is not a maximum level of compensa23 tion an air carrier or foreign air carrier may pay to 

24 a passenger who is involuntarily denied boarding as 

25 the result of an oversold flight; 


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1 (2) the compensation levels set forth in that 

2 part are the minimum levels of compensation an air 

3 carrier or foreign air carrier must pay to a pas4 senger who is involuntarily denied boarding as the 

5 result of an oversold flight; and 

6 (3) an air carrier or foreign air carrier must 

7 proactively offer to pay compensation to a passenger 

8 who is voluntarily or involuntarily denied boarding 

9 on an oversold flight, rather than waiting until the 

10 passenger requests the compensation. 

11 SEC. 411. CONSUMER INFORMATION ON ACTUAL FLIGHT 

12 TIMES. 

13 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

14 conduct a study on the feasibility and advisability of modi15 fying regulations contained in section 234.11 of title 14, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations, to ensure that— 

17 (1) a reporting carrier (including its contrac18 tors), during the course of a reservation or ticketing 

19 discussion or other inquiry, discloses to a consumer 

20 upon reasonable request the projected period be21 tween the actual wheels-off and wheels-on times for 

22 a reportable flight; and 

23 (2) a reporting carrier displays, on the public 

24 internet website of the carrier, information on the 


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1 actual wheels-off and wheels-on times during the 

2 most recent calendar month for a reportable flight. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘re4 porting carrier’’ and ‘‘reportable flight’’ have the mean5 ings given those terms in section 234.2 of title 14, Code 

6 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enact7 ment of this Act). 

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

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

11 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

13 on the results of the study. 

14 SEC. 412. ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TRANSPARENCY IN 

15 AIR AMBULANCE INDUSTRY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor18 tation shall establish an advisory committee to make rec19 ommendations for a rulemaking— 

20 (1) to require air ambulance operators to clear21 ly disclose charges for air transportation services 

22 separately from charges for non-air transportation 

23 services within any invoice or bill; and 

24 (2) to provide other consumer protections for 

25 customers of air ambulance operators. 


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1 (b) COMPOSITION OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

2 The advisory committee shall be composed of the following 

3 members: 

4 (1) The Secretary of Transportation. 

5 (2) One representative, to be appointed by the 

6 Secretary, of each of the following: 

7 (A) Each relevant Federal agency, as de8 termined by the Secretary. 

9 (B) State insurance regulators. 

10 (C) Health insurance providers. 

11 (D) Consumer groups. 

12 (3) Three representatives, to be appointed by 

13 the Secretary, to represent the various segments of 

14 the air ambulance industry. 

15 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The advisory committee 

16 shall make recommendations with respect to each of the 

17 following: 

18 (1) Cost-allocation methodologies needed to en19 sure that charges for air transportation services are 

20 separated from charges for non-air transportation 

21 services. 

22 (2) Cost- or price-allocation methodologies to 

23 prevent commingling of charges for air transpor24 tation services and charges for non-air transpor25 tation services in bills and invoices. 


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1 (3) Formats for bills and invoices to ensure 

2 that customers and State insurance regulators can 

3 clearly distinguish between charges for air transpor4 tation services and charges for non-air transpor5 tation services. 

6 (4) Data or industry references related to air7 craft operating costs to be used in determining the 

8 proper allocation of charges for air transportation 

9 services and charges for non-air transportation serv10 ices. 

11 (5) Guidance materials to instruct States, polit12 ical subdivisions of States, and political authorities 

13 of 2 or more States on referring to the Secretary al14 legations of unfair or deceptive practices or unfair 

15 methods of competition by air ambulance operators. 

16 (6) Protections for customers of air ambulance 

17 operators, after consideration of the circumstances 

18 in which the services of air ambulance operators are 

19 used. 

20 (7) Protections of proprietary cost data from 

21 inappropriate public disclosure. 

22 (8) Such other matters as the Secretary deter23 mines necessary or appropriate. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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1 sory committee shall submit to the Secretary, the Com2 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

3 of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report con5 taining the recommendations made under subsection (c). 

6 (e) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of receipt of the report under subsection (d), the Sec8 retary shall consider the recommendations of the advisory 

9 committee and issue a final rule— 

10 (1) to require air ambulance operators to clear11 ly disclose charges for air transportation services 

12 separately from charges for non-air transportation 

13 services within any invoice or bill; and 

14 (2) to provide other consumer protections for 

15 customers of air ambulance operators. 

16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi17 nitions apply: 

18 (1) AIR AMBULANCE OPERATOR.—The term 

19 ‘‘air ambulance operator’’ means an air carrier oper20 ating pursuant to part 135 of title 14, Code of Fed21 eral Regulations, that provides medical, ambulance, 

22 or related services. 

23 (2) NON-AIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.—The 

24 term ‘‘non-air transportation services’’ means those 

25 services provided by air ambulance operators but not 


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1 other air carriers operating pursuant to part 135 of 

2 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

3 (g) TERMINATION.—The advisory committee shall 

4 terminate on the date of submission of the report under 

5 subsection (d). 

6 (h) NATURE OF AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES.—The 

7 non-air transportation services of air ambulance operators 

8 and prices thereof are neither services nor prices of an 

9 air carrier for purposes of section 41713 of title 49, 

10 United States Code. 

11 SEC. 413. AIR AMBULANCE COMPLAINTS. 

12 (a) CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.—Section 42302 of title 

13 49, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘(including 

15 transportation by air ambulance)’’ after ‘‘air trans16 portation’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

19 (1)— 

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘, and an air ambu21 lance operator,’’ after ‘‘passenger seats’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or operator’’ after 

24 ‘‘Internet Web site of the carrier’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or op2 erator’’ after ‘‘mailing address of the air car3 rier’’; and 

4 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO PASSENGERS ON BOARDING OR

7 BILLING DOCUMENTATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) AIR CARRIERS AND FOREIGN AIR CAR9 RIERS.—An air carrier or foreign air carrier pro10 viding scheduled air transportation using any air11 craft that as originally designed has a passenger ca12 pacity of 30 or more passenger seats shall include 

13 the hotline telephone number established under sub14 section (a) on— 

15 ‘‘(A) prominently displayed signs of the 

16 carrier at the airport ticket counters in the 

17 United States where the air carrier operates; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) any electronic confirmation of the 

20 purchase of a passenger ticket for air transpor21 tation issued by the air carrier. 

22 ‘‘(2) AIR AMBULANCE OPERATORS.—An air am23 bulance operator shall include the hotline telephone 

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1 voice, bill, or other communication provided to a 

2 passenger or customer of the operator.’’. 

3 (b) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AND UN4 FAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION.—Section 41712(a) of 

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘air ambulance customer,’’ 

7 after ‘‘foreign air carrier,’’ the first place it appears; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In this 

10 subsection, the term ‘air carrier’ includes an air am11 bulance operator and the term ‘air transportation’ 

12 includes any transportation provided by an air am13 bulance.’’. 

14 SEC. 414. PASSENGER RIGHTS. 

15 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor17 tation shall require each air carrier to submit for approval 

18 a 1-page document that accurately describes the rights of 

19 passengers in air transportation, including guidelines for 

20 the following: 

21 (1) Compensation (regarding rebooking options, 

22 refunds, meals, and lodging) for flight delays of var23 ious lengths. 

24 (2) Compensation (regarding rebooking options, 

25 refunds, meals, and lodging) for flight diversions. 


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1 (3) Compensation (regarding rebooking options, 

2 refunds, meals, and lodging) for flight cancellations. 

3 (4) Compensation for mishandled baggage, in4 cluding delayed, damaged, pilfered, or lost baggage. 

5 (5) Voluntary relinquishment of a ticketed seat 

6 due to overbooking or priority of other passengers. 

7 (6) Involuntary denial of boarding and forced 

8 removal for whatever reason, including for safety 

9 and security reasons. 

10 (b) APPROVAL OF GUIDELINES.—Not later than 90 

11 days after each air carrier submits its guidelines for ap12 proval to the Secretary under subsection (a), the air car13 rier shall make available such 1-page document on its 

14 website. 

15 SEC. 415. ENHANCED TRAINING OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS. 

16 Section 44734(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end; 

20 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(5) dealing with allegations of sexual mis24 conduct.’’. 


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1 SEC. 416. ADDRESSING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ON FLIGHTS. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP.—The 

3 Secretary of Transportation shall establish a sexual mis4 conduct incident working group composed of aviation in5 dustry stakeholders, relevant Federal agencies, national 

6 organizations that specialize in providing services to vic7 tims of sexual misconduct, labor organizations that rep8 resent relevant aviation employees, and State and local law 

9 enforcement agencies. 

10 (b) PURPOSE OF WORKING GROUP.—The purpose of 

11 the working group shall be to develop best practices for— 

12 (1) addressing sexual misconduct on flights; 

13 (2) airline employee training; and 

14 (3) protocols for law enforcement notification. 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the working group shall submit 

17 a report describing the best practices developed pursuant 

18 to subsection (b) to the Secretary, the Committee on 

19 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep20 resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate. 

22 (d) SUNSET.—The working group established pursu23 ant to subsection (a) shall terminate 60 days after the 

24 submission of the report pursuant to subsection (c). 


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1 SEC. 417. OVERBOOKING POLICIES OF AIR CARRIERS. 

2 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 

3 conduct a study on the overbooking policies of air carriers 

4 and how the policies impact the United States economy. 

5 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Sec6 retary shall assess the effects of the overbooking policies 

7 on increasing or decreasing the costs of passenger air 

8 transportation. 

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

10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

11 Congress a report on the results of the study. 

12 SEC. 418. TRAINING POLICIES REGARDING RACIAL, ETH13 NIC, AND RELIGIOUS NONDISCRIMINATION. 

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

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

16 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

17 describing— 

18 (1) each air carrier’s training policy for its em19 ployees and contractors regarding racial, ethnic, and 

20 religious nondiscrimination; and 

21 (2) how frequently an air carrier is required to 

22 train new employees and contractors because of 

23 turnover in positions that require such training. 

24 (b) BEST PRACTICES.—After the date the report is 

25 submitted under subsection (1), the Secretary of Trans26 portation shall develop and disseminate to air carriers best 


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1 practices nevessary to improve the training policies de2 scribed in subsection (a), based on the findings of the re3 port and in consultation with— 

4 (1) passengers of diverse racial, ethnic, and reli5 gious backgrounds; 

6 (2) national organizations that represent im7 pacted communities; 

8 (3) air carrier; 

9 (4) airport operators; and 

10 (5) contract service providers. 

11 SEC. 419. AVIATION CONSUMER ADVOCATE AND COM12 PLAINT RESOLUTION IMPROVEMENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

14 shall review aviation consumer complaints received that al15 lege a violation of law and, as appropriate, pursue enforce16 ment or corrective actions that would be in the public in17 terest. 

18 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In considering which cases to 

19 pursue for enforcement or corrective action under sub20 section (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

21 (1) the requirements of the Air Carrier Access 

22 Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–435; 100 Stat. 1080); 

23 (2) unfair and deceptive practices by air car24 riers, foreign air carriers, and ticket agents; 


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1 (3) the terms and conditions agreed to between 

2 passengers and air carriers, foreign air carriers, or 

3 ticket agents; 

4 (4) aviation consumer protection and tarmac 

5 delay contingency planning requirements for both 

6 airports and airlines; and 

7 (5) any other applicable law. 

8 (c) AVIATION CONSUMER ADVOCATE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the Aviation Con10 sumer Protection Division of the Department of 

11 Transportation, there shall be established the posi12 tion of Aviation Consumer Advocate. 

13 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Aviation Consumer Ad14 vocate shall— 

15 (A) assist consumers in resolving carrier 

16 service complaints filed with the Aviation Con17 sumer Protection Division; 

18 (B) evaluate the resolution by the Depart19 ment of Transportation of carrier service com20 plaints; 

21 (C) identify and recommend actions the 

22 Department can take to improve the enforce23 ment of aviation consumer protection rules and 

24 resolution of carrier service complaints; and 


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1 (D) identify and recommend regulations 

2 and policies that can be amended to more effec3 tively resolve carrier service complaints. 

4 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Aviation Consumer Advocate, shall submit to 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

7 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

8 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives an annual 

9 report summarizing the following: 

10 (1) The total number of annual complaints re11 ceived by the Secretary, including the number of 

12 complaints by the name of each air carrier and for13 eign air carrier. 

14 (2) The total number of annual complaints by 

15 category of complaint. 

16 (3) The number of complaints referred in the 

17 preceding year for enforcement or correction action 

18 by the Secretary. 

19 (4) Any recommendations under subparagraphs 

20 (C) and (D) of subsection (c)(2). 

21 (5) Such other data as the Aviation Consumer 

22 Advocate considers appropriate. 


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1 Subtitle B—Aviation Consumers 

2 With Disabilities 

3 SEC. 441. SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE. 

4 Section 411 of the FAA Modernization and Reform 

5 Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 42301 prec. note), as amended 

6 by this Act, is further amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

8 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(g) SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE FOR AVIATION CON12 SUMERS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish a select subcommittee of the advisory committee 

15 to advise the Secretary and the advisory committee 

16 on issues related to the air travel needs of pas17 sengers with disabilities. 

18 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The select subcommittee shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) identify the disability-related access 

20 barriers encountered by passengers with disabil21 ities; 

22 ‘‘(B) determine the extent to which the 

23 programs and activities of the Department of 

24 Transportation are addressing the barriers 

25 identified under subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(C) recommend consumer protection im2 provements related to the air travel experience 

3 of passengers with disabilities; 

4 ‘‘(D) advise the Secretary with regard to 

5 the implementation of section 41705 of title 49, 

6 United States Code; and 

7 ‘‘(E) conduct such other activities as the 

8 Secretary considers necessary to carry out this 

9 subsection. 

10 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The select sub12 committee shall be composed of members ap13 pointed by the Secretary, including at least 1 

14 individual representing each of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) National disability organizations. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Air carriers and foreign air car17 riers with flights in air transportation. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Airport operators. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Contractor service providers. 

20 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—A member of the select 

21 subcommittee may also be a member of the ad22 visory committee. 

23 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of establishment of the select 


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1 subcommittee, the select subcommittee shall 

2 submit to the advisory committee and the Sec3 retary a report on the air travel needs of pas4 sengers with disabilities that includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) an assessment of existing dis6 ability-related access barriers and any 

7 emerging disability-related access barriers 

8 that will likely be an issue in the next 5 

9 years; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the extent to 

11 which the programs and activities of the 

12 Department of Transportation are elimi13 nating disability-related access barriers; 

14 ‘‘(iii) a description of consumer pro15 tection improvements related to the air 

16 travel experience of passengers with dis17 abilities; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) any recommendations for legisla19 tion, regulations, or other actions that the 

20 select subcommittee considers appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

22 than 60 days after the date on which the Sec23 retary receives the report under subparagraph 

24 (A), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

25 copy of the report, including any additional 


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1 findings or recommendations that the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall des4 ignate, from among the individuals appointed under 

5 paragraph (3), an individual to serve as chairperson 

6 of the select subcommittee. 

7 ‘‘(6) VACANCIES AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

8 Subsections (c) and (d) shall apply to the select sub9 committee. 

10 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—The select subcommittee 

11 established under this subsection shall terminate 

12 upon submission of the report required under para13 graph (4)(A).’’. 

14 SEC. 442. AVIATION CONSUMERS WITH DISABILITIES 

15 STUDY. 

16 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

18 United States shall conduct a study that includes— 

19 (1) a review of airport accessibility best prac20 tices for individuals with disabilities, including best 

21 practices that improve infrastructure facilities and 

22 communications methods, including those related to 

23 wayfinding, amenities, and passenger care; 


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1 (2) a review of air carrier and airport training 

2 policies related to section 41705 of title 49, United 

3 States Code; 

4 (3) a review of air carrier training policies re5 lated to properly assisting passengers with disabil6 ities; and 

7 (4) a review of accessibility best practices that 

8 exceed those recommended under Public Law 90– 

9 480 (popularly known as the Architectural Barriers 

10 Act of 1968; 42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.), the Rehabili11 tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Air 

12 Carrier Access Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–435; 

13 100 Stat. 1080 et seq.), and the Americans with 

14 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

17 submit to the Secretary of Transportation, the Committee 

18 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

19 Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

20 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

21 study, including findings and recommendations. 

22 SEC. 443. FEASIBILITY STUDY ON IN-CABIN WHEELCHAIR 

23 RESTRAINT SYSTEMS. 

24 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, 


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1 in consultation with the Architectural and Transportation 

2 Barriers Compliance Board, aircraft manufacturers, and 

3 air carriers, shall conduct a study to determine— 

4 (1) the feasibility of in-cabin wheelchair re5 straint systems; and 

6 (2) if feasible, the ways in which individuals 

7 with significant disabilities using wheelchairs, includ8 ing power wheelchairs, can be accommodated with 

9 in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the initi11 ation of the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

12 Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Trans13 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa14 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation of the Senate a report on the findings of 

16 the study. 

17 SEC. 444. AIRLINE PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES BILL 

18 OF RIGHTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 423 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 42305. Airline Passengers With Disabilities Bill of 

23 Rights 

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

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1 sengers With Disabilities Bill of Rights’, that describes in 

2 plain language— 

3 ‘‘(1) the basic responsibilities of covered car4 riers, including their employees and contractors, 

5 under section 41705; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the protections of air passengers with dis7 abilities under section 41705. 

8 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—In developing the Bill of Rights, the 

9 Secretary shall include, at a minimum, plain language de10 scriptions of responsibilities and protections provided in 

11 law related to— 

12 ‘‘(1) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

13 be treated with dignity and respect; 

14 ‘‘(2) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

15 receive timely assistance, if requested, from properly 

16 trained personnel of covered carriers and their con17 tractors; 

18 ‘‘(3) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

19 travel with and stow wheelchairs, mobility aids, and 

20 other assistive devices, including necessary medica21 tions and medical supplies; 

22 ‘‘(4) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

23 receive seating accommodations, if requested, to ac24 commodate a disability; 


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1 ‘‘(5) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

2 speak with a complaint resolution officer or to file 

3 a complaint with a covered carrier or the Depart4 ment of Transportation; and 

5 ‘‘(6) the right of passengers with disabilities to 

6 communications in an accessible format as required 

7 under Federal regulations. 

8 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The development of 

9 the Bill of Rights may not be construed as expanding or 

10 restricting the rights available to passengers with disabil11 ities on the day before the date of enactment of this sec12 tion pursuant to any statute or regulation. 

13 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the Bill of 

14 Rights, the Secretary shall consult with appropriate stake15 holders, including disability organizations and covered car16 riers. 

17 ‘‘(e) DISPLAY.—Each covered carrier shall include 

18 the Bill of Rights— 

19 ‘‘(1) on a publicly available internet website of 

20 the covered carrier; and 

21 ‘‘(2) in any pre-flight notification or commu22 nication provided to a passenger who alerts the cov23 ered carrier in advance of the need for accommoda24 tions relating to a disability. 


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1 ‘‘(f) TRAINING.—Covered carriers shall submit to the 

2 Secretary plans to ensure that their employees and con3 tractors receive training on the responsibilities and protec4 tions described in the Bill of Rights. The Secretary shall 

5 review such plans to ensure the plans address the matters 

6 described in subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

8 definitions apply: 

9 ‘‘(1) BILL OF RIGHTS.—The term ‘Bill of 

10 Rights’ means the ‘Airline Passengers With Disabil11 ities Bill of Rights’ developed under subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED CARRIER.—The term ‘covered 

13 carrier’ means an air carrier or foreign air carrier, 

14 as those terms are defined in section 40102(a).’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap16 ter 423 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 

17 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘42305. Airline Passengers With Disabilities Bill of Rights.’’. 

19 SEC. 445. CIVIL PENALTIES RELATING TO HARM TO PAS20 SENGERS WITH DISABILITIES. 

21 Section 46301(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

22 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(A) PENALTY FOR BODILY HARM OR DAMAGE

2 TO WHEELCHAIR OR OTHER MOBILITY AID.—The 

3 amount of a civil penalty assessed under this section 

4 for a violation of section 41705 may be increased 

5 above the otherwise applicable maximum amount 

6 under this section to an amount not to exceed 3 

7 times the maximum civil penalty otherwise allowed if 

8 the violation involves— 

9 ‘‘(i) injury to a passenger with a disability; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(ii) damage to the passenger’s wheelchair 

12 or other mobility aid. 

13 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE OFFENCES.—Notwithstanding 

14 paragraph (2), a separate violation of section 41705 

15 occurs for each act of discrimination prohibited by 

16 that section.’’. 

17 SEC. 446. HARMONIZATION OF SERVICE ANIMAL STAND18 ARDS. 

19 (a) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Transportation 

20 shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding— 

21 (1) to define the term ‘‘service animal’’ for pur22 poses of air transportation; and 

23 (2) to develop minimum standards for what is 

24 required for service and emotional support animals 

25 carried in aircraft cabins. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the rule2 making under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider, 

3 at a minimum— 

4 (1) whether to align the definition of ‘‘service 

5 animal’’ with the definition of that term in regula6 tions of the Department of Justice implementing the 

7 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 

8 101–336); 

9 (2) reasonable measures to ensure pets are not 

10 claimed as service animals, such as— 

11 (A) whether to require photo identification 

12 for a service animal identifying the type of ani13 mal, the breed of animal, and the service the 

14 animal provides to the passenger; 

15 (B) whether to require documentation indi16 cating whether or not a service animal was 

17 trained by the owner or an approved training 

18 organization; 

19 (C) whether to require, from a licensed 

20 physician, documentation indicating the miti21 gating task or tasks a service animal provides 

22 to its owner; and 

23 (D) whether to allow a passenger to be ac24 companied by more than 1 service animal; 


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1 (3) reasonable measures to ensure the safety of 

2 all passengers, such as— 

3 (A) whether to require health and vaccina4 tion records for a service animal; and 

5 (B) whether to require third-party proof of 

6 behavioral training for a service animal; 

7 (4) the impact additional requirements on serv8 ice animals could have on access to air transpor9 tation for passengers with disabilities; and 

10 (5) if impacts on access to air transportation 

11 for passengers with disabilities are found, ways to 

12 eliminate or mitigate those impacts. 

13 (c) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 18 months after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

15 a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking conducted under 

16 this section. 

17 SEC. 447. REGULATIONS ENSURING ASSISTANCE FOR INDI18 VIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN AIR TRANS19 PORTATION. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor22 tation shall— 

23 (1) review, and if necessary revise, applicable 

24 regulations to ensure that individuals with disabil25 ities who request assistance while traveling in air 


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1 transportation receive dignified, timely, and effective 

2 assistance at airports and on aircraft from trained 

3 personnel; and 

4 (2) review, and if necessary revise, applicable 

5 regulations related to air carrier training programs 

6 for air carrier personnel, including contractors, who 

7 provide physical assistance to passengers with dis8 abilities to ensure that training under such pro9 grams— 

10 (A) occurs on an appropriate schedule for 

11 all new and continuing personnel charged with 

12 providing physical assistance; and 

13 (B) includes, as appropriate, instruction by 

14 personnel, with hands-on training for employees 

15 who physically lift or otherwise physically assist 

16 passengers with disabilities, including the use of 

17 relevant equipment. 

18 (b) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance referred 

19 to subsection (a)(1) may include requests for assistance 

20 in boarding or deplaning an aircraft, requests for assist21 ance in connecting between flights, and other similar or 

22 related requests, as appropriate. 

23 (c) AIR CARRIER DEFINED.—In this section, the 

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1 rier (as those terms are defined in section 40102(a) of 

2 title 49, United States Code). 

3 Subtitle C—Small Community Air 

4 Service 

5 SEC. 451. ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE AUTHORIZATION. 

6 Section 41742(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘$150,000,000 for fiscal year 

8 2011’’ and all that follows before ‘‘to carry out’’ and in9 serting ‘‘$155,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, $158,000,000 

10 for fiscal year 2019, $161,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, 

11 $165,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, $168,000,000 for fis12 cal year 2022, and $172,000,000 for fiscal year 2023’’. 

13 SEC. 452. EXTENSION OF FINAL ORDER ESTABLISHING 

14 MILEAGE ADJUSTMENT ELIGIBILITY. 

15 Section 409(d) of the Vision 100—Century of Avia16 tion Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 41731 note) is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

18 SEC. 453. STUDY ON ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE REFORM. 

19 (a) STUDY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

21 the United States shall conduct a study on the ef22 fects of section 6 of the Airport and Airway Exten23 sion Act of 2011, Part IV (Public Law 112–27), sec24 tion 421 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 

25 of 2012 (Public Law 112–95), and other relevant 


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1 Federal laws enacted after 2010, including the 

2 amendments made by those laws, on the Essential 

3 Air Service program. 

4 (2) SCOPE.—In conducting the study under 

5 paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall ana6 lyze, at a minimum— 

7 (A) the impact of each relevant Federal 

8 law, including the amendments made by each 

9 law, on the Essential Air Service program; 

10 (B) what actions communities and air car11 riers have taken to reduce ticket prices or in12 crease enplanements as a result of each law; 

13 (C) the issuance of waivers by the Sec14 retary under section 41731(e) of title 49, 

15 United States Code; 

16 (D) whether budgetary savings resulted 

17 from each law; and 

18 (E) options for further reform of the Es19 sential Air Service program. 

20 (b) REQUIRED ANALYSIS ON COMMUNITIES.—In car21 rying out subsection (a)(2)(E) the Comptroller General 

22 shall include, for each option for further reform, an anal23 ysis of the impact on local economies of communities with 

24 airports receiving Essential Air Service funding, access to 


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1 air travel for residents of rural communities and the im2 pact to local businesses in such communities. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra6 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate a report on the results of the study conducted 

9 under subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 454. SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE. 

11 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 41743(c) of title 49, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(1) SIZE.—On the date of submission of the 

16 relevant application under subsection (b), the airport 

17 serving the community or consortium— 

18 ‘‘(A) is not larger than a small hub air19 port, as determined using the Department of 

20 Transportation’s most recently published classi21 fication; and 

22 ‘‘(B) has— 

23 ‘‘(i) insufficient air carrier service; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) unreasonably high air fares.’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘once,’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘once in a 10-year period,’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘at any time’’ after ‘‘dif4 ferent project’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

6 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

7 and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respec8 tively; and 

9 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(E) the assistance will be used to help re12 store scheduled passenger air service that has 

13 been terminated;’’. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

15 41743(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

16 to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

20 through 2023 to carry out this section, of which 

21 $4,800,000 per fiscal year shall be used to carry out 

22 the pilot program established under subsection (i). 

23 Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’. 


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1 (c) REGIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION PILOT PRO2 GRAM.—Section 41743 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) REGIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION PILOT PRO5 GRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es7 tablish a regional air transportation pilot program to 

8 provide operating assistance to air carriers in order 

9 to provide air service to communities not receiving 

10 sufficient air carrier service. 

11 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

12 grants under the program to encourage and main13 tain air service at reasonable airfares between com14 munities that have experienced, as determined by 

15 the Secretary, significant declines in air service. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 

17 participate in the program, a State, local govern18 ment, economic development authority, or other pub19 lic entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica20 tion, in a manner that the Secretary prescribes, that 

21 contains— 

22 ‘‘(A) an identification of an air carrier that 

23 has provided a written agreement to provide the 

24 air service in partnership with the applicant; 


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1 ‘‘(B) assurances that the applicant will 

2 provide the non-Federal share and that the 

3 non-Federal share is not derived from airport 

4 revenue; 

5 ‘‘(C) a proposed route structure serving 

6 not more than 8 communities; and 

7 ‘‘(D) a timeline for commencing the air 

8 service to the communities within the proposed 

9 route structure. 

10 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION.—The Sec11 retary may approve up to 3 applications each fiscal 

12 year, subject to the availability of funds, if the Sec13 retary determines that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the proposal of the applicant can rea15 sonably be expected to encourage and improve 

16 levels of air service between the relevant com17 munities; 

18 ‘‘(B) the applicant has adequate financial 

19 resources to ensure the commitment to the com20 munities; 

21 ‘‘(C) the airports serving the communities 

22 are nonhub, small hub, or medium hub airports, 

23 as determined using the Department of Trans24 portation’s most recently published classifica25 tions; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the air carrier commits to serving the 

2 communities for at least 2 years. 

3 ‘‘(5) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary shall 

4 prioritize applications that— 

5 ‘‘(A) would initiate new or reestablish air 

6 service in communities where air fares are high7 er than the average air fares for all commu8 nities; 

9 ‘‘(B) are more likely to result in self-sus10 taining air service at the end of the program; 

11 ‘‘(C) request a Federal share lower than 

12 50 percent; and 

13 ‘‘(D) propose to use grant funds in a time14 ly fashion. 

15 ‘‘(6) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

16 the cost of operating assistance provided under the 

17 program may not exceed 50 percent. 

18 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—This subsection shall cease to 

19 be effective on October 1, 2023.’’. 

20 SEC. 455. AIR TRANSPORTATION TO NONELIGIBLE PLACES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 41731(a)(1)(A)(ii) of 

22 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act 

24 for the 21st Century,’’ and inserting ‘‘FAA Extension, 

25 Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–190),’’. 


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1 (b) PROGRAM SUNSET.—Section 41736 of title 49, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(h) SUNSET.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PROPOSALS.—No proposal under sub6 section (a) may be accepted by the Secretary after 

7 the date of enactment of this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The Secretary may not pro9 vide any compensation under this section after the 

10 date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of 

11 this subsection.’’. 

12 SEC. 456. AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN FLIGHTS BY STAGE 

13 2 AIRPLANES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 47534 of 

15 title 49, United States Code, not late than 180 days after 

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

17 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate a 

18 pilot program to permit the operator of a Stage 2 airplane 

19 to operate that airplane in revenue and nonrevenue service 

20 into medium hub airports or nonhub airports if— 

21 (1) the airport— 

22 (A) is certified under part 139 of 14, Code 

23 of Federal Regulations; 

24 (B) has a runway that— 


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1 (i) is longer than 8,000 feet and not 

2 less than 200 feet wide; and 

3 (ii) is load bearing with a pavement 

4 classification number of not less than 38; 

5 (C) has a maintenance facility with a 

6 maintenance certificate issued under part 145 

7 of such title; and 

8 (D) certifies annually to the Administrator 

9 that the airport intends to continue partici10 pating in the pilot program; 

11 (2) the operator of the Stage 2 airplane oper12 ates not more than 10 flights per month using that 

13 airplane; and 

14 (3) revenue flights will be limited to flights 

15 transporting specific and necessary equipment to 

16 maintain or improve the vital industry of small rural 

17 communities. 

18 (b) TERMINATION.—The regulations required by sub19 section (a) shall terminate on the earlier of— 

20 (1) the date that is 10 years after the date of 

21 the enactment of the Act; or 

22 (2) the date on which the Administrator deter23 mines that no Stage 2 airplane remain in service. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) MEDIUM HUB AIRPORT; NONHUB AIPORT.— 

2 The terms ‘‘medium hub airport’’ and ‘‘nonhub air3 port’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec4 tion 40102 of the title 49, United States Code. 

5 (2) STAGE 2 AIRPLANE.—The term ‘‘Stage 2 

6 airplane’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

7 91.851 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

8 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act). 

10 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 SEC. 501. REVIEW OF FAA STRATEGIC CYBERSECURITY 

12 PLAN. 

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

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

15 Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate a review of 

16 the comprehensive and strategic framework of principles 

17 and policies (referred to in this section as the ‘‘frame18 work’’) developed pursuant to section 2111 of the FAA 

19 Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 

20 44903 note). 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—In undertaking the review under 

22 subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 

23 (1) assess the degree to which the framework 

24 identifies and addresses known cybersecurity risks 

25 associated with the aviation system; 


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1 (2) review existing short- and long-term objec2 tives for addressing cybersecurity risks to the na3 tional airspace system; and 

4 (3) assess the Administration’s level of engage5 ment and coordination with aviation stakeholders 

6 and other appropriate agencies, organizations, or 

7 groups with which the Administration consults to 

8 carry out the framework. 

9 (c) UPDATES.—Upon completion of the review under 

10 subsection (a), the Administrator shall modify the frame11 work, as appropriate, to address any deficiencies identified 

12 by the review. 

13 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after initiating the review required by subsection (a), the 

15 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Trans16 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

18 Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of 

19 the review, including a description of any modifications 

20 made to the framework. 

21 SEC. 502. CONSOLIDATION AND REALIGNMENT OF FAA 

22 SERVICES AND FACILITIES. 

23 (a) PURPOSE AND INPUT.—Section 804(a) of the 

24 FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 

25 44501 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘The purpose 

2 of the report shall be—’’ and all that follows 

3 through ‘‘(B) to reduce’’ and inserting ‘‘The purpose 

4 of the report shall be to reduce’’; and 

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(4) INPUT.—The report shall be prepared by 

8 the Administrator (or the Administrator’s designee) 

9 with the participation of— 

10 ‘‘(A) representatives of labor organizations 

11 representing air traffic control system employ12 ees of the FAA; and 

13 ‘‘(B) industry stakeholders.’’. 

14 (b) MILITARY OPERATIONS EXCLUSION.—Section 

15 804 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

16 (49 U.S.C. 44501 note) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub18 section (f); and 

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(e) MILITARY OPERATIONS EXCLUSION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not 

23 realign or consolidate a combined TRACON and 

24 tower with radar facility of the FAA under this sec25 tion if, in 2015, the total annual military operations 


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1 at the facility comprised at least 40 percent of the 

2 total annual TRACON operations at the facility. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRACON DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

4 the term ‘TRACON’ means terminal radar approach 

5 control.’’. 

6 SEC. 503. FAA REVIEW AND REFORM. 

7 (a) AGENCY REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

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

9 the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to the 

10 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a de13 tailed analysis of any actions taken to address the findings 

14 and recommendations included in the report required 

15 under section 812(d) of the FAA Modernization and Re16 form Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 106 note), including— 

17 (1) consolidating, phasing-out, or eliminating 

18 duplicative positions, programs, roles, or offices; 

19 (2) eliminating or streamlining wasteful prac20 tices; 

21 (3) eliminating or phasing-out redundant, obso22 lete, or unnecessary functions; 

23 (4) reforming and streamlining inefficient proc24 esses so that the activities of the Administration are 

25 completed in an expedited and efficient manner; and 


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1 (5) reforming or eliminating ineffectual or out2 dated policies. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL REVIEW.—Not later than 18 

4 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad5 ministrator shall undertake and complete a thorough re6 view of each program, office, and organization within the 

7 Administration to identify— 

8 (1) duplicative positions, programs, roles, or of9 fices; 

10 (2) wasteful practices; 

11 (3) redundant, obsolete, or unnecessary func12 tions; 

13 (4) inefficient processes; and 

14 (5) ineffectual or outdated policies. 

15 (c) ACTIONS TO STREAMLINE AND REFORM FAA.— 

16 Not later than 60 days after the date of completion of 

17 the review under subsection (b), the Administrator shall 

18 undertake such actions as may be necessary to address 

19 the findings of the Administrator under such subsection. 

20 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 120 days 

21 after the date of completion of the review under subsection 

22 (b), the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the actions 


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1 taken by the Administrator pursuant to subsection (c), in2 cluding any recommendations for legislative or administra3 tive actions. 

4 SEC. 504. AVIATION FUEL. 

5 (a) USE OF UNLEADED AVIATION GASOLINE.—The 

6 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

7 shall allow the use of an unleaded aviation gasoline in an 

8 aircraft as a replacement for a leaded gasoline if the Ad9 ministrator— 

10 (1) determines that an unleaded aviation gaso11 line qualifies as a replacement for an approved lead12 ed gasoline; 

13 (2) identifies the aircraft and engines that are 

14 eligible to use the qualified replacement unleaded 

15 gasoline; and 

16 (3) adopts a process (other than the traditional 

17 means of certification) to allow eligible aircraft and 

18 engines to operate using qualified replacement un19 leaded gasoline in a manner that ensures safety. 

20 (b) TIMING.—The Administrator shall adopt the 

21 process described in subsection (a)(3) not later than 180 

22 days after the later of— 

23 (1) the date of completion of the Piston Avia24 tion Fuels Initiative of the Administration; or 


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1 (2) the date of publication of an American Soci2 ety for Testing and Materials Production Specifica3 tion for an unleaded aviation gasoline. 

4 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative of the Ad6 ministration and the American Society for Testing and 

7 Materials should work to find an appropriate unleaded 

8 aviation gasoline by January 1, 2024. 

9 SEC. 505. RIGHT TO PRIVACY WHEN USING AIR TRAFFIC 

10 CONTROL SYSTEM. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad12 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall, 

13 upon request of a private aircraft owner or operator, block 

14 the registration number of the aircraft of the owner or 

15 operator from any public dissemination or display, except 

16 in data made available to a Government agency, for the 

17 noncommercial flights of the owner or operator. 

18 SEC. 506. AIR SHOWS. 

19 On an annual basis, the Administrator of the Federal 

20 Aviation Administration shall work with representatives of 

21 Administration-approved air shows, the general aviation 

22 community, and stadiums and other large outdoor events 

23 and venues to identify and resolve, to the maximum extent 

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1 approved air shows and large outdoor events and venues 

2 where— 

3 (1) flight restrictions will be imposed pursuant 

4 to section 521 of title V of division F of Public Law 

5 108–199 (118 Stat. 343); or 

6 (2) any other restriction will be imposed pursu7 ant to Federal Aviation Administration Flight Data 

8 Center Notice to Airmen 4/3621 (or any successor 

9 notice to airmen). 

10 SEC. 507. PART 91 REVIEW, REFORM, AND STREAMLINING. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—Not later 

12 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

13 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

14 shall establish a task force comprised of representatives 

15 of the general aviation industry who regularly perform 

16 part 91 operations, labor unions (including those rep17 resenting FAA aviation safety inspectors and FAA avia18 tion safety engineers), manufacturers, and the Govern19 ment to— 

20 (1) conduct an assessment of the FAA over21 sight and authorization processes and requirements 

22 for aircraft under part 91; and 

23 (2) make recommendations to streamline the 

24 applicable authorization and approval processes, im25 prove safety, and reduce regulatory cost burdens and 


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1 delays for the FAA and aircraft owners and opera2 tors who operate pursuant to part 91. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the assessment and 

4 making recommendations under subsection (a), the task 

5 force shall consider— 

6 (1) process reforms and improvements to allow 

7 the FAA to review and approve applications in a fair 

8 and timely fashion; 

9 (2) the appropriateness of requiring an author10 ization for each experimental aircraft rather than 

11 using a broader all makes and models approach; 

12 (3) ways to improve the timely response to let13 ters of authorization applications for aircraft owners 

14 and operators who operate pursuant to part 91, in15 cluding setting deadlines and granting temporary or 

16 automatic authorizations if deadlines are missed by 

17 the FAA; 

18 (4) methods for enhancing the effective use of 

19 delegation systems; 

20 (5) methods for training the FAA’s field office 

21 employees in risk-based and safety management sys22 tem oversight; and 

23 (6) such other matters related to streamlining 

24 part 91 authorization and approval processes as the 

25 task force considers appropriate. 


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1 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

5 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

6 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

7 Transportation of the Senate a report on the results 

8 of the task force’s assessment. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include an 

10 explanation of how the Administrator will— 

11 (A) implement the recommendations of the 

12 task force; 

13 (B) measure progress in implementing the 

14 recommendations; and 

15 (C) measure the effectiveness of the imple16 mented recommendations. 

17 (d) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

18 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the Administrator shall implement the recommenda20 tions made under this section. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi22 nitions apply: 

23 (1) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed24 eral Aviation Administration. 


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1 (2) PART 91.—The term ‘‘part 91’’ means part 

2 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

3 (f) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92–463 shall not 

4 apply to the task force. 

5 (g) SUNSET.—The task force shall terminate on the 

6 day the Administrator submits the report required under 

7 subsection (c). 

8 SEC. 508. AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad11 ministration shall initiate a rulemaking to increase the du12 ration of aircraft registrations for noncommercial general 

13 aviation aircraft to 10 years. 

14 SEC. 509. AIR TRANSPORTATION OF LITHIUM CELLS AND 

15 BATTERIES. 

16 (a) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS TO ENSURE COMPLI17 ANCE WITH SAFETY REGULATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor19 tation, in coordination with appropriate Federal 

20 agencies, shall carry out cooperative efforts to en21 sure that shippers who offer lithium ion and lithium 

22 metal batteries for air transport to or from the 

23 United States comply with U.S. Hazardous Mate24 rials Regulations and ICAO Technical Instructions. 


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1 (2) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.—The cooperative 

2 efforts the Secretary shall carry out pursuant to 

3 paragraph (1) include the following: 

4 (A) Encouraging training programs at lo5 cations outside the United States from which 

6 substantial cargo shipments of lithium ion or 

7 lithium metal batteries originate for manufac8 turers, freight forwarders, and other shippers 

9 and potential shippers of lithium ion and lith10 ium metal batteries. 

11 (B) Working with Federal, regional, and 

12 international transportation agencies to ensure 

13 enforcement of U.S. Hazardous Materials Reg14 ulations and ICAO Technical Instructions with 

15 respect to shippers who offer noncompliant 

16 shipments of lithium ion and lithium metal bat17 teries. 

18 (C) Sharing information, as appropriate, 

19 with Federal, regional, and international trans20 portation agencies regarding noncompliant ship21 ments. 

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1 hood of noncompliant shipments, especially with 

2 respect to jurisdictions in which enforcement 

3 activities historically have been limited. 

4 (E) Providing information in brochures 

5 and on the internet in appropriate foreign lan6 guages and dialects that describes the actions 

7 required to comply with U.S. Hazardous Mate8 rials Regulations and ICAO Technical Instruc9 tions. 

10 (F) Developing joint efforts with the inter11 national aviation community to promote a bet12 ter understanding of the requirements of and 

13 methods of compliance with U.S. Hazardous 

14 Materials Regulations and ICAO Technical In15 structions. 

16 (3) REPORTING.—Not later than 120 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

18 thereafter for 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to 

19 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

20 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

21 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate a report on compliance with the policy set 

23 forth in subsection (e) and the cooperative efforts 

24 carried out, or planned to be carried out, under this 

25 subsection. 


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1 (b) LITHIUM BATTERY AIR SAFETY ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall establish, in accordance with the re6 quirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

7 (5 U.S.C. App.), a lithium ion and lithium metal 

8 battery air safety advisory committee (in this sub9 section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

10 (2) DUTIES.—The Committee shall— 

11 (A) facilitate communication between man12 ufacturers of lithium ion and lithium metal cells 

13 and batteries, manufacturers of products incor14 porating both large and small lithium ion and 

15 lithium metal batteries, air carriers, and the 

16 Federal Government regarding the safe air 

17 transportation of lithium ion and lithium metal 

18 cells and batteries and the effectiveness and 

19 economic and social impacts of the regulation of 

20 such transportation; 

21 (B) provide the Secretary, the Federal 

22 Aviation Administration, and the Pipeline and 

23 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 

24 with timely information about new lithium ion 


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1 and lithium metal battery technology and trans2 portation safety practices and methodologies; 

3 (C) provide a forum for the Secretary to 

4 provide information on and to discuss the ac5 tivities of the Department of Transportation re6 lating to lithium ion and lithium metal battery 

7 transportation safety, the policies underlying 

8 the activities, and positions to be advocated in 

9 international forums; 

10 (D) provide a forum for the Secretary to 

11 provide information and receive advice on— 

12 (i) activities carried out throughout 

13 the world to communicate and enforce rel14 evant United States regulations and the 

15 ICAO Technical Instructions; and 

16 (ii) the effectiveness of the activities; 

17 (E) provide advice and recommendations to 

18 the Secretary with respect to lithium ion and 

19 lithium metal battery air transportation safety, 

20 including how best to implement activities to in21 crease awareness of relevant requirements and 

22 their importance to travelers and shippers; and 

23 (F) review methods to decrease the risk 

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1 pare and offer hazardous materials for ship2 ment via air transport. 

3 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 

4 composed of the following members: 

5 (A) Individuals appointed by the Secretary 

6 to represent— 

7 (i) large volume manufacturers of lith8 ium ion and lithium metal cells and bat9 teries; 

10 (ii) domestic manufacturers of lithium 

11 ion and lithium metal batteries or battery 

12 packs; 

13 (iii) manufacturers of consumer prod14 ucts powered by lithium ion and lithium 

15 metal batteries; 

16 (iv) manufacturers of vehicles powered 

17 by lithium ion and lithium metal batteries; 

18 (v) marketers of products powered by 

19 lithium ion and lithium metal batteries; 

20 (vi) cargo air service providers based 

21 in the United States; 

22 (vii) passenger air service providers 

23 based in the United States; 


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1 (viii) pilots and employees of air serv2 ice providers described in clauses (vi) and 

3 (vii); 

4 (ix) shippers of lithium ion and lith5 ium metal batteries for air transportation; 

6 (x) manufacturers of battery-powered 

7 medical devices or batteries used in med8 ical devices; and 

9 (xi) employees of the Department of 

10 Transportation, including employees of the 

11 Federal Aviation Administration and the 

12 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

13 Administration. 

14 (B) Representatives of such other Govern15 ment departments and agencies as the Sec16 retary determines appropriate. 

17 (C) Any other individuals the Secretary de18 termines are appropriate to comply with Fed19 eral law. 

20 (4) REPORT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the establishment of the Committee, 

23 the Committee shall submit to the Secretary, 

24 the Committee on Transportation and Infra25 structure of the House of Representatives, and 


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1 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

2 Transportation of the Senate a report that— 

3 (i) describes and evaluates the steps 

4 being taken in the private sector and by 

5 international regulatory authorities to im6 plement and enforce requirements relating 

7 to the safe transportation by air of bulk 

8 shipments of lithium ion cells and bat9 teries; and 

10 (ii) identifies any areas of enforce11 ment or regulatory requirements for which 

12 there is consensus that greater attention is 

13 needed. 

14 (B) INDEPENDENT STATEMENTS.—Each 

15 member of the Committee shall be provided an 

16 opportunity to submit an independent state17 ment of views with the report submitted pursu18 ant to subparagraph (A). 

19 (5) MEETINGS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

21 meet at the direction of the Secretary and at 

22 least twice a year. 

23 (B) PREPARATION FOR ICAO MEETINGS.— 

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1 mittee in connection with and in advance of 

2 each meeting of the International Civil Aviation 

3 Organization, or any of its panels or working 

4 groups, addressing the safety of air transpor5 tation of lithium ion and lithium metal batteries 

6 to brief Committee members on positions to be 

7 taken by the United States at such meeting and 

8 provide Committee members a meaningful op9 portunity to comment. 

10 (6) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall ter11 minate on the date that is 6 years after the date on 

12 which the Committee is established. 

13 (7) TERMINATION OF FUTURE OF AVIATION AD14 VISORY COMMITTEE.—The Future of Aviation Advi15 sory Committee shall terminate on the date on which 

16 the lithium ion battery air safety advisory committee 

17 is established. 

18 (c) MEDICAL DEVICE BATTERIES.— 

19 (1) LIMITED EXCEPTIONS TO RESTRICTIONS ON

20 AIR TRANSPORTATION OF MEDICAL DEVICE BAT21 TERIES.—The Secretary shall issue limited excep22 tions to the restrictions on transportation of lithium 

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1 placement batteries specifically used for a medical 

2 device if— 

3 (A) the intended destination of the bat4 teries is not serviced daily by cargo aircraft if 

5 a battery is required for medically necessary 

6 care; and 

7 (B) with regard to a shipper of lithium ion 

8 or lithium metal batteries for medical devices 

9 that cannot comply with a charge limitation in 

10 place at the time, each battery is— 

11 (i) individually packed in an inner 

12 packaging that completely encloses the bat13 tery; 

14 (ii) placed in a rigid outer packaging; 

15 and 

16 (iii) protected to prevent a short cir17 cuit. 

18 (2) MEDICAL DEVICE DEFINED.—ln this sub19 section, the term ‘‘medical device’’ means an instru20 ment, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, 

21 implant, or in vitro reagent, including any compo22 nent, part, or accessory thereof, which is intended 

23 for use in the diagnosis of disease or other condi24 tions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or pre25 vention of disease, in a person. 


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1 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub2 section may be construed as expanding or restricting 

3 any authority of the Secretary under section 828 of 

4 the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

5 (49 U.S.C. 44701 note). 

6 (d) PACKAGING IMPROVEMENTS.—Not later than 

7 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary, in consultation with interested stakeholders, shall 

9 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra10 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

12 Senate an evaluation of current practices for the pack13 aging of lithium ion batteries and cells for air transpor14 tation, including recommendations, if any, to improve the 

15 packaging of such batteries and cells for air transportation 

16 in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner. 

17 (e) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION POLICY ON

18 INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION.—It shall be the pol19 icy of the Department of Transportation to support the 

20 participation of industry in all panels and working groups 

21 of the Dangerous Goods Panel of the International Civil 

22 Aviation Organization and any other international test or 

23 standard setting organization that considers proposals on 

24 the safety or transportation of lithium ion and lithium 

25 metal batteries in which the United States participates. 


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1 (f) HARMONIZATION WITH ICAO TECHNICAL IN2 STRUCTIONS.—Pursuant to section 828 of the FAA Mod3 ernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 44701 

4 note), not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary shall conform United States reg6 ulations on the air transport of lithium cells and batteries 

7 with the lithium cells and batteries requirements in the 

8 2015–2016 edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions 

9 (including all addenda), including the revised standards 

10 adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization 

11 that became effective on April 1, 2016. 

12 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi13 nitions apply: 

14 (1) ICAO TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS.—The 

15 term ‘‘ICAO Technical Instructions’’ has the mean16 ing given that term in section 828(c) of the FAA 

17 Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 

18 44701 note). 

19 (2) U.S. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULA20 TIONS.—The term ‘‘U.S. Hazardous Materials Regu21 lations’’ means the regulations in parts 100 through 

22 177 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (includ23 ing amendments adopted after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act). 


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1 SEC. 510. REMOTE TOWER PILOT PROGRAM FOR RURAL 

2 AND SMALL COMMUNITIES. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor5 tation shall establish a pilot program under which, upon 

6 approval of an application submitted by an operator of a 

7 public-use airport, the Secretary shall install and operate 

8 at the airport a remote air traffic control tower in order 

9 to assess the operational benefits of remote air traffic con10 trol towers. 

11 (b) APPLICATIONS.—The operator of an airport seek12 ing to participate in the pilot program shall submit to the 

13 Secretary for approval an application that is in such form 

14 and contains such information as the Secretary may re15 quire. 

16 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

17 (1) SELECTION OF AIRPORTS.—From among 

18 the applications submitted under subsection (b), the 

19 Secretary, after consultation with representatives of 

20 labor organizations representing operators and em21 ployees of the air traffic control system, shall select 

22 for participation in the pilot program 7 airports as 

23 follows: 

24 (A) 1 nonhub, primary airport. 

25 (B) 3 nonprimary airports without existing 

26 air traffic control towers. 


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1 (C) 2 airports with air traffic control tow2 ers participating in a program established 

3 under section 47124 of title 49, United States 

4 Code. 

5 (D) 1 airport selected at the discretion of 

6 the Secretary. 

7 (2) PRIORITY SELECTION.—In selecting from 

8 among the applications submitted under subsection 

9 (b), the Secretary shall give priority to applicants 

10 that can best demonstrate the capabilities and po11 tential of remote air traffic control towers, including 

12 applicants proposing to operate multiple remote air 

13 traffic control towers from a single facility. 

14 (3) AUTHORITY TO REALLOCATE AIRPORT SE15 LECTION.—If the Secretary receives an insufficient 

16 number of applications, the Secretary may reallocate 

17 the distribution of airport sites described in para18 graph (1). 

19 (d) SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT PANEL.— 

20 (1) SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT PANEL MEET21 ING.—Prior to the operational use of a remote air 

22 traffic control tower, the Secretary shall convene a 

23 safety risk management panel for the tower to ad24 dress any safety issues with respect to the tower. 


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1 (2) SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT PANEL BEST

2 PRACTICES.—The safety risk management panels 

3 shall be created and utilized in a manner similar to 

4 that of safety risk management panels previously es5 tablished for remote air traffic control towers, taking 

6 into account— 

7 (A) best practices that have been devel8 oped; and 

9 (B) operational data from remote air traf10 fic control towers located in the United States. 

11 (e) AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.—The pilot 

12 program shall be eligible for airport improvement funding 

13 under chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code. 

14 (f) POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.—Not later 

15 than 30 days after the date that the first remote air traffic 

16 control tower is commissioned, the Administrator of the 

17 Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a repeat18 able process by which future certified remote air traffic 

19 control tower systems may be commissioned at additional 

20 airports. 

21 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the following 

23 definitions apply: 

24 (A) AIR NAVIGATION FACILITY.—The term 

25 ‘‘air navigation facility’’ has the meaning given 


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1 that term in section 40102(a) of title 49, 

2 United States Code. 

3 (B) REMOTE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

4 TOWER.—The term ‘‘remote air traffic control 

5 tower’’ means a remotely operated air naviga6 tion facility, including all necessary system com7 ponents, that provides the functions and capa8 bilities of an air traffic control tower. 

9 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER DEFINITIONS.— 

10 The terms ‘‘nonhub airport’’, ‘‘primary airport’’, and 

11 ‘‘public-use airport’’ have the meanings given such 

12 terms in section 47102 of title 49, United States 

13 Code. 

14 (h) SUNSET.—The pilot program shall terminate on 

15 the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of 

16 this Act. 

17 SEC. 511. ENSURING FAA READINESS TO PROVIDE SEAM18 LESS OCEANIC OPERATIONS. 

19 Not later than September 30, 2018, the Secretary of 

20 Transportation shall make a final investment decision for 

21 the implementation of a reduced oceanic separation capa22 bility that, by March 31, 2019, shall be operational and 

23 in use providing capabilities at least equivalent to that of24 fered in neighboring airspace, and such service shall be 


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1 provided in the same manner as terrestrial surveillance is 

2 provided. 

3 SEC. 512. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING WOMEN IN 

4 AVIATION. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the aviation industry 

6 should explore all opportunities, including pilot training, 

7 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics edu8 cation, and mentorship programs, to encourage and sup9 port female students and aviators to pursue a career in 

10 aviation. 

11 SEC. 513. OBSTRUCTION EVALUATION AERONAUTICAL 

12 STUDIES. 

13 The Secretary of Transportation may implement the 

14 policy set forth in the notice of proposed policy titled ‘‘Pro15 posal to Consider the Impact of One Engine Inoperative 

16 Procedures in Obstruction Evaluation Aeronautical Stud17 ies’’ published by the Department of Transportation on 

18 April 28, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 23300), only if the policy 

19 is adopted pursuant to a notice and comment rulemaking 

20 and, for purposes of Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 

21 note; relating to regulatory planning and review), is treat22 ed as a significant regulatory action within the scope of 

23 section 3(f)(1) of such Order. 


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1 SEC. 514. AIRCRAFT LEASING. 

2 Section 44112(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘on land or water’’; and 

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘operational’’ before ‘‘control’’. 

6 SEC. 515. REPORT ON OBSOLETE TEST EQUIPMENT. 

7 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

9 Aviation Administration shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the National 

13 Test Equipment Program of the Federal Aviation Admin14 istration (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 

16 (1) a list of all known outstanding requests for 

17 test equipment, cataloged by type and location, 

18 under the Program; 

19 (2) a description of the current method under 

20 the Program of ensuring calibrated equipment is in 

21 place for utilization; 

22 (3) a plan by the Administrator for appropriate 

23 inventory of such equipment; 

24 (4) the Administrator’s recommendations for 

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1 ment and all known and foreseeable manufacturer 

2 technological advances; and 

3 (5) a plan to replace, as appropriate, obsolete 

4 test equipment throughout the service areas. 

5 SEC. 516. PILOTS SHARING FLIGHT EXPENSES WITH PAS6 SENGERS. 

7 (a) GUIDANCE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

10 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall make 

11 publicly available, in a clear and concise format, ad12 visory guidance that describes how a pilot may share 

13 flight expenses with passengers in a manner con14 sistent with Federal law, including regulations. 

15 (2) EXAMPLES INCLUDED.—The guidance shall 

16 include examples of— 

17 (A) flights for which pilots and passengers 

18 may share expenses; 

19 (B) flights for which pilots and passengers 

20 may not share expenses; 

21 (C) the methods of communication that pi22 lots and passengers may use to arrange flights 

23 for which expenses are shared; and 


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1 (D) the methods of communication that pi2 lots and passengers may not use to arrange 

3 flights for which expenses are shared. 

4 (b) REPORT.— 

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

6 after the date on which guidance is made publicly 

7 available under subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen8 eral of the United States shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate a report analyzing Federal policy with respect to 

13 pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers. 

14 (2) EVALUATIONS INCLUDED.—The report sub15 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include an evalua16 tion of— 

17 (A) the rationale for such Federal policy; 

18 (B) safety and other concerns related to 

19 pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers; 

20 and 

21 (C) benefits related to pilots sharing flight 

22 expenses with passengers. 


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1 SEC. 517. AVIATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE FOR PART 

2 135 PILOT REST AND DUTY RULES. 

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

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

5 Federal Aviation Administration shall convene an aviation 

6 rulemaking committee to review, and develop findings and 

7 recommendations regarding, pilot rest and duty rules 

8 under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

10 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of en11 actment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 

12 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

15 based on the findings of the aviation rulemaking 

16 committee; and 

17 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of sub18 mission of the report under paragraph (1), issue a 

19 notice of proposed rulemaking based on any con20 sensus recommendations reached by the aviation 

21 rulemaking committee. 

22 (c) COMPOSITION.—The aviation rulemaking com23 mittee shall consist of members appointed by the Adminis24 trator, including— 

25 (1) representatives of industry; 


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1 (2) representatives of aviation labor organiza2 tions, including collective bargaining units rep3 resenting pilots who are covered by part 135 of title 

4 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and subpart K of 

5 part 91 of such title; and 

6 (3) aviation safety experts with specific knowl7 edge of flight crewmember education and training 

8 requirements under part 135 of such title. 

9 (d) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Administrator shall di10 rect the aviation rulemaking committee to consider— 

11 (1) recommendations of prior part 135 rule12 making committees; 

13 (2) accommodations necessary for small busi14 nesses; 

15 (3) scientific data derived from aviation-related 

16 fatigue and sleep research; 

17 (4) data gathered from aviation safety reporting 

18 programs; 

19 (5) the need to accommodate the diversity of 

20 operations conducted under part 135; and 

21 (6) other items, as appropriate. 

22 SEC. 518. METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AU23 THORITY. 

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Metropolitan Washington Airports Au2 thority (in this section referred to as ‘‘MWAA’’), 

3 which operates Ronald Reagan Washington National 

4 Airport and Dulles International Airport by lease 

5 with the Department of Transportation, has rou6 tinely performed poorly on audits conducted by the 

7 Inspector General of the Department of Transpor8 tation; 

9 (2) the responsible stewardship of taxpayer10 owned assets by MWAA is of great concern to Con11 gress; 

12 (3) a March 20, 2015, audit conducted by the 

13 Inspector General titled ‘‘MWAA’s Office of Audit 

14 Does Not Have an Adequate Quality Assurance and 

15 Improvement Program’’ (Report No. ZA–2015–035) 

16 found that MWAA’s quality assurance and improve17 ment program did not conform with the standards 

18 of the Institute of Internal Auditors; and 

19 (4) the Inspector General’s audit made 7 rec20 ommendations to strengthen MWAA governance, its 

21 Office of Audit, and its quality assurance and im22 provement program. 

23 (b) IMPLEMENTING AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

24 (1) STUDY.—The Inspector General of the De25 partment of Transportation shall conduct a study on 


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1 MWAA’s progress in implementing the recommenda2 tions of the audit referred to in subsection (a). 

3 (2) REPORT.—The Inspector General shall sub4 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra5 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor7 tation of the Senate a report on the study, including 

8 the Inspector General’s findings, conclusions, and 

9 recommendations for strengthening and improving 

10 MWAA’s Office of Audit. 

11 SEC. 519. TERMINAL AERODROME FORECAST. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

13 Aviation Administration shall permit a covered air carrier 

14 to operate to or from a location in a noncontiguous State 

15 without a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast or Meteorological 

16 Aerodrome Report if— 

17 (1) such location is determined to be under vis18 ual meteorological conditions; 

19 (2) a current Area Forecast, supplemented by 

20 other local weather observations or reports, is avail21 able; and 

22 (3) an alternate airport that has an available 

23 Terminal Aerodrome Forecast and weather report is 

24 specified. 

25 (b) PROCEDURES.—A covered air carrier shall— 


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1 (1) have approved procedures for dispatch or 

2 release and enroute weather evaluation; and 

3 (2) operate under instrument flight rules 

4 enroute to the destination. 

5 (c) COVERED AIR CARRIER DEFINED.—In this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘covered air carrier’’ means an air carrier 

7 operating in a noncontiguous State under part 121 of title 

8 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 SEC. 520. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION EMPLOY10 EES STATIONED ON GUAM. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

13 Administration and the Secretary of Defense should 

14 seek an agreement that would enable Federal Avia15 tion Administration employees stationed on Guam to 

16 have access to Department of Defense hospitals, 

17 commissaries, and exchanges on Guam; 

18 (2) access to these facilities is important to en19 sure the health and well-being of Federal Aviation 

20 Administration employees and their families; and 

21 (3) in exchange for this access, the Federal 

22 Aviation Administration should make payments to 

23 cover the applicable administrative costs incurred by 

24 the Department of Defense in carrying out the 

25 agreement. 


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1 SEC. 521. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

2 (a) AIRPORT CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECTS

3 AT CONGESTED AIRPORTS.—Section 40104(c) of title 49, 

4 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

5 47176’’ and inserting ‘‘section 47175’’. 

6 (b) PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES.—Section 

7 40117(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘charge or charge’’ and inserting ‘‘charge’’. 

9 (c) OVERFLIGHTS OF NATIONAL PARKS.—Section 

10 40128(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘under part 91 of the title 14,’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘under part 91 of title 14,’’. 

13 (d) PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF

14 PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN FOREIGN AIR CARRIER ACCI15 DENTS.—Section 41313(c)(16) of title 49, United States 

16 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘An assurance that the for17 eign air carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘An assurance that’’. 

18 (e) OPERATIONS OF CARRIERS.—The analysis for 

19 chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

20 by striking the item relating to section 41718 and insert21 ing the following: 

‘‘41718. Special rules for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.’’. 

22 (f) SCHEDULES FOR CERTAIN TRANSPORTATION OF

23 MAIL.—Section 41902(a) of title 49, United States Code, 

24 is amended by striking ‘‘section 41906’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘section 41905’’. 


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1 (g) WEIGHING MAIL.—Section 41907 of title 49, 

2 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ and 

3 all that follows through ‘‘administrative’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘and administrative’’. 

5 (h) STRUCTURES INTERFERING WITH AIR COM6 MERCE OR NATIONAL SECURITY.—Section 44718(b)(1) of 

7 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

9 by striking ‘‘air navigation facilities and equipment’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘air or space navigation facilities and 

11 equipment’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (A) in clause (v) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (B) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause 

16 (vii); and 

17 (C) by inserting after clause (v) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(vi) the impact on launch and re20 entry for launch and reentry vehicles arriv21 ing or departing from a launch site or re22 entry site licensed by the Secretary of 

23 Transportation; and’’. 

24 (i) FEES INVOLVING AIRCRAFT NOT PROVIDING AIR

25 TRANSPORTATION.—Section 45302 of title 49, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘44703(f)(2)’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘44703(g)(2)’’. 

3 (j) CHAPTER 465.—The analysis for chapter 465 of 

4 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the 

5 following: 

‘‘46503. Repealed.’’. 

6 (k) SOLICITATION AND CONSIDERATION OF COM7 MENTS.—Section 47171(l) of title 49, United States Code, 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘4371’’ and inserting ‘‘4321’’. 

9 (l) ADJUSTMENTS TO COMPENSATION FOR SIGNIFI10 CANTLY INCREASED COSTS.—Section 426 of the FAA 

11 Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a) (49 U.S.C. 41737 note) by 

13 striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

14 Transportation’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (c) (49 U.S.C. 41731 note) by 

16 striking ‘‘the Secretary may waive’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘the Secretary of Transportation may waive’’. 

18 (m) AIRCRAFT DEPARTURE QUEUE MANAGEMENT

19 PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 507(a) of the FAA Moderniza20 tion and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 44505 note) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘section 48101(a)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘section 48101(a) of title 49, United States Code,’’. 


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1 SEC. 522. APPLICATION OF VETERANS’ PREFERENCE TO 

2 FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PER3 SONNEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 

4 Section 40122(g)(2)(B) of title 49, United States 

5 Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘3304(f),’’ before ‘‘3308- 

7 3320’’; and 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘3330a, 3330b, 3330c, and 

9 3330d,’’ before ‘‘relating’’. 

10 SEC. 523. PUBLIC AIRCRAFT ELIGIBLE FOR LOGGING 

11 FLIGHT TIMES. 

12 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis13 tration shall issue regulations modifying section 

14 61.51(j)(4) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, so 

15 as to include aircraft under the direct operational control 

16 of forestry and fire protection agencies as public aircraft 

17 eligible for logging flight times. 

18 SEC. 524. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION WORK19 FORCE REVIEW. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

22 of the United States shall conduct a review to assess the 

23 workforce and training needs of the Federal Aviation Ad24 ministration (in this section referred to as the ‘‘FAA’’) 

25 in the anticipated budgetary environment. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the review, the 

2 Comptroller General shall— 

3 (1) identify the long-term workforce and train4 ing needs of the FAA workforce; 

5 (2) assess the impact of automation, digitaliza6 tion, and artificial intelligence on the FAA work7 force; 

8 (3) analyze the skills and qualifications required 

9 of the FAA workforce for successful performance in 

10 the current and future projected aviation environ11 ment; 

12 (4) review current performance incentive poli13 cies of the FAA, including awards for performance; 

14 (5) analyze ways in which the FAA can work 

15 with industry and labor, including labor groups rep16 resenting the FAA workforce, to establish knowl17 edge-sharing opportunities between the FAA and the 

18 aviation industry regarding new equipment and sys19 tems, best practices, and other areas of interest; and 

20 (6) develop recommendations on the most effec21 tive qualifications, training programs (including e22 learning training), and performance incentive ap23 proaches to address the needs of the future pro24 jected aviation regulatory system in the anticipated 

25 budgetary environment. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

3 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra4 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate a report on the results of the review. 

7 SEC. 525. STATE TAXATION. 

8 Section 40116(d)(2)(A) of title 49, United States 

9 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(v) except as otherwise provided under section 

11 47133, levy or collect a tax, fee, or charge, first tak12 ing effect after the date of enactment of this clause, 

13 upon any business located at a commercial service 

14 airport or operating as a permittee of such an air15 port that is not generally imposed on sales or serv16 ices by that State, political subdivision, or authority 

17 unless wholly utilized for airport or aeronautical pur18 poses.’’. 

19 SEC. 526. AVIATION AND AEROSPACE WORKFORCE OF THE 

20 FUTURE. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

22 (1) in 2016, United States air carriers carried 

23 a record high number of passengers on domestic 

24 flights, 719 million passengers; 


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1 (2) the United States aerospace and defense in2 dustry employed 1.7 million workers in 2015, or 

3 roughly 2 percent of the Nation’s total employment 

4 base; 

5 (3) the average salary of an employee in the 

6 aerospace and defense industry is 44 percent above 

7 the national average; 

8 (4) in 2015, the aerospace and defense industry 

9 contributed nearly $202.4 billion in value added to 

10 the United States economy; 

11 (5) an effective aviation industry relies on indi12 viduals with unique skill sets, many of which can be 

13 directly obtained through career and technical edu14 cation opportunities; and 

15 (6) industry and the Federal Government have 

16 taken some actions to attract qualified individuals to 

17 careers in aviation and aerospace and to retain 

18 qualified individuals in such careers. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) public and private education institutions 

22 should make available to students and parents infor23 mation on approved programs of study and career 

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1 ment opportunities, and guidance and advisement 

2 resources; 

3 (2) public and private education institutions 

4 should partner with aviation and aerospace compa5 nies to promote career paths available within the in6 dustry and share information on the unique benefits 

7 and opportunities the career paths offer; 

8 (3) aviation companies, including air carriers, 

9 manufacturers, commercial space companies, un10 manned aircraft system companies, and repair sta11 tions, should create opportunities, through appren12 ticeships or other mechanisms, to attract young peo13 ple to aviation and aerospace careers and to enable 

14 individuals to gain the critical skills needed to thrive 

15 in such professions; and 

16 (4) the Federal Government should consider the 

17 needs of men and women interested in pursuing ca18 reers in the aviation and aerospace industry, the 

19 long-term personnel needs of the aviation and aero20 space industry, and the role of aviation in the 

21 United States economy in the creation and adminis22 tration of educational and financial aid programs. 


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1 SEC. 527. FUTURE AVIATION AND AEROSPACE WORKFORCE 

2 STUDY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

5 of the United States shall conduct a study— 

6 (1) to identify the factors influencing the supply 

7 of individuals pursuing a career in the aviation or 

8 aerospace industry; and 

9 (2) to identify best practices or programs to 

10 incentivize, recruit, and retain young people in avia11 tion and aerospace professions. 

12 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Comptroller General shall 

13 conduct the study in consultation with— 

14 (1) appropriate Federal agencies; and 

15 (2) the aviation and aerospace industry, institu16 tions of higher education, and labor stakeholders. 

17 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

19 General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

20 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

22 of the Senate a report on the results of the study and 

23 related recommendations. 


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1 SEC. 528. FAA LEADERSHIP ON CIVIL SUPERSONIC AIR2 CRAFT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

4 Aviation Administration shall exercise leadership in the 

5 creation of Federal and international policies, regulations, 

6 and standards relating to the certification and safe and 

7 efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft. 

8 (b) EXERCISE OF LEADERSHIP.—In carrying out 

9 subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 

10 (1) consider the needs of the aerospace industry 

11 and other stakeholders when creating policies, regu12 lations, and standards that enable the safe commer13 cial deployment of civil supersonic aircraft tech14 nology and the safe and efficient operation of civil 

15 supersonic aircraft; and 

16 (2) obtain the input of aerospace industry 

17 stakeholders regarding— 

18 (A) the appropriate regulatory framework 

19 and timeline for permitting the safe and effi20 cient operation of civil supersonic aircraft with21 in United States airspace, including updating or 

22 modifying existing regulations on such oper23 ation; 

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1 ation of civil supersonic aircraft, including noise 

2 certification, including— 

3 (i) the operational differences between 

4 subsonic aircraft and supersonic aircraft; 

5 (ii) costs and benefits associated with 

6 landing and takeoff noise requirements for 

7 civil supersonic aircraft, including impacts 

8 on aircraft emissions; 

9 (iii) public and economic benefits of 

10 the operation of civil supersonic aircraft 

11 and associated aerospace industry activity; 

12 and 

13 (iv) challenges relating to ensuring 

14 that standards and regulations aimed at 

15 relieving and protecting the public health 

16 and welfare from aircraft noise and sonic 

17 booms are economically reasonable, techno18 logically practicable, and appropriate for 

19 civil supersonic aircraft; and 

20 (C) other issues identified by the Adminis21 trator or the aerospace industry that must be 

22 addressed to enable the safe commercial deploy23 ment and safe and efficient operation of civil 

24 supersonic aircraft. 


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1 (c) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The Adminis2 trator, in the appropriate international forums, shall take 

3 actions that— 

4 (1) demonstrate global leadership under sub5 section (a); 

6 (2) address the needs of the aerospace industry 

7 identified under subsection (b); and 

8 (3) protect the public health and welfare. 

9 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In12 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

14 Senate a report detailing— 

15 (1) the Administrator’s actions to exercise lead16 ership in the creation of Federal and international 

17 policies, regulations, and standards relating to the 

18 certification and safe and efficient operation of civil 

19 supersonic aircraft; 

20 (2) planned, proposed, and anticipated actions 

21 to update or modify existing policies and regulations 

22 related to civil supersonic aircraft, including those 

23 identified as a result of industry consultation and 

24 feedback; and 


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1 (3) a timeline for any actions to be taken to up2 date or modify existing policies and regulations re3 lated to civil supersonic aircraft. 

4 SEC. 529. OKLAHOMA REGISTRY OFFICE. 

5 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis6 tration shall consider the aircraft registry office in Okla7 homa City, Oklahoma, as excepted during a Government 

8 shutdown or emergency (as it provides excepted services) 

9 to ensure that it remains open during any Government 

10 shutdown or emergency. 

11 SEC. 530. FOREIGN AIR TRANSPORTATION UNDER UNITED 

12 STATES-EUROPEAN UNION AIR TRANSPORT 

13 AGREEMENT. 

14 (a) CERTAIN FOREIGN AIR TRANSPORTATION PER15 MITS.—The Secretary of Transportation may not issue a 

16 permit under section 41302 of title 49, United States 

17 Code, or an exemption under section 40109 of such title, 

18 authorizing a person to provide foreign air transportation 

19 as a foreign air carrier under the United States-European 

20 Union Air Transport Agreement of April 2007 (as amend21 ed) in a proceeding in which the applicability of Article 

22 17 bis of such Agreement has been raised by an interested 

23 person, unless the Secretary— 

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1 cle 17 bis of the Agreement, that opportunities cre2 ated by the Agreement do not undermine labor 

3 standards or the labor-related rights and principles 

4 contained in the laws of the respective parties to the 

5 Agreement; and 

6 (2) imposes on the permit or exemption such 

7 conditions as may be necessary to ensure that the 

8 person complies with the intent of Article 17 bis. 

9 (b) PUBLIC INTEREST TEST.—Section 41302(2) of 

10 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘under an 

12 agreement with the United States Government; or’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘the for15 eign air transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘after consid16 ering the totality of the circumstances, including the 

17 factors set forth in section 40101(a), the foreign air 

18 transportation’’. 

19 (c) PUBLIC INTEREST REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) POLICY.—Section 40101(a) of title 49, 

21 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(17) preventing entry into United States mar24 kets by flag of convenience carriers.’’. 


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1 (2) INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION.— 

2 Section 40101(e)(9) of title 49, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

5 at the end; 

6 (B) in subparagraph (E) by striking the 

7 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(F) erosion of labor standards associated 

10 with flag of convenience carriers.’’. 

11 (3) FLAG OF CONVENIENCE CARRIER DE12 FINED.—Section 40102(a) of title 49, United States 

13 Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(54) ‘flag of convenience carrier’ means a for16 eign air carrier that is established in a country other 

17 than the home country of its majority owner or own18 ers in order to avoid regulations of the home coun19 try.’’. 

20 SEC. 531. TRAINING ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR CER21 TAIN STAFF. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

23 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 44738. Training on human trafficking for certain 

2 staff 

3 ‘‘In addition to other training requirements, each air 

4 carrier shall provide training— 

5 ‘‘(1) to ticket counter agents, gate agents, and 

6 other air carrier workers whose jobs require regular 

7 interaction with passengers; and 

8 ‘‘(2) on recognizing and responding to potential 

9 human trafficking victims.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap11 ter 447 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 

12 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

‘‘44738. Training on human trafficking for certain staff.’’. 

14 SEC. 532. PART 107 IMPLEMENTATION IMPROVEMENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

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

17 Federal Aviation Administration shall publish a direct 

18 final rule— 

19 (1) revising section 107.205 of title 14, Code of 

20 Federal Regulations, by striking the second sentence 

21 of subsections (a) and (c); and 

22 (2) revising section 107.25 of such title by 

23 striking ‘‘and is not transporting another person’s 

24 property for compensation or hire’’. 


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1 (b) DETERMINATION OF WAIVER.—In determining 

2 whether to grant a waiver under part 107 of title 14, Code 

3 of Federal Regulations, to authorize transportation of an4 other’s property for compensation or hire beyond the vis5 ual line of sight of the remote pilot, from a moving vehicle, 

6 or over people, the Administrator shall consider the tech7 nological capabilities of the unmanned aircraft system, the 

8 qualifications of the remote pilot, and the operational envi9 ronment. 

10 SEC. 533. PART 107 TRANSPARENCY AND TECHNOLOGY IM11 PROVEMENTS. 

12 (a) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

14 the Federal Aviation Administration shall publish on the 

15 Federal Aviation Administration website a representative 

16 sample of the safety justifications, offered by applicants 

17 for small unmanned aircraft system waivers and airspace 

18 authorizations, that have been approved by the Adminis19 tration for each regulation waived or class of airspace au20 thorized, except that any published justification shall not 

21 reveal proprietary or commercially sensitive information. 

22 (b) TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—Not later than 

23 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad24 ministrator shall revise the online waiver and certificates 

25 of authorization processes— 


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1 (1) to provide real time confirmation that an 

2 application filed online has been received by the Ad3 ministration; and 

4 (2) to provide an applicant with an opportunity 

5 to review the status of the applicant’s application. 

6 SEC. 534. PROHIBITIONS AGAINST SMOKING ON PAS7 SENGER FLIGHTS. 

8 Section 41706 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub11 section (e); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INCLUSION.—The use of an electronic cig16 arette shall be treated as smoking for purposes of 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE DEFINED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘electronic cigarette’ means a 

20 device that delivers nicotine to a user of the device 

21 in the form of a vapor that is inhaled to simulate 

22 the experience of smoking.’’. 


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1 SEC. 535. CONSUMER PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS RELAT2 ING TO LARGE TICKET AGENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor5 tation shall issue a final rule to require large ticket agents 

6 to adopt minimum customer service standards. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the final rule shall be 

8 to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, there 

9 is a consistent level of consumer protection regardless of 

10 where consumers purchase air fares and related air trans11 portation services. 

12 (c) STANDARDS.—In issuing the final rule, the Sec13 retary shall consider, at a minimum, establishing stand14 ards for— 

15 (1) providing prompt refunds when ticket re16 funds are due, including fees for optional services 

17 that consumers purchased but were not able to use 

18 due to a flight cancellation or oversale situation; 

19 (2) providing an option to hold a reservation at 

20 the quoted fare without payment, or to cancel with21 out penalty, for 24 hours; 

22 (3) disclosing cancellation policies, seating con23 figurations, and lavatory availability with respect to 

24 flights; 

25 (4) notifying customers in a timely manner of 

26 itinerary changes; and 


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1 (5) responding promptly to customer com2 plaints. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following shall 

4 apply: 

5 (1) TICKET AGENT.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graph (B), the term ‘‘ticket agent’’ has the 

8 meaning given that term in section 40102(a) of 

9 title 49, United States Code. 

10 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘ticket agent’’ 

11 includes a person who acts as an intermediary 

12 involved in the sale of air transportation di13 rectly or indirectly to consumers, including by 

14 operating an electronic airline information sys15 tem, if the person— 

16 (i) holds the person out as a source of 

17 information about, or reservations for, the 

18 air transportation industry; and 

19 (ii) receives compensation in any way 

20 related to the sale of air transportation. 

21 (2) LARGE TICKET AGENT.—The term ‘‘large 

22 ticket agent’’ means a ticket agent with annual reve23 nues of $100,000,000 or more. 


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1 SEC. 536. FAA DATA TRANSPARENCY. 

2 Section 45303 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(g) DATA TRANSPARENCY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES INITIAL DATA RE6 PORT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 

8 months after the date of enactment of the FAA 

9 Reauthorization Act of 2018, the Administrator 

10 and the Chief Operating Officer of the Air 

11 Traffic Organization shall, based upon the most 

12 recently available full fiscal year data, complete 

13 the following calculations for each segment of 

14 air traffic services users: 

15 ‘‘(i) The total costs allocable to the 

16 use of air traffic services for that segment 

17 during such fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The total revenues received from 

19 that segment during such fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(B) VALIDATION OF MODEL.— 

21 ‘‘(i) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 

22 Not later than 3 months after completion 

23 of the initial report required under sub24 paragraph (A), the Inspector General of 

25 the Department of Transportation shall re26 view and determine the validity of the 


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1 model used by the Administrator and the 

2 Chief Operating Officer to complete the 

3 calculations required under subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 ‘‘(ii) VALIDATION PROCESS.—In the 

6 event that the Inspector General deter7 mines that the model used by the Adminis8 trator and the Chief Operating Officer to 

9 complete the calculations required by sub10 paragraph (A) is not valid— 

11 ‘‘(I) the Inspector General shall 

12 provide the Administrator and Chief 

13 Operating Officer recommendations 

14 on how to revise the model; 

15 ‘‘(II) the Administrator and the 

16 Chief Operating Officer shall complete 

17 the calculations required by subpara18 graph (A) utilizing the revised model 

19 and resubmit the revised initial report 

20 required under subparagraph (A) to 

21 the Inspector General; and 

22 ‘‘(III) not later than 3 months 

23 after completion of the revised initial 

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1 view and determine the validity of the 

2 revised model used by the Adminis3 trator and the Chief Operating Officer 

4 to complete the calculations required 

5 by subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(iii) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Admin7 istrator and the Chief Operating Officer 

8 shall provide the Inspector General of the 

9 Department of Transportation with unfet10 tered access to all data produced by the 

11 cost accounting system operated and main12 tained pursuant to subsection (e). 

13 ‘‘(C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

14 than 60 days after completion of the review and 

15 receiving a determination that the model used is 

16 valid under subparagraph (B), the Adminis17 trator and the Chief Operating Officer shall 

18 submit to the Committee on Transportation and 

19 Infrastructure, the Committee on Appropria20 tions, and the Committee on Ways and Means 

21 of the House of Representatives, and the Com22 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor23 tation, the Committee on Appropriations, and 

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1 port describing the results of the calculations 

2 completed under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 60 

4 days after submission of the report required 

5 under subparagraph (C), the Administrator and 

6 Chief Operating Officer shall publish the initial 

7 report, including any revision thereto if required 

8 as a result of the validation process for the 

9 model. 

10 ‘‘(2) AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES BIENNIAL DATA

11 REPORTING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) BIENNIAL DATA REPORTING.—Not 

13 later than March 31, 2019, and biennially 

14 thereafter for 8 years, the Administrator and 

15 the Chief Operating Officer shall, using the 

16 validated model, complete the following calcula17 tions for each segment of air traffic services 

18 users for the most recent full fiscal year: 

19 ‘‘(i) The total costs allocable to the 

20 use of the air traffic services for that seg21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(ii) The total revenues received from 

23 that segment. 

24 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

25 than 15 days after completing the calculations 


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1 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator and 

2 the Chief Operating Officer shall complete and 

3 submit to the Committee on Transportation and 

4 Infrastructure, the Committee on Appropria5 tions, and the Committee on Ways and Means 

6 of the House of Representatives, and the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation, the Committee on Appropriations, and 

9 the Committee on Finance of the Senate a re10 port containing the results of such calculations. 

11 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 60 

12 days after completing the calculations pursuant 

13 to subparagraph (A), the Administrator and the 

14 Chief Operating Officer shall publish the results 

15 of such calculations. 

16 ‘‘(3) SEGMENTS OF AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES

17 USERS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

19 subsection, each of the following shall constitute 

20 a separate segment of air traffic services users: 

21 ‘‘(i) Passenger air carriers conducting 

22 operations under part 121 of title 14, Code 

23 of Federal Regulations. 

24 ‘‘(ii) All-cargo air carriers conducting 

25 operations under part 121 of such title. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Operators covered by part 125 

2 of such title. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Air carriers and operators of pis4 ton-engine aircraft operating under part 

5 135 of such title. 

6 ‘‘(v) Air carriers and operators of tur7 bine-engine aircraft operating under part 

8 135 of such title. 

9 ‘‘(vi) Foreign air carriers providing 

10 passenger air transportation. 

11 ‘‘(vii) Foreign air carriers providing 

12 all-cargo air transportation. 

13 ‘‘(viii) Operators of turbine-engine air14 craft operating under part 91 of such title, 

15 excluding those operating under subpart 

16 (K) of such part. 

17 ‘‘(ix) Operators of piston-engine air18 craft operating under part 91 of such title, 

19 excluding those operating under subpart 

20 (K) of such part. 

21 ‘‘(x) Operators covered by subpart (K) 

22 of part 91 of such title. 

23 ‘‘(xi) Operators covered by part 133 

24 of such title. 


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1 ‘‘(xii) Operators covered by part 136 

2 of such title. 

3 ‘‘(xiii) Operators covered by part 137 

4 of such title. 

5 ‘‘(xiv) Operators of public aircraft 

6 that qualify under section 40125. 

7 ‘‘(xv) Operators of aircraft that nei8 ther take off from, nor land in, the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL SEGMENTS.—The Sec11 retary may identify and include additional seg12 ments of air traffic users under paragraph (A) 

13 as revenue and air traffic services cost data be14 comes available for that additional segment of 

15 air traffic services users. 

16 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(A) AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES.—The term 

19 ‘air traffic services’ means services— 

20 ‘‘(i) used for the monitoring, direct21 ing, control, and guidance of aircraft or 

22 flows of aircraft and for the safe conduct 

23 of flight, including communications, navi24 gation, and surveillance services and provi25 sion of aeronautical information; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provided directly, or contracted 

2 for, by the Federal Aviation Administra3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(B) AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES USER.—The 

5 term ‘air traffic services user’ means any indi6 vidual or entity using air traffic services pro7 vided directly, or contracted for, by the Federal 

8 Aviation Administration within United States 

9 airspace or international airspace delegated to 

10 the United States.’’. 

11 SEC. 537. AGENCY PROCUREMENT REPORTING REQUIRE12 MENTS. 

13 Section 40110(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PURCHASE OF

16 FOREIGN MANUFACTURED ARTICLES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the end of the fiscal year, the Secretary 

19 of Transportation shall submit a report to Con20 gress on the dollar amount of the acquisitions 

21 made by the agency from entities that manufac22 ture the articles, materials, or supplies outside 

23 of the United States in such fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report required by 

25 subparagraph (A) shall separately indicate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the dollar value of any articles, 

2 materials, or supplies purchased that were 

3 manufactured outside of the United States; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the total procure6 ment funds spent on goods manufactured 

7 in the United States versus funds spent on 

8 goods manufactured outside of the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The Sec11 retary shall make the report under subpara12 graph (A) publicly available on the agency’s 

13 website not later than 30 days after submission 

14 to Congress.’’. 

15 SEC. 538. ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES AND TECHNOLOGY. 

16 (a) PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 Section 40117(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(H) A project for— 

20 ‘‘(i) converting or retrofitting vehicles 

21 and ground support equipment into eligible 

22 zero-emission vehicles and equipment (as 

23 defined in section 47102); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) acquiring, by purchase or lease, 

2 eligible zero-emission vehicles and equip3 ment (as defined in section 47102).’’. 

4 (b) AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM ELIGI5 BILITY.— 

6 (1) AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT DEFINED.—Sec7 tion 47102(3) of title 49, United States Code, as 

8 amended by this Act, is further amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(P) converting or retrofitting vehicles and 

11 ground support equipment into eligible zero12 emission vehicles and equipment or acquiring, 

13 by purchase or lease, eligible zero-emission vehi14 cles and equipment. 

15 ‘‘(Q) constructing or modifying airport fa16 cilities to install a microgrid in order to provide 

17 increased resilience to severe weather, ter18 rorism, and other causes of grid failures.’’. 

19 (2) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—Section 47102 

20 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by this 

21 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

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1 ment that includes zero-emission technology that 

2 is— 

3 ‘‘(A) used exclusively at a commercial serv4 ice airport; or 

5 ‘‘(B) used exclusively to transport people 

6 or materials to and from a commercial service 

7 airport. 

8 ‘‘(31) ‘microgrid’ means a localized grouping of 

9 electricity sources and loads that normally operates 

10 connected to and synchronous with the traditional 

11 centralized electrical grid, but can disconnect and 

12 function autonomously as physical or economic con13 ditions dictate. 

14 ‘‘(32) ‘zero-emission vehicle’ means a zero-emis15 sion vehicle as defined in section 88.102–94 of title 

16 40, Code of Federal Regulations, or a vehicle that 

17 produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria pol18 lutant (or precursor pollutant) under any possible 

19 operational modes and conditions.’’. 

20 (3) SPECIAL APPORTIONMENT CATEGORIES.— 

21 Section 47117(e)(1)(A) of title 49, United States 

22 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘for airport develop23 ment described in section 47102(3)(P),’’ after 

24 ‘‘under section 47141,’’. 


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1 (c) ZERO-EMISSION PROGRAM.—Chapter 471 of title 

2 49, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by striking section 47136; 

4 (2) by redesignating section 47136a as section 

5 47136; and 

6 (3) in section 47136, as so redesignated, by 

7 striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 

8 following: 

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

10 may establish a pilot program under which the sponsors 

11 of not less than 10 public-use airports may use funds 

12 made available under this chapter or section 48103 for 

13 use at such airports to carry out— 

14 ‘‘(1) activities associated with the acquisition, 

15 by purchase or lease, and operation of zero-emission 

16 vehicles, including removable power sources for such 

17 vehicles; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the construction or modification of infra19 structure to facilitate the delivery of fuel and serv20 ices necessary for the use of such vehicles. 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A public-use airport is eligible 

22 for participation in the program if the vehicles or ground 

23 support equipment are— 

24 ‘‘(1) used exclusively at the airport; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) used exclusively to transport people or ma2 terials to and from the airport.’’; 

3 (4) in section 47136, as so redesignated, by 

4 striking subsections (d) and (e) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

7 cost of a project carried out under the program shall be 

8 the Federal share specified in section 47109. 

9 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

11 airport may use not more than 10 percent of the 

12 amounts made available to the sponsor under the 

13 program in any fiscal year for— 

14 ‘‘(A) technical assistance; and 

15 ‘‘(B) project management support to assist 

16 the airport with the solicitation, acquisition, 

17 and deployment of zero-emission vehicles, re18 lated equipment, and supporting infrastructure. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROVIDERS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

20 To receive the technical assistance or project man21 agement support described in paragraph (1), partici22 pants in the program may use— 

23 ‘‘(A) a nonprofit organization selected by 

24 the Secretary; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a university transportation center re2 ceiving grants under section 5505 in the region 

3 of the airport.’’; 

4 (5) in section 47136, as so redesignated, in sub5 section (f) by striking ‘‘section 47136’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘the inherently low emission airport vehicle pilot 

7 program’’; and 

8 (6) in section 47136, as so redesignated, by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(g) ALLOWABLE PROJECT COST.—The allowable 

11 project cost for the acquisition of a zero-emission vehicle 

12 shall be the total cost of purchasing or leasing the vehicle, 

13 including the cost of technical assistance or project man14 agement support described in subsection (e). 

15 ‘‘(h) FLEXIBLE PROCUREMENT.—A sponsor of a 

16 public-use airport may use funds made available under the 

17 program to acquire, by purchase or lease, a zero-emission 

18 vehicle and a removable power source in separate trans19 actions, including transactions by which the airport pur20 chases the vehicle and leases the removable power source. 

21 ‘‘(i) TESTING REQUIRED.—A sponsor of a public-use 

22 airport may not use funds made available under the pro23 gram to acquire a zero-emission vehicle unless that make, 

24 model, or type of vehicle has been tested by a Federal vehi25 cle testing facility acceptable to the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(j) REMOVABLE POWER SOURCE DEFINED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘removable power source’ means a 

3 power source that is separately installed in, and removable 

4 from, a zero-emission vehicle and may include a battery, 

5 a fuel cell, an ultra-capacitor, or other advanced power 

6 source used in a zero-emission vehicle.’’. 

7 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap8 ter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

9 striking the items relating to sections 47136 and 47136a 

10 and inserting the following: 

‘‘47136. Zero-emission airport vehicles and infrastructure.’’. 

11 SEC. 539. EMPLOYEE ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RE12 SPONSE PLANS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, each air carrier operating 

15 under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations 

16 (in this section referred to as a ‘‘part 121 air carrier’’), 

17 shall submit to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

18 Administration for review and acceptance an Employee 

19 Assault Prevention and Response Plan related to the cus20 tomer service agents of the air carrier and that is devel21 oped in consultation with the labor union representing 

22 such agents. 

23 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—An Employee Assault Pre24 vention and Response Plan submitted under subsection (a) 

25 shall include the following: 


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1 (1) Reporting protocols for air carrier customer 

2 service agents who have been the victim of a verbal 

3 or physical assault. 

4 (2) Protocols for the immediate notification of 

5 law enforcement after an incident of verbal or phys6 ical assault committed against an air carrier cus7 tomer service agent. 

8 (3) Protocols for informing Federal law enforce9 ment with respect to violations of section 46503 of 

10 title 49, United States Code. 

11 (4) Protocols for ensuring that a passenger in12 volved in a violent incident with a customer service 

13 agent of an air carrier is not allowed to move 

14 through airport security or board an aircraft until 

15 appropriate law enforcement has had an opportunity 

16 to assess the incident and take appropriate action. 

17 (5) Protocols for air carriers to inform pas18 sengers of Federal laws protecting Federal, airport, 

19 and air carrier employees who have security duties 

20 within an airport. 

21 (c) EMPLOYEE TRAINING.—A part 121 air carrier 

22 shall conduct initial and recurrent training for all employ23 ees, including management, of the air carrier with respect 

24 to the plan required under subsection (a), which shall in25 clude training on de-escalating hostile situations, written 


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1 protocols on dealing with hostile situations, and the re2 porting of relevant incidents. 

3 SEC. 540. STUDY ON TRAINING OF CUSTOMER-FACING AIR 

4 CARRIER EMPLOYEES. 

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

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor7 tation shall conduct a study on the training received by 

8 customer-facing employees of air carriers. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include— 

10 (1) an analysis of the training received by cus11 tomer-facing employees with respect to the manage12 ment of disputes on aircraft; and 

13 (2) an examination of how institutions of higher 

14 learning, in coordination with air carriers, customer15 facing employees and their representatives, consumer 

16 advocacy organizations, and other stakeholders, 

17 could— 

18 (A) review such training and related prac19 tices; 

20 (B) produce recommendations; and 

21 (C) if determined appropriate, provide sup22 plemental training. 

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

24 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

25 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

3 on the results of the study. 

4 SEC. 541. MINIMUM DIMENSIONS FOR PASSENGER SEATS. 

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

6 date of enactment of this Act, and after providing notice 

7 and an opportunity for comment, the Administrator of the 

8 Federal Aviation Administration shall issue regulations 

9 that establish minimum dimensions for passenger seats on 

10 aircraft operated by air carriers in interstate air transpor11 tation or intrastate air transportation, including mini12 mums for seat pitch, width, and length, and that are nec13 essary for the safety and health of passengers. 

14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions contained in sec15 tion 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code, apply to 

16 this section. 

17 SEC. 542. STUDY OF GROUND TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

20 shall conduct a study that examines the ground transpor21 tation options at the Nation’s 10 busiest airports in order 

22 to— 

23 (1) understand the impact of new and emerging 

24 transportation options for travelers to get into and 


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1 out of airports, including the fees charged to ground 

2 transportation providers for airport access; 

3 (2) determine whether it is appropriate to use 

4 airport improvement funds and revenues from pas5 senger facility charges to address traffic congestion 

6 and passenger travel times between urban commer7 cial centers and airports; and 

8 (3) review guidelines and requirements for air9 port improvement funds and passenger facility 

10 charges to determine under what conditions such 

11 funds may be used to address traffic congestion in 

12 urban commercial centers for travel to airports. 

13 SEC. 543. FAA EMPLOYEES IN GUAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

15 shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary of De16 fense— 

17 (1) to allow Federal Aviation Administration 

18 employees assigned to Guam, their spouses, and 

19 their dependent children access to Department of 

20 Defense hospitals located in Guam on a space avail21 able basis; and 

22 (2) to provide for payments by the Federal 

23 Aviation Administration to the Department of De24 fense for the administrative costs associated with— 


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1 (A) enrolling Federal Aviation Administra2 tion employees assigned to Guam, their spouses, 

3 and their dependent children in any Depart4 ment of Defense system necessary to allow ac5 cess pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

6 (B) billing an insurance company for any 

7 medical costs incurred as a result of Federal 

8 Aviation Administration employees, their 

9 spouses, or their dependent children accessing 

10 and receiving medical treatment or services at 

11 a Department of Defense hospital located in 

12 Guam. 

13 (b) FUNDS SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS.—Funds 

14 for payments by the Federal Aviation Administration de15 scribed in subsection (a)(2) are subject to the availability 

16 of amounts specifically provided in advance for that pur17 pose in appropriations Acts. 

18 SEC. 544. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR LIVING 

19 HISTORY FLIGHTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law or 

21 regulation, in administering sections 61.113(c), 91.9, 

22 91.315, 91.319(a)(1), 91.319(a)(2), 119.5(g), and 

23 119.21(a) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

24 successor regulations), the Administrator of the Federal 

25 Aviation Administration shall allow an aircraft owner or 


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1 operator to accept monetary or in-kind donations for a 

2 flight operated by a living history flight experience pro3 vider, if the aircraft owner or operator has— 

4 (1) volunteered to provide such transportation; 

5 and 

6 (2) notified any individual that will be on the 

7 flight, at the time of inquiry about the flight, that 

8 the flight operation is for charitable purposes and is 

9 not subject to the same requirements as a commer10 cial flight. 

11 (b) CONDITIONS TO ENSURE PUBLIC SAFETY.—The 

12 Administrator, consistent with current standards of the 

13 Administration for such operations, shall impose minimum 

14 standards with respect to training and flight hours for op15 erations conducted by an owner or operator of an aircraft 

16 providing living history flight experience operations, in17 cluding mandating that the pilot in command of such air18 craft hold a commercial pilot certificate with instrument 

19 rating and be current and qualified with respect to all rat20 ings or authorizations applicable to the specific aircraft 

21 being flown to ensure the safety of flight operations de22 scribed in subsection (a). 

23 (c) LIVING HISTORY FLIGHT EXPERIENCE PRO24 VIDER DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘living history 

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1 craft operator, or organization that provides, arranges, or 

2 otherwise fosters living history flight experiences for the 

3 purpose of fulfilling its mission. 

4 SEC. 545. FAA ORGANIZATIONAL REFORM. 

5 (a) CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.—Section 106(s) 

6 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(s) CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be a 

11 Chief Technology Officer appointed by the 

12 Chief Operating Officer, with the approval of 

13 the Secretary. The Chief Technology Officer 

14 shall report directly to the Chief Operating Of15 ficer and shall be subject to the authority of the 

16 Chief Operating Officer. 

17 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS.—The 

18 Chief Technology Officer shall have— 

19 ‘‘(i) at least 10 years experience in en20 gineering management or another relevant 

21 technical management field; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) knowledge of or experience in the 

23 aviation industry. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL.—The Chief Technology 

2 Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief 

3 Operating Officer. 

4 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION.—The Chief Tech5 nology Officer may not also be the Deputy Ad6 ministrator. 

7 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 

8 of the Chief Technology Officer shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensuring the proper operation, main10 tenance, and cybersecurity of technology sys11 tems relating to the air traffic control system 

12 across all program offices of the Administra13 tion; 

14 ‘‘(B) coordinating the implementation, op15 eration, maintenance, and cybersecurity of tech16 nology programs relating to the air traffic con17 trol system with the aerospace industry and 

18 other Federal agencies; 

19 ‘‘(C) reviewing and providing advice to the 

20 Secretary, the Administrator, and the Chief Op21 erating Officer on the Administration’s budget, 

22 cost accounting system, and benefit-cost anal23 yses with respect to technology programs relat24 ing to the air traffic control system; 


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1 ‘‘(D) consulting with the Administrator on 

2 the Capital Investment Plan of the Administra3 tion prior to its submission to Congress; 

4 ‘‘(E) developing an annual air traffic con5 trol system technology operation and mainte6 nance plan that is consistent with the annual 

7 performance targets established under para8 graph (4); and 

9 ‘‘(F) ensuring that the air traffic control 

10 system architecture remains, to the maximum 

11 extent practicable, flexible enough to incor12 porate future technological advances developed 

13 and directly procured by aircraft operators. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Technology 

16 Officer shall be paid at an annual rate of basic 

17 pay to be determined by the Secretary, in con18 sultation with the Chief Operating Officer. The 

19 annual rate may not exceed the annual com20 pensation paid under section 102 of title 3. The 

21 Chief Technology Officer shall be subject to the 

22 postemployment provisions of section 207 of 

23 title 18 as if the position of Chief Technology 

24 Officer were described in section 

25 207(c)(2)(A)(i) of that title. 


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1 ‘‘(B) BONUS.—In addition to the annual 

2 rate of basic pay authorized by subparagraph 

3 (A), the Chief Technology Officer may receive a 

4 bonus for any calendar year not to exceed 30 

5 percent of the annual rate of basic pay, based 

6 upon the Secretary’s evaluation of the Chief 

7 Technology Officer’s performance in relation to 

8 the performance targets established under para9 graph (4). 

10 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE TARGETS.— 

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

12 and the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation 

13 with the Chief Technology Officer, shall estab14 lish measurable annual performance targets for 

15 the Chief Technology Officer in key operational 

16 areas. 

17 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—The Administrator shall 

18 transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

19 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

21 and Transportation of the Senate a report de22 scribing the annual performance targets estab23 lished under subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT.—The 

25 Chief Technology Officer shall prepare and transmit 


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1 to the Secretary of Transportation, the Committee 

2 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

3 of Representatives, and the Committee on Com4 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate an 

5 annual report containing— 

6 ‘‘(A) detailed descriptions and metrics of 

7 how successful the Chief Technology Officer 

8 was in meeting the annual performance targets 

9 established under paragraph (4); and 

10 ‘‘(B) other information as may be re11 quested by the Administrator and the Chief Op12 erating Officer.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 709(a)(3)(L) of the Vision 100– 

15 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 

16 40101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘Chief NextGen 

17 Officer’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Technology Officer’’. 

18 (2) Section 804(a)(4)(A) of the FAA Mod19 ernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 

20 44501 note) is amended by striking ‘‘Chief NextGen 

21 Officer’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Technology Officer’’. 

22 SEC. 546. INTRA-AGENCY COORDINATION. 

23 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall direct 

25 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 


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1 and the Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organi2 zation to implement policies that— 

3 (1) designate the Associate Administrator for 

4 Commercial Space Transportation as the primary li5 aison between the commercial space transportation 

6 industry and the Administration; 

7 (2) recognize the necessity of, and set forth 

8 processes for, launch license and permit holder co9 ordination with the Air Traffic Organization on mat10 ters including— 

11 (A) the use of air navigation facilities; 

12 (B) airspace safety; and 

13 (C) planning of commercial space launch 

14 and launch support activities; 

15 (3) designate a single point of contact within 

16 the Air Traffic Organization who is responsible 

17 for— 

18 (A) maintaining letters of agreement be19 tween a launch license or permit holder and a 

20 Federal Aviation Administration facility; 

21 (B) making such letters of agreement 

22 available to the Associate Administrator for 

23 Commercial Space Transportation; 

24 (C) ensuring that a facility that has en25 tered into such a letter of agreement is aware 


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1 of and fulfills its responsibilities under the let2 ter; and 

3 (D) liaising between the Air Traffic Orga4 nization and the Associate Administrator for 

5 Commercial Space Transportation on any mat6 ter relating to such a letter of agreement; and 

7 (4) require the Associate Administrator for 

8 Commercial Space Transportation to facilitate, upon 

9 the request of a launch license or permit holder— 

10 (A) coordination between a launch license 

11 and permit holder and the Air Traffic Organi12 zation; and 

13 (B) the negotiation of letters of agreement 

14 between a launch license or permit holder and 

15 a Federal Aviation Administration facility or 

16 the Air Traffic Organization. 

17 SEC. 547. FAA CIVIL AVIATION REGISTRY UPGRADE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

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

20 Federal Aviation Administration shall complete covered 

21 upgrades of the Administration’s Civil Aviation Registry 

22 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Registry’’). 

23 (b) COVERED UPGRADE DEFINED.—In this section, 

24 the term ‘‘covered upgrades’’ means— 


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1 (1) the digitization of nondigital Registry infor2 mation, including paper documents, microfilm im3 ages, and photographs, from an analog or nondigital 

4 format to a digital format; 

5 (2) the digitalization of Registry manual and 

6 paper-based processes, business operations, and 

7 functions by leveraging digital technologies and a 

8 broader use of digitized data; 

9 (3) the implementation of systems allowing a 

10 member of the public to submit any information or 

11 form to the Registry and conduct any transaction 

12 with the Registry by electronic or other remote 

13 means; and 

14 (4) allowing more efficient, broader, and remote 

15 access to the Registry. 

16 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of subsection 

17 (a) shall apply to the entire Civil Aviation Registry, includ18 ing the Aircraft Registration Branch and the Airmen Cer19 tification Branch. 

20 (d) MANUAL SURCHARGE.—Chapter 453 of title 49, 

21 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘§ 45306. Manual surcharge 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later 6 months after the 

25 date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 


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1 2018, the Administrator shall impose and collect a sur2 charge on a Civil Aviation Registry transaction that— 

3 ‘‘(1) is conducted in person at the Civil Avia4 tion Registry; 

5 ‘‘(2) could be conducted, as determined by the 

6 Administrator, with the same or greater level of effi7 ciency by electronic or other remote means; and 

8 ‘‘(3) is not related to research or other non9 commercial activities. 

10 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM SURCHARGE.—A surcharge imposed 

11 and collected under subsection (a) shall not exceed twice 

12 the maximum fee the Administrator is authorized to 

13 charge for the registration of an aircraft, not used to pro14 vide air transportation, after the transfer of ownership 

15 under section 45302(b)(2). 

16 ‘‘(c) CREDIT TO ACCOUNT AND AVAILABILITY.— 

17 Monies collected from a surcharge imposed under sub18 section (a) shall be treated as monies collected under sec19 tion 45302 and subject to the terms and conditions set 

20 forth in section 45302(d).’’. 

21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after date of en22 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the cov23 ered upgrades required under subsection (a) are complete, 

24 the Administrator shall submit a report to the Committee 

25 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 


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1 Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing— 

3 (1) the schedule for the covered upgrades to the 

4 Registry; 

5 (2) the office responsible for the implementa6 tion of the such covered upgrades; 

7 (3) the metrics being used to measure progress 

8 in implementing the covered upgrades; and 

9 (4) the status of the covered upgrades as of the 

10 date of the report. 

11 SEC. 548. REGULATORY STREAMLINING. 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad14 ministration shall issue a final regulation revising section 

15 121.333(c)(3) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

16 apply only to flight altitudes above flight level 410. 

17 SEC. 549. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES FRANCHISE FUND. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this section, the inspector general 

20 of the Department of Transportation shall initiate an 

21 audit of the Administrative Services Franchise Fund of 

22 the FAA (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Franchise 

23 Fund’’). 

24 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the audit pur25 suant to subsection (a), the inspector general shall— 


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1 (1) review the history, intended purpose, and 

2 objectives of the Franchise Fund; 

3 (2) describe and assess each program, service, 

4 or activity that uses the Franchise Fund, includ5 ing— 

6 (A) the agencies or government bodies that 

7 use each program, service, or activity; 

8 (B) the number of employees, including 

9 full-time equivalents and contractors, associated 

10 with each program, service, or activity; 

11 (C) the costs associated with the employees 

12 described in subparagraph (B) and the extent 

13 to which such costs are covered by Federal ap14 propriations or Franchise Fund revenue; 

15 (D) the revenue, expenses, and profits or 

16 losses associated with each program, service, or 

17 activity; 

18 (E) overhead rates associated with each 

19 program, service, or activity; and 

20 (F) a breakdown of the revenue collected 

21 from services provided to the FAA, Department 

22 of Transportation, other Federal entities, and 

23 non-Federal entities; 

24 (3) assess the FAA’s governance and oversight 

25 of the Franchise Fund and the programs, service, 


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1 and activities that use the Franchise Fund, includ2 ing the use of internal and publicly available per3 formance metrics; 

4 (4) evaluate the current and historical unobli5 gated and unexpended balances of the Franchise 

6 Fund; and 

7 (5) assess the degree to which FAA policies and 

8 controls associated with the Franchise Fund con9 form with generally accepted accounting principles, 

10 Federal policies, best practices, or other guidance re11 lating to revolving funds. 

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

13 of initiation of the audit described in subsection (a), the 

14 Inspector General shall submit to the Committee on 

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results 

18 of the audit, including findings and recommendations. 

19 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘FAA’’ 

20 means the Federal Aviation Administration. 

21 SEC. 550. REPORT ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL MODERNIZA22 TION. 

23 (a) FAA REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Operating Officer 

25 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to the 


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1 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com3 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

4 describing the multiyear effort of the Administration to 

5 modernize the air transportation system (in this section 

6 referred to as the ‘‘modernization effort’’), including— 

7 (1) the number of years that the modernization 

8 effort has been underway as of the date of the re9 port; 

10 (2) the total amount of money expended on the 

11 modernization effort as of the date of the report (in12 cluding a description of how that amount was cal13 culated); 

14 (3) the net present value of the benefits re15 ported from aircraft operators resulting from the 

16 money expended on the modernization effort as of 

17 the date of the report; 

18 (4) a definition for the Next Generation Air 

19 Transportation System (in this section referred to as 

20 ‘‘NextGen’’), including a description of any changes 

21 to that definition that occurred between 2003 and 

22 the date of the report; 

23 (5) the net present value of the money ex24 pended on NextGen as of the date of the report if 


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1 such money had been deposited into a Government 

2 trust fund instead of being expended on NextGen; 

3 (6) a description of the benefits promised and 

4 benefits delivered with respect to NextGen as of the 

5 date of the report; 

6 (7) any changes to the benefits promised with 

7 respect to NextGen between the date on which 

8 NextGen began and the date of the report; 

9 (8) a description of each program or project 

10 that comprises NextGen, including— 

11 (A) when the program or project was initi12 ated; 

13 (B) the total budget for the program or 

14 project; 

15 (C) the initial budget for the program or 

16 project; 

17 (D) the acquisition program baseline for 

18 the program or project; 

19 (E) whether the program or project has 

20 ever breached the acquisition program baseline 

21 and, if so, a description of when, why, and how 

22 the breach was resolved; 

23 (F) whether the program or project has 

24 been re-baselined or divided into smaller seg25 ments and, if so, a description of when, why, 


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1 and the impact to the cost of the program or 

2 project; 

3 (G) the initial schedule for the program or 

4 project; 

5 (H) whether the program or project was 

6 delayed and, if so, a description of how long, 

7 why, and the impact to the cost of the program 

8 or project; 

9 (I) whether the Administration changed 

10 any contract term or deliverable for the pro11 gram or project and, if so, a description of the 

12 change, why it happened, and the impact to the 

13 cost of the program or project; 

14 (J) benefits promised with respect to the 

15 program or project at initiation; 

16 (K) benefits delivered with respect to the 

17 program or project as of the date of the report; 

18 (L) whether the program or project was 

19 cancelled and, if so, a description of why and 

20 when; 

21 (M) for cancelled programs or projects, 

22 whether there were any costs associated with 

23 the decision to cancel and, if so, a description 

24 of the amount of the costs (including for both 

25 the Administration and the private sector); 


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1 (N) the metrics, milestones, and deadlines 

2 set for the program or project and how the Ad3 ministration tracked and ensured compliance 

4 with those metrics, milestones, and deadlines; 

5 (O) how the Administration conducted 

6 oversight of the program or project and any re7 lated stakeholder collaboration efforts; and 

8 (P) the status of the program or project as 

9 of the date of the report; 

10 (9) the date upon which, or milestone by which, 

11 the Administration anticipates NextGen will be com12 plete; and 

13 (10) any lessons learned during the NextGen 

14 effort, and whether, how, and to what effect those 

15 lessons have been applied. 

16 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 

17 270 days after the date on which the report required 

18 under subsection (a) is submitted, the inspector general 

19 of the Department of Transportation shall review the re20 port and submit to the Committee on Transportation and 

21 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

23 the Senate a statement of the inspector general that— 

24 (1) determines the accuracy of the information 

25 reported; 


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1 (2) describes any concerns with the accuracy of 

2 the information reported; 

3 (3) summarizes concerns raised by the inspector 

4 general, the Government Accountability Office, and 

5 other sources with respect to the Administration’s 

6 implementation and oversight of NextGen since the 

7 date on which NextGen began; 

8 (4) describes— 

9 (A) any pertinent recommendations made 

10 by the inspector general related to the Adminis11 tration’s implementation and oversight of 

12 NextGen since the date on which NextGen 

13 began; and 

14 (B) whether and how the Administration 

15 addressed the recommendations; and 

16 (5) provides any other information that the in17 spector general determines is appropriate. 

18 SEC. 551. AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE-BROAD19 CAST. 

20 Section 211(b) of the FAA Modernization and Re21 form Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is repealed. The Admin22 istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall en23 sure that any regulation issued pursuant to such sub24 section has no force or effect. 


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1 SEC. 552. YOUTH ACCESS TO AMERICAN JOBS IN AVIATION 

2 TASK FORCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

5 Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a Youth 

6 Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force (in this 

7 section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

8 (b) DUTIES.—Not later than 12 months after its es9 tablishment under subsection (a), the Task Force shall de10 velop and submit to the Administrator recommendations 

11 and strategies for the Administration to— 

12 (1) facilitate and encourage high school stu13 dents in the United States, beginning in their junior 

14 year, to enroll in and complete career and technical 

15 education courses, including STEM, that would pre16 pare them to enroll in a course of study related to 

17 an aviation career at an institution of higher edu18 cation, including a community college or trade 

19 school; 

20 (2) facilitate and encourage the students de21 scribed in paragraph (1) to enroll in a course of 

22 study related to an aviation career, including avia23 tion manufacturing, engineering and maintenance, 

24 at an institution of higher education, including a 

25 community college or trade school; and 


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1 (3) identify and develop pathways for students 

2 who complete a course of study described in para3 graph (2) to secure registered apprenticeships, work4 force development programs, or careers in the avia5 tion industry of the United States. 

6 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—When developing rec7 ommendations and strategies under subsection (b), the 

8 Task Force shall— 

9 (1) identify industry trends that encourage or 

10 discourage youth in the United States from pursuing 

11 careers in aviation; 

12 (2) consider how the Administration; air car13 riers; aircraft, powerplant, and avionics manufactur14 ers; aircraft repair stations; and other aviation 

15 stakeholders can coordinate efforts to support youth 

16 in pursuing careers in aviation; 

17 (3) identify methods of enhancing aviation ap18 prenticeships, job skills training, mentorship, edu19 cation, and outreach programs that are exclusive to 

20 youth in the United States; and 

21 (4) identify potential sources of government and 

22 private sector funding, including grants and scholar23 ships, that may be used to carry out the rec24 ommendations and strategies described in subsection 


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1 (b) and to support youth in pursuing careers in avia2 tion. 

3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after submis4 sion of the recommendations and strategies under sub5 section (b), the Task Force shall submit to the Committee 

6 on Transportation and Infrastructure in the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report out9 lining such recommendations and strategies. 

10 (e) COMPOSITION OF TASK FORCE.—The Adminis11 trator shall appoint members of the Task Force, including 

12 representatives from the following: 

13 (1) Air carriers. 

14 (2) Aircraft, powerplant, and avionics manufac15 turers. 

16 (3) Aircraft repair stations. 

17 (4) Local educational agencies or high schools. 

18 (5) Institutions of higher education, including 

19 community colleges and aviation trade schools. 

20 (6) Such other aviation and educational stake21 holders and experts as the Administrator considers 

22 appropriate. 

23 (f) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members shall be 

24 appointed to the Task Force for the duration of the exist25 ence of the Task Force. 


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1 (g) COMPENSATION.—Task Force members shall 

2 serve without compensation. 

3 (h) SUNSET.—The Task Force shall terminate upon 

4 the submittal of the report pursuant to subsection (d). 

5 (i) DEFINITION OF STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ 

6 means— 

7 (1) science, technology, engineering, and mathe8 matics; and 

9 (2) other career and technical education sub10 jects that build on the subjects described in para11 graph (1). 

12 SEC. 553. AIRPORT INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47134 of title 49, United 

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by striking the section heading and insert16 ing ‘‘Airport investment partnership pro17 gram’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘, with respect 

19 to not more than 10 airports,’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘The Sec21 retary may grant an exemption to a sponsor’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘If the Secretary grants an exemption to 

23 a sponsor pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 

24 shall grant an exemption to the sponsor’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘The Sec2 retary may grant an exemption to a purchaser or 

3 lessee’’ and inserting ‘‘If the Secretary grants an ex4 emption to a sponsor pursuant to paragraph (1), the 

5 Secretary shall grant an exemption to the cor6 responding purchaser or lessee’’; 

7 (5) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) MULTIPLE AIRPORTS.—The Secretary may 

11 consider applications under this section submitted by 

12 a public airport sponsor for multiple airports under 

13 the control of the sponsor. 

14 ‘‘(2) PARTIAL PRIVATIZATION.—A purchaser or 

15 lessee may be an entity in which a sponsor has an 

16 interest.’’; and 

17 (6) by striking subsections (l) and (m) and in18 serting the following: 

19 ‘‘(l) PREDEVELOPMENT LIMITATION.—A grant to an 

20 airport sponsor under this subchapter for predevelopment 

21 planning costs relating to the preparation of an applica22 tion or proposed application under this section may not 

23 exceed $750,000 per application or proposed application.’’. 


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1 (b) AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT.—Section 47102(3) of 

2 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following: 

4 ‘‘(P) predevelopment planning, including 

5 financial, legal, or procurement consulting serv6 ices, related to an application or proposed appli7 cation for an exemption under section 47134.’’. 

8 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap9 ter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

10 striking the item relating to section 47134 and inserting 

11 the following: 

‘‘47134. Airport investment partnership program.’’. 

12 SEC. 554. REVIEW AND REFORM OF FAA PERFORMANCE 

13 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY PANEL.—Not 

15 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this sec16 tion, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish an ad17 visory panel comprising no more than 7 independent, non18 governmental experts in budget, finance, or personnel 

19 management to review and evaluate the effectiveness of 

20 the FAA’s personnel management system and perform21 ance management program for employees not covered by 

22 collective bargaining agreements. 

23 (b) REVIEW, EVALUATION, AND RECOMMENDA24 TIONS.—The advisory panel shall, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) review all appropriate FAA orders, policies, 

2 procedures, guidance, and the Human Resources 

3 Policy Manual; 

4 (2) review any applicable reports regarding 

5 FAA’s personnel management system, including re6 ports of the Department of Transportation Office of 

7 Inspector General, Government Accountability Of8 fice, and National Academy of Public Administra9 tion, and determine the status of recommendations 

10 made in those reports; 

11 (3) review the personnel management system of 

12 any other agency or governmental entity with a simi13 lar system to the FAA for best practices with regard 

14 to personnel management; 

15 (4) assess the unique personnel authorities 

16 granted to the FAA, determine whether the FAA 

17 has taken full advantage of those authorities, and 

18 identify those authorities the FAA has not fully 

19 taken advantage of; 

20 (5) review and determine the overall effective21 ness of the FAA’s compensation, bonus pay, per22 formance metrics, and evaluation processes for em23 ployees not covered by collective bargaining agree24 ments; 


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1 (6) review whether existing performance metrics 

2 and bonus pay practices align with the FAA’s mis3 sion and significantly improve the FAA’s provision 

4 of air traffic services, implementation of air traffic 

5 control modernization initiatives, and accomplish6 ment of other FAA operational objectives; 

7 (7) identify the highest, lowest, and average 

8 complete compensation for each position of employ9 ees not covered by collective bargaining agreements; 

10 (8) survey interested parties and stakeholders, 

11 including representatives of the aviation industry, 

12 for their views and recommendations regarding im13 provements to the FAA’s personnel management 

14 system and performance management program; 

15 (9) develop recommendations to address the 

16 findings of the work done pursuant to paragraphs 

17 (1) through (7), and to address views and rec18 ommendations raised by interested parties pursuant 

19 to paragraph (8); and 

20 (10) develop recommendations to improve the 

21 FAA’s personnel management system and perform22 ance management program, including the compensa23 tion, bonus pay, performance metrics, and evaluation 

24 processes, for employees not covered by collective 

25 bargaining agreements. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after initiating 

2 the review and evaluation pursuant to subsection (a), the 

3 advisory panel shall submit a report on the results of the 

4 review and evaluation and its recommendations to the Sec5 retary, the Administrator, the Committee on Transpor6 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, 

7 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate. 

9 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

10 months after submittal of the report pursuant to sub11 section (c), the Administrator shall transmit to the Com12 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

13 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report sum15 marizing the findings of the advisory panel that— 

16 (1) contains an explanation of how the Admin17 istrator will implement the recommendations of the 

18 advisory panel and measure the effectiveness of the 

19 recommendations; and 

20 (2) specifies any recommendations that the Ad21 ministrator will not implement and the reasons for 

22 not implementing such recommendations. 

23 (e) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, the Administrator has the authority to put 

25 in place any recommendations of the advisory panel. 


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1 (f) SUNSET.—The advisory panel shall terminate on 

2 the date that is 60 days after the transmittal of the report 

3 pursuant to subsection (d). 

4 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘FAA’’ 

5 means the Federal Aviation Administration. 

6 SEC. 555. CONTRACT WEATHER OBSERVERS. 

7 Section 2306(b) of the FAA Extension, Safety, and 

8 Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–190; 130 Stat. 

9 641) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2023’’. 

11 SEC. 556. REGIONS AND CENTERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44507 of title 49, United 

13 States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) by striking the section heading and insert15 ing ‘‘Regions and centers’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘The Civil Aeromedical Insti17 tute’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) CIVIL AEROMEDICAL INSTITUTE.—The Civil 

19 Aeromedical Institute’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(b) WILLIAM J. HUGHES TECHNICAL CENTER.— 

22 The Secretary of Transportation shall define the roles and 

23 responsibilities of the William J. Hughes Technical Center 

24 in a manner that is consistent with the defined roles and 


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1 responsibilities of the Civil Aeromedical Institute under 

2 subsection (a).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap4 ter 445 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

5 striking the item relating to section 44507 and inserting 

6 the following: 

‘‘44507. Regions and centers.’’. 

7 SEC. 557. STUDY ON AIRPORT REVENUE DIVERSION. 

8 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

10 United States shall initiate a study of— 

11 (1) the legal and financial challenges related to 

12 repealing the exception in section 47107(b)(2) of 

13 title 49, United States Code, for those airports the 

14 Federal Aviation Administration has identified are 

15 covered by the exception; and 

16 (2) measures that may be taken to mitigate the 

17 impact of repealing the exception. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—The study required under sub19 section (a) shall address— 

20 (1) the level of revenue diversion at the airports 

21 covered by the exception described in subsection 

22 (a)(1) and the uses of the diverted revenue; 

23 (2) the terms of any bonds or financial cov24 enants an airport owner has issued relying on di25 verted airport revenue; 


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1 (3) applicable local laws or ordinances requiring 

2 use of airport revenue for non-airport purposes; 

3 (4) whether repealing the exception would im4 prove the long-term financial performance of im5 pacted airports; and 

6 (5) any other practical implications of repealing 

7 the exception for airports or the national aviation 

8 system. 

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In12 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

14 Senate a report on the results of the study. 

15 SEC. 558. GEOSYNTHETIC MATERIALS. 

16 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis17 tration, to the extent practicable, shall encourage the use 

18 of durable, resilient, and sustainable materials and prac19 tices, including the use of geosynthetic materials and other 

20 innovative technologies, in carrying out the activities of 

21 the Federal Aviation Administration. 

22 SEC. 559. RULE FOR ANIMALS. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a rule to require each 

25 primary airport (as defined in section 47102 of title 49, 


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1 United States Code) to provide a designated area for ani2 mals, traveling with their owners, to relieve themselves. 

3 SEC. 560. ENHANCED AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES. 

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

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es6 tablish a pilot program to provide air traffic control serv7 ices on a preferential basis to aircraft equipped with cer8 tain NextGen avionics that— 

9 (1) lasts at least 2 years; and 

10 (2) operates in at 3 least suitable airports. 

11 (b) DURATION OF DAILY SERVICE.—The air traffic 

12 control services provided under the pilot program estab13 lished under subsection (a) shall occur for at least 3 con14 secutive hours between 0600 and 2200 local time during 

15 each day of the pilot program. 

16 (c) AIRPORT SELECTION.—The Administrator shall 

17 designate airports for participation in the pilot program 

18 after consultation with aircraft operators, manufacturers, 

19 and airport sponsors. 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 

21 (1) CERTAIN NEXTGEN AVIONICS.—The term 

22 ‘‘certain NextGen avionics’’ means those avionics 

23 and related software designated by the Adminis24 trator after consultations with aircraft operators and 

25 manufacturers. 


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1 (2) PREFERENTIAL BASIS.—The term ‘‘pref2 erential basis’’ means— 

3 (A) prioritizing aircraft equipped with cer4 tain NextGen avionics during a Ground Delay 

5 Program by assigning them fewer minutes of 

6 delay relative to other aircraft; and 

7 (B) sequencing aircraft equipped with cer8 tain NextGen avionics ahead of other aircraft in 

9 the Traffic Flow Management System to the 

10 maximum extent consistent with safety. 

11 (e) SUNSET.—The pilot program established under 

12 subsection (a) shall terminate on September 30, 2023. 

13 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

14 on which the pilot program terminates, the Administrator 

15 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In16 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

18 Senate a report on the results of the pilot program. 

19 SEC. 561. NEXTGEN DELIVERY STUDY. 

20 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the enact21 ment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department 

22 of Transportation shall initiate a study of the potential 

23 impacts of a significantly delayed, significantly dimin24 ished, or completely failed delivery of the Next Generation 

25 Air Transportation System modernization initiative by the 


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1 Federal Aviation Administration, including impacts to the 

2 air traffic control system and the national airspace system 

3 as a whole. 

4 (b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—In carrying out the study 

5 under subsection (a), the Inspector General shall assess 

6 the Administration’s performance related to the Next Gen7 eration Air Transportation System modernization initia8 tive, including— 

9 (1) the potential impacts on the operational ef10 ficiency of our aviation system; 

11 (2) an analysis of potential economic losses and 

12 stranded investments directly related to NextGen; 

13 (3) an analysis of the potential impacts to our 

14 international competitiveness in aviation innovation; 

15 (4) an analysis of the main differences that 

16 would be seen in our air traffic control system; 

17 (5) the potential impacts on the flying public, 

18 including potential impacts to flight times, fares, 

19 and delays in the air and on the ground; 

20 (6) the effects on supply chains reliant on air 

21 transportation of cargo; 

22 (7) the potential impacts on the long-term bene23 fits promised by NextGen; 

24 (8) an analysis of the potential impacts on air25 craft noise and flight paths; 


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1 (9) the potential changes in separation stand2 ards, fuel consumption, flight paths, block times, 

3 and landing procedures or lack thereof; 

4 (10) the potential impacts on aircraft taxi times 

5 and aircraft emissions or lack thereof; 

6 (11) a determination of the total potential costs 

7 and logistical challenges of the failure of NextGen, 

8 including a comparison of the potential loss of the 

9 return on public and private sector investment re10 lated to NextGen, as compared to other available in11 vestment alternatives, between December 12, 2003 

12 and the date of enactment of this Act; and 

13 (12) other matters arising in the course of the 

14 study. 

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

16 of initiation of the study under subsection (a), the Inspec17 tor General shall submit to the Committee on Transpor18 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

19 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor20 tation of the Senate a report on the results of the study. 

21 SEC. 562. LIMITED REGULATION OF NON-FEDERALLY SPON22 SORED PROPERTY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection 

24 (b), the Secretary of Transportation may not directly or 

25 indirectly regulate— 


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1 (1) the acquisition, use, lease, encumbrance, 

2 transfer, or disposal of land by an airport owner or 

3 operator; 

4 (2) any non-Federal facility upon such land; or 

5 (3) any portion of such land or facility. 

6 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 

7 any regulation— 

8 (1) ensuring— 

9 (A) the safe and efficient operation of air10 craft and airports, including the safety of peo11 ple and property on the ground; 

12 (B) that an airport owner or operator re13 ceives not less than fair market value for the 

14 lease, use, encumbrance, transfer, or disposal of 

15 land, any facilities on such land, or any portion 

16 of such land or facilities; or 

17 (C) that the airport pays not more than 

18 fair market value for the acquisition of land or 

19 facilities on such land; or 

20 (2) imposed with respect to— 

21 (A) any land or a facility acquired or modi22 fied using— 

23 (i) Federal financial assistance, in24 cluding Federal grants; or 


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1 (ii) passenger facility charge revenues 

2 collected under section 40117 of title 49, 

3 United States Code; or 

4 (B) any land conveyed to the airport, in5 cluding its predecessors or successors, by the 

6 United States or any agency thereof. 

7 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion shall be construed to affect the applicability of section 

9 47107(b) or 47133 of title 49, United States Code, to rev10 enues generated by the use, lease, encumbrance, transfer, 

11 or disposal of land as described in subsection (a), facilities 

12 upon such land, or any portion of such land or facilities. 

13 SEC. 563. NATIONAL AIRMAIL MUSEUM. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

15 (1) in 1930, commercial airmail carriers began 

16 operations at Smith Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana; 

17 (2) the United States lacks a national museum 

18 dedicated to airmail; and 

19 (3) the airmail hangar at Smith Field in Fort 

20 Wayne, Indiana— 

21 (A) will educate the public on the role of 

22 airmail in aviation history; and 

23 (B) honor the role of the hangar in the 

24 history of the Nation’s airmail service. 

25 (b) DESIGNATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The airmail museum located 

2 at the Smith Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is des3 ignated as the ‘‘National Airmail Museum’’. 

4 (2) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—The national 

5 museum designated by this section is not a unit of 

6 the National Park System and the designation of the 

7 National Airmail Museum shall not require or per8 mit Federal funds to be expended for any purpose 

9 related to that national memorial. 

10 SEC. 564. REVIEW OF APPROVAL PROCESS FOR USE OF 

11 LARGE AIR TANKERS AND VERY LARGE AIR 

12 TANKERS FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING. 

13 (a) REVIEW AND IMPROVEMENT OF CURRENT AP14 PROVAL PROCESS.—The Administrator of the Federal 

15 Aviation Administration shall conduct a review of its proc16 ess to approve the use of large air tankers and very large 

17 air tankers for wildland firefighting for the purpose of— 

18 (1) determining the current effectiveness, safe19 ty, and consistency of the approval process; 

20 (2) developing recommendations for improving 

21 the effectiveness, safety, and consistency of the ap22 proval process; and 

23 (3) assisting in developing standardized next24 generation requirements for air tankers used for 

25 firefighting. 


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1 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit 

4 to Congress a report describing the outcome of the review 

5 conducted under subsection (a). 

6 SEC. 565. REPORT ON BAGGAGE REPORTING REQUIRE7 MENTS. 

8 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

10 (1) study and publicize for comment a cost-ben11 efit analysis to air carriers and consumers of chang12 ing the baggage reporting requirements of section 

13 234.6 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, be14 fore the implementation of such requirements; and 

15 (2) submit a report on the findings of the cost16 benefit analysis to the appropriate committees of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Senate. 

18 SEC. 566. SUPPORTING WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE 

19 AVIATION FIELD. 

20 (a) ADVISORY BOARD.—To encourage women and 

21 girls to enter the field of aviation, the Administrator of 

22 the Federal Aviation Administration shall create and fa23 cilitate the Women in Aviation Advisory Board (referred 

24 to in this Act as the ‘‘Board’’), with the objective of pro25 moting organizations and programs that are providing 


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1 education, training, mentorship, outreach, and recruit2 ment of women into the aviation industry. 

3 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall consist of mem4 bers whose diverse background and expertise allows them 

5 to contribute balanced points of view and ideas regarding 

6 the strategies and objectives set forth in subsection (f). 

7 (c) SELECTION.—Not later than 9 months after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall ap9 point members of the Board, including representatives 

10 from the following: 

11 (1) Major airlines and aerospace companies. 

12 (2) Nonprofit organizations within the aviation 

13 industry. 

14 (3) Aviation business associations. 

15 (4) Engineering business associations. 

16 (5) United States Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air 

17 Patrol. 

18 (6) Institutions of higher education and avia19 tion trade schools. 

20 (d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members shall be 

21 appointed to the Board for the duration of the existence 

22 of the Board. 

23 (e) COMPENSATION.—Board members shall serve 

24 without compensation. 


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1 (f) DUTIES.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall present a 

3 comprehensive plan for strategies the Administration can 

4 take, which include the following objectives: 

5 (1) Identifying industry trends that directly or 

6 indirectly encourage or discourage women from pur7 suing careers in aviation. 

8 (2) Coordinating the efforts of airline compa9 nies, nonprofit organizations, and aviation and engi10 neering associations to facilitate support for women 

11 pursuing careers in aviation. 

12 (3) Creating opportunities to expand existing 

13 scholarship opportunities for women in the aviation 

14 industry. 

15 (4) Enhancing aviation training, mentorship, 

16 education, and outreach programs that are exclusive 

17 to women. 

18 (g) REPORTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall 

21 submit a report outlining the comprehensive plan for 

22 strategies pursuant to subsection (f) to— 

23 (A) the Committee on Transportation and 

24 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

3 (C) the Administrator. 

4 (2) AVAILABILITY ONLINE.—The Administrator 

5 shall make the report publicly available online and in 

6 print. 

7 (h) SUNSET.—The Board shall terminate upon the 

8 submittal of the report pursuant to subsection (g). 

9 SEC. 567. GAO STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF GRANTING AN EX10 CLUSIVE RIGHT OF AERONAUTICAL SERV11 ICES TO AN AIRPORT SPONSOR. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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

14 General Accountability Office shall conduct a study to ex15 amine the cases in which an airport sponsor exercised an 

16 exclusive right (commonly known as a ‘‘proprietary exclu17 sive right’’), as described in the Federal Aviation Advisory 

18 Circular 150/1590-6 published on January 4, 2007. 

19 (b) REPORT.—At the end of the 2-year period under 

20 subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit the findings 

21 of such report to the Committee on Transportation and 

22 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

24 the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 568. EVALUATION OF AIRPORT MASTER PLANS. 

2 Section 47106 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION OF AIRPORT MASTER PLANS.— 

5 When evaluating the master plan of an airport for pur6 poses of this subchapter, the Secretary shall take into ac7 count— 

8 ‘‘(1) the role the airport plays with respect to 

9 medical emergencies and evacuations; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the role the airport plays in emergency or 

11 disaster preparedness in the community served by 

12 the airport.’’. 

13 SEC. 569. STUDY REGARDING DAY-NIGHT AVERAGE SOUND 

14 LEVELS. 

15 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia16 tion Administration shall evaluate alternative metrics to 

17 the current average day night level standard, such as the 

18 use of actual noise sampling and other methods, to ad19 dress community airplane noise concerns. 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

22 to Congress a report on the results of the study, including 

23 a description of the proposed structure of a recommended 

24 pilot program. 


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1 SEC. 570. REPORT ON STATUS OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN 

2 FAA AND LITTLE ROCK PORT AUTHORITY. 

3 (a) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

5 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

9 on the agreement between the Federal Aviation Adminis10 tration and the Little Rock Port Authority to relocate the 

11 Little Rock, Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range 

12 with Collocated Tactical Air Control and Navigation (LIT 

13 VORTAC). 

14 (b) REPORT CONTENTS.—The report required under 

15 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

16 (1) The status of the efforts by the Federal 

17 Aviation Administration to relocate the LIT 

18 VORTAC. 

19 (2) The long-term and short-term budget pro20 jections for the relocation project. 

21 (3) A description of and timeline for each phase 

22 of the relocation project. 

23 (4) A description of and explanation for the re24 quired location radius. 


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1 (5) A description of work completed by the 

2 Federal Aviation Administration as of the date of 

3 the report. 

4 SEC. 571. STUDY ON ALLERGIC REACTIONS. 

5 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad7 ministration shall— 

8 (1) study the prevalence of allergic reactions on 

9 board flights, whether airlines universally report re10 actions to the Federal Aviation Administration, and 

11 the frequency of first aid inventory checks to ensure 

12 medicine to prevent anaphylactic shock is in an air13 craft; and 

14 (2) submit a report to the Committees on 

15 Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and 

16 Commerce, and Appropriations of the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Committees on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation, Health, Education, 

19 Labor, and Pensions, and Appropriations of the Sen20 ate. 

21 SEC. 572. ACCESS OF AIR CARRIERS TO INFORMATION 

22 ABOUT APPLICANTS TO BE PILOTS FROM NA23 TIONAL DRIVER REGISTER. 

24 Section 30305(b)(8) of title 49, United States Code, 

25 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(8)(A) An individual who is seeking employ2 ment by an air carrier as a pilot may request the 

3 chief driver licensing official of a State to provide in4 formation about the individual under subsection (a) 

5 of this section to the prospective employer of the in6 dividual, the authorized agent of the prospective em7 ployer, or the Secretary of Transportation. 

8 ‘‘(B) An air carrier that is the prospective em9 ployer of an individual described in subparagraph 

10 (A), or an authorized agent of such an air carrier, 

11 may request and receive information about that indi12 vidual from the National Driver Register through an 

13 organization approved by the Secretary for purposes 

14 of requesting, receiving, and transmitting such infor15 mation directly to the prospective employer of such 

16 an individual or the authorized agent of the prospec17 tive employer. A request for information shall be 

18 made in accordance with the requirements of section 

19 44703(h)(2). 

20 ‘‘(C) Information may not be obtained from the 

21 National Driver Register under this paragraph if the 

22 information was entered in the Register more than 

23 5 years before the request unless the information is 

24 about a revocation or suspension still in effect on the 

25 date of the request.’’. 


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1 SEC. 573. PROHIBITION REGARDING WEAPONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless authorized by the Admin3 istrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, a person 

4 may not operate an unmanned aircraft or unmanned air5 craft system that is equipped or armed with a dangerous 

6 weapon. 

7 (b) DANGEROUS WEAPON DEFINED.—In this sec8 tion, the term ‘‘dangerous weapon’’ has the meaning given 

9 that term in section 930(g)(2) of title 18, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (c) PENALTY.—A person who violates this section is 

12 liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty 

13 of not more than $25,000 for each violation. 

14 SEC. 574. HELICOPTER FUEL SYSTEM SAFETY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘§ 44738. Helicopter fuel system safety 

19 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person may not operate 

21 a covered rotorcraft in United States airspace unless 

22 the design of the rotorcraft is certified by the Ad23 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

24 to— 

25 ‘‘(A) comply with the requirements applica26 ble to the category of the rotorcraft under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00381 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 graphs (1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) of section 

2 27.952(a), section 27.952(c), section 27.952(f), 

3 section 27.952(g), section 27.963(g) (but allow4 ing for a minimum puncture force of 250 

5 pounds if successfully drop tested in-structure), 

6 and section 27.975(b) or paragraphs (1), (2), 

7 (3), (5), and (6) of section 29.952(a), section 

8 29.952(c), section 29.952(f), section 

9 29.952(g),section 29.963(b) (but allowing for a 

10 minimum puncture force of 250 pounds if suc11 cessfully drop tested in-structure), and 

12 29.975(a)(7) of title 14, Code of Federal Regu13 lations, as in effect on the date of enactment; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) employ other means acceptable to the 

16 Administrator to provide an equivalent level of 

17 fuel system crash resistance. 

18 ‘‘(2) COVERED ROTORCRAFT DEFINED.—In this 

19 subsection, the term ‘covered rotorcraft’ means a 

20 rotorcraft not otherwise required to comply with sec21 tion 27.952, section 27.963, and section 27.975, or 

22 section 29.952, section 29.963, and section 29.975 

23 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations as in effect 

24 on the date of enactment for which manufacture was 

25 completed, as determined by the Administrator, on 


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1 or after the date that is 18 months after the date 

2 of enactment of this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The Adminis4 trator shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) expedite the certification and validation of 

6 United States and foreign type designs and retrofit 

7 kits that improve fuel system crashworthiness; and 

8 ‘‘(2) not later than 180 days after the date of 

9 enactment of this section, and periodically there10 after, issue a bulletin to— 

11 ‘‘(A) inform rotorcraft owners and opera12 tors of available modifications to improve fuel 

13 system crashworthiness; and 

14 ‘‘(B) urge that such modifications be in15 stalled as soon as practicable. 

16 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion may be construed to affect the operation of a rotor18 craft by the Department of Defense.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap20 ter 447 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘44738. Helicopter fuel system safety.’’. 

22 SEC. 575. SAFETY EQUIPMENT STORAGE FACILITIES. 

23 Section 47102(3) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(P) Constructing storage facilities to shel2 ter snow removal equipment or aircraft rescue 

3 and firefighting equipment that is owned by the 

4 airport sponsor and used exclusively to main5 tain safe airfield operations, up to the facility 

6 size necessary to accommodate the types and 

7 quantities of equipment prescribed by the FAA, 

8 regardless of whether Federal funding was used 

9 to acquire the equipment.’’. 

10 SEC. 576. REPORT ON AIRLINE AND PASSENGER SAFETY. 

11 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

13 Aviation Administration shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate a report on airline and 

17 passenger safety. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub19 section (a) shall include— 

20 (1) the average age of commercial aircraft 

21 owned and operated by United States air carriers; 

22 (2) the over-all use of planes, including average 

23 lifetime of commercial aircraft; 

24 (3) the number of hours aircraft are in flight 

25 over the life of the aircraft and the average number 


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1 of hours on domestic and international flights , re2 spectively; 

3 (4) the impact of metal fatigue on aircraft 

4 usage and safety; 

5 (5) a review on contractor assisted maintenance 

6 of commercial aircraft; and 

7 (6) a re-evaluation of the rules on inspection of 

8 aging airplanes. 

9 SEC. 577. REPORT ON AIRCRAFT DIVERSIONS FROM LAX TO 

10 HAWTHORNE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad13 ministration shall issue and make available to the public 

14 a report on diversions of aircraft from Los Angeles Inter15 national Airport (LAX) to Hawthorne Municipal Airport, 

16 also known as Jack Northrop Field, in the City of Haw17 thorne, California. This report shall cover at least the pre18 vious one-year period and include the total number of air19 craft diversions, the average number of diversions per day, 

20 the types of aircraft diverted, and the reasons for the di21 versions. 

22 SEC. 578. FORMER MILITARY AIRPORTS. 

23 Section 47118(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(C) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(3) the airport is— 

7 ‘‘(A) a former military installation; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a primary airport.’’. 

9 SEC. 579. USE OF STATE HIGHWAY SPECIFICATIONS. 

10 Section 47114(d)(5) of title 49, United States Code, 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(5) USE OF STATE HIGHWAY SPECIFICA13 TIONS.—The Secretary shall use the highway speci14 fications of a State for airfield pavement construc15 tion and improvement using funds made available 

16 under this subsection at nonprimary airports serving 

17 aircraft that do not exceed 60,000 pounds gross 

18 weight if— 

19 ‘‘(A) such State requests the use of such 

20 specifications; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that— 

22 ‘‘(i) safety will not be negatively af23 fected; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the life of the pavement, with 

25 necessary maintenance and upkeep, will 


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1 not be shorter than it would be if con2 structed using Administration standards.’’. 

3 SEC. 580. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

5 of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Secretary 

6 should produce a smart airports initiative plan that fo7 cuses on creating a more consumer-friendly and digitally 

8 connected airport experience. The plan should include rec9 ommendations on modernizing technologies to provide 

10 more efficient check-ins, shortened security lines, Wi-Fi 

11 and GPS upgrades, as well as improvements of aircraft 

12 turnaround for on-time boarding and flights. The purpose 

13 of the initiative is to invest in technologies and infrastruc14 ture toward better-connected airports while providing ap15 propriate national security and cybersecurity for travelers. 

16 SEC. 581. OXYGEN MASK DESIGN STUDY. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad19 ministration shall conduct a study to review and evaluate 

20 the design and effectiveness of commercial aircraft oxygen 

21 masks. In conducting the study, the Administrator shall 

22 determine whether the current design of oxygen masks is 

23 adequate, and whether changes to the design could in24 crease correct passenger usage of the masks. 


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1 SEC. 582. STANDARDS FOR PILOTS. 

2 (a) AGE ADJUSTMENT.—Section 44729(a) of title 49, 

3 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘covered oper4 ations until attaining 65 years of age’’ and inserting ‘‘cov5 ered operations described under subsection (b)(1) until at6 taining 65 years of age and covered operations described 

7 under subsection (b)(2) until attaining 70 years of age’’. 

8 (b) COVERED OPERATIONS.—Section 44729(b) of 

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘means operations under part 121 of title 14, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations.’’ and inserting ‘‘means— 

12 ‘‘(1) operations under part 121 of title 14, Code 

13 of Federal Regulations; and 

14 ‘‘(2) operations by a person that— 

15 ‘‘(A) holds an air carrier certificate issued 

16 pursuant to part 119 to conduct operations 

17 under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations; and 

19 ‘‘(B) qualifies as a program manager 

20 under subpart K of part 91 of title 14, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations; and 

22 ‘‘(C) performed an aggregate total of at 

23 least 150,000 turbojet operations in— 

24 ‘‘(i) calendar year 2017; or 

25 ‘‘(ii) any subsequent year.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 583. STUDY REGARDING TECHNOLOGY USAGE AT AIR5 PORTS. 

6 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad8 ministration shall conduct a study and report the findings 

9 of such study to the appropriate committees of Congress 

10 regarding— 

11 (1) technology developed by international enti12 ties (including foreign nations and companies) that 

13 have been installed in American airports and avia14 tion systems over the past decade, including the na15 tion where the technology was developed and the any 

16 airports utilizing the technology; and 

17 (2) aviation safety related technology developed 

18 and implemented by international entities with prov19 en track records of success that may assist in estab20 lishing best practices to improve American aviation 

21 operations and safety. 

22 SEC. 584. APPLICATIONS FOR DESIGNATION. 

23 Section 2209 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Se24 curity Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(C)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause 

2 (v); and 

3 (B) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(iv) Railroad facilities.’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(e) DEADLINES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) Not later than December 31, 2018, the 

9 Administrator shall publish a notice of proposed 

10 rulemaking to carry out the requirements of this sec11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(2) Not later than 12 months after publishing 

13 the notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph 

14 (1), the Administrator shall issue a final rule.’’. 

15 SEC. 585. APPLICABILITY OF MEDICAL CERTIFICATION 

16 STANDARDS TO OPERATORS OF AIR BAL17 LOONS. 

18 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited a the 

19 ‘‘Commercial Balloon Pilot Safety Act of 2018’’. 

20 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

22 Federal Aviation Administration shall revise section 

23 61.3(c) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (relating 

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1 ator of an air balloon to the same extent such regulations 

2 apply to a pilot flight crewmember of other aircraft. 

3 (c) AIR BALLOON DEFINED.—In this section, the 

4 term ‘‘air balloon’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘bal5 loon’’ in section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula6 tions (or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling). 

7 SEC. 586. COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF EQUIPMENT 

8 RENTAL. 

9 (a) COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF EQUIPMENT

10 RENTAL.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any cost-ef12 fectiveness analysis for equipment acquisition con13 ducted on or after the date that is 180 days after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of 

15 each executive agency shall consider equipment rent16 al in such cost-effectiveness analysis. 

17 (2) FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.—The 

18 Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to 

19 implement the requirement under paragraph (1). 

20 (b) STUDY OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS.— 

21 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern24 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and the 

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1 fairs of the Senate a comprehensive report on the decisions 

2 made by the executive agencies with the highest levels of 

3 acquisition spending, and a sample of executive agencies 

4 with lower levels of acquisition spending, to acquire high5 value equipment by lease, rental, or purchase pursuant to 

6 subpart 7.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) EQUIPMENT RENTAL.—The term ‘‘equip9 ment rental’’ means the acquisition of equipment by 

10 contract from a commercial source for a temporary 

11 period of use with no fixed duration. 

12 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 

13 agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

14 102 of title 40, United States Code. 

15 SEC. 587. REPORT. 

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

17 date of enactment of this Act (except as described in sub18 section (d)), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

19 Administration shall submit to the appropriate congres20 sional committees a report containing the results of the 

21 study described in subsection (b). 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

23 make recommendations based on— 

24 (1) an analysis of— 


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1 (A) the economic effects of temporary 

2 flight restrictions, particularly temporary flight 

3 restrictions issued pursuant to section 91.141 

4 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, on air5 ports or aviation-related businesses located or 

6 based in an area covered by the temporary 

7 flight restriction; and 

8 (B) potential options and recommendations 

9 for mitigating identified negative economic ef10 fects on airports or aviation-related businesses 

11 located or based in an area frequently covered 

12 by a temporary flight restriction; and 

13 (2) an analysis of the potential for using secu14 rity procedures similar to those described in the 

15 Maryland Three Program (allowing properly vetted 

16 private pilots to fly to, from, or between the three 

17 general aviation airports closest to the National Cap18 ital Region) during temporary flight restrictions in 

19 the following airports: 

20 (A) Solberg Airport. 

21 (B) Somerset Airport. 

22 (C) Palm Beach County Park Airport (also 

23 known as Lantana Airport). 


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1 (c) COLLABORATION.—In making the recommenda2 tions described in subsection (b), the Administrator shall 

3 consult with— 

4 (1) industry stakeholders; and 

5 (2) the head of any other agency that, in the 

6 Administrator’s determination, is a stakeholder 

7 agency. 

8 (d) SPECIAL DEADLINE.—Not later than 90 days 

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

10 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

11 a report containing the results of the portion of the study 

12 described in subsection (b)(1)(A). 

13 SEC. 588. STUDY ON INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS OF FAST14 GROWING AIRPORTS. 

15 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 

17 Aviation Administration shall enter into an agreement 

18 with an institution of higher education to conduct a study 

19 on the infrastructure needs of airports— 

20 (1) in metropolitan statistical areas with an av21 erage 5-year, year-to-year population growth rate be22 tween 6 and 13 percent; and 

23 (2) with an average 5-year, year-to-year pas24 senger growth rate between 7 and 10 percent. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The study conducted pursuant to 

2 subsection (a) shall include— 

3 (1) an assessment of the infrastructure needs of 

4 the airports described in subsection (a); 

5 (2) an examination of how such infrastructure 

6 needs are related to the population and economic 

7 growth of relevant metropolitan statistical areas; 

8 (3) an assessment of the infrastructure funding 

9 and financing tools available to such airports; 

10 (4) the development of recommendations on ad11 ditional funding and financing tools that may pro12 vide significant new revenues and flexibility; 

13 (5) an estimate of the population and economic 

14 growth rate of the relevant metropolitan statistical 

15 areas over the next 10 years; and 

16 (6) the development of recommendations on 

17 how such airports can best fund the infrastructure 

18 necessary to accommodate— 

19 (A) increases in passenger growth; and 

20 (B) population and economic growth in the 

21 relevant metropolitan statistical areas. 

22 SEC. 589. AIRCRAFT NOISE RESEARCH AND MITIGATION 

23 STRATEGY. 

24 Not later than 1 year from the date of enactment 

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1 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Transpor2 tation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Science, 

3 Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Appropria4 tions of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

5 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com6 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate a 5-year aircraft 

7 noise research and mitigation strategy. 

8 SEC. 590. ALTERNATIVE AIRPLANE NOISE METRIC EVALUA9 TION DEADLINE. 

10 Not later than 1 year from the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad12 ministration shall complete the ongoing evaluation of al13 ternative metrics to the current Day Night Level (DNL) 

14 65 standard. 

15 SEC. 591. PERFORMANCE-BASED STANDARDS. 

16 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis17 tration shall, to the maximum extent possible and con18 sistent with Federal law, and based on input by the public, 

19 ensure that regulations, guidance, and policies issued by 

20 the Federal Aviation Administration on and after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act are issued in the form of perform22 ance-based standards, providing an equal or higher level 

23 of safety. 


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1 SEC. 592. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this section, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

4 Administration, in consultation with the National Trans5 portation Safety Board, shall issue a report to the Com6 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

7 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that— 

9 (1) provides a technical review of systems capa10 ble of detecting wrong surface alignment to deter11 mine whether the capability exists to detect immi12 nent wrong-surface landings at each airport where 

13 such a system is in use; and 

14 (2) includes information gathered from the use 

15 of Airport Surface Surveillance Capability System 

16 (ASSC) at San Francisco International Airport since 

17 July 2017. 

18 SEC. 593. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON CERTAIN 

19 AVIATION SAFETY RISKS. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad22 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Transpor23 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor25 tation of the Senate a report that— 


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1 (1) identifies safety risks associated with power 

2 outages at airports caused by weather or other fac3 tors, and recommends actions to improve resilience 

4 of aviation communication, navigation, and surveil5 lance systems in the event of such outages; and 

6 (2) reviews alerting mechanisms, devices, and 

7 procedures for enhancing the situational awareness 

8 of pilots and air traffic controllers in the event of a 

9 failure or an irregularity of runway lights, and pro10 vides recommendations on the further implementa11 tion of such mechanisms, devices, or procedures. 

12 SEC. 594. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

13 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this section, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

15 Administration, in consultation with the National Trans16 portation Safety Board, shall issue a report to the Com17 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

18 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that reviews the 

20 relative benefits and risks of requiring the use of runway 

21 awareness and advisory systems in turbine-powered air22 planes under the provisions of part 121 or part 129 of 

23 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 SEC. 595. REVIEW OF FAA’S AVIATION SAFETY INFORMA2 TION ANALYSIS AND SHARING SYSTEM. 

3 (a) AUDIT BY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

4 INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 

7 shall initiate a follow-up review of the Federal Avia8 tion Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Safety Infor9 mation Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) System to as10 sess FAA’s efforts and plans to improve the system. 

11 (2) REVIEW.—The review should include, at a 

12 minimum, an evaluation of FAA’s efforts to improve 

13 the ASIAS system’s predictive capabilities and solu14 tions developed to more widely disseminate results of 

15 ASIAS data analyses, as well as an update on pre16 vious Inspector General recommendations to improve 

17 this safety analysis and sharing system. 

18 (3) REPORT.—The Inspector General shall sub19 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra20 structure of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate a report on the results of its re23 view and any recommendations to improve FAA’s 

24 ASIAS system. 


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1 SEC. 596. CYBERSECURITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 

2 STANDARDS PLAN. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad5 ministration shall, in consultation with the National Insti6 tute of Standards and Technology and the Committee on 

7 Technology of the National Science and Technology Coun8 cil, transmit to the Committee on Transportation and In9 frastructure of the House of Representatives, the Com10 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

11 of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

12 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 

13 contains a cybersecurity and artificial intelligence stand14 ards plan for Federal Aviation Administration operations 

15 that takes into consideration the influence of cybersecurity 

16 on artificial intelligence and of artificial intelligence on cy17 bersecurity. 

18 SEC. 597. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON HIRING VETERANS. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the aviation industry, 

20 including certificate holders under parts 121, 135, and 

21 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, should hire 

22 more of the Nation’s veterans. 

23 SEC. 598. GAO STUDY. 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

26 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure of the House of Representatives a report con3 taining a review of the following: 

4 (1) Direct and indirect effects on passengers, if 

5 any, resulting from significant computer network 

6 disruptions of 49 CFR Part 121 air carriers between 

7 January 1, 2014, and the date of enactment of this 

8 section, including— 

9 (A) systemwide delays; 

10 (B) flight cancellations; and 

11 (C) disrupted or broken itineraries. 

12 (2) An estimate of any expenses incurred by 

13 passengers during significant computer network dis14 ruptions, including— 

15 (A) meals, lodging, and ancillary expenses 

16 per persons; 

17 (B) late hotel check-in or car rental fees; 

18 (C) missed cruise-ship departures; and 

19 (D) lost productivity. 

20 (3) Air carriers’ contracts of carriage and inter21 line agreements to determine if and how air carriers 

22 accommodate passengers affected by significant com23 puter network disruptions on other air carriers or 

24 foreign air carriers. 


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1 (4) Whether passengers who have been dis2 placed by significant computer network disruptions 

3 are furnished with alternative transportation aboard 

4 another air carrier or foreign air carrier. 

5 (5) Costs incurred by airports, if any, to meet 

6 the essential needs of passengers, including in7 creased demands on utilities, food concessionaires, 

8 restroom facilities, and security staffing, during sig9 nificant computer network disruptions. 

10 (6) Other costs, if any, incurred by passengers, 

11 airports, and other entities as a direct result of sig12 nificant computer network disruptions. 

13 (7) Processes, plans, and redundancies in place 

14 at air carriers to respond to and recover from such 

15 network disruptions. 

16 SEC. 599. PROMPT PAYMENTS. 

17 (a) REPORTING OF COMPLAINTS.—Not later than 30 

18 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis19 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall ensure 

20 that each airport that participates in the Program tracks, 

21 and reports to the Administrator, the number of covered 

22 complaints made in relation to activities at that airport. 

23 (b) IMPROVING COMPLIANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

25 take actions to assess and improve compliance with 


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1 prompt payment requirements under part 26 of title 

2 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

3 (2) CONTENTS OF ASSESSMENT.—In carrying 

4 out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall assess— 

5 (A) whether requirements relating to the 

6 inclusion of prompt payment language in con7 tracts are being satisfied; 

8 (B) whether and how airports are enforc9 ing prompt payment requirements; 

10 (C) the processes by which covered com11 plaints are received and resolved by airports; 

12 (D) whether improvements need to be 

13 made to— 

14 (i) better track covered complaints re15 ceived by airports; and 

16 (ii) assist the resolution of covered 

17 complaints in a timely manner; 

18 (E) the effectiveness of alternative dispute 

19 resolution mechanisms with respect to resolving 

20 covered complaints; 

21 (F) best practices that ensure prompt pay22 ment requirements are satisfied; 

23 (G) the Federal Aviation Administration 

24 resources, including staff, that are dedicated to 

25 helping resolve covered complaints; and 


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1 (H) how the Federal Aviation Administra2 tion can enhance efforts to resolve covered com3 plaints, including by using timelines and pro4 viding additional staffing and other resources. 

5 (3) REPORTING.—The Administrator shall 

6 make available to the public on an appropriate web7 site operated by the Administrator a report describ8 ing the results of the assessment completed under 

9 this subsection, including a plan to respond to such 

10 results. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi12 nitions apply: 

13 (1) COVERED COMPLAINT.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 complaint’’ means a complaint relating to an alleged 

15 failure to satisfy a prompt payment requirement 

16 under part 26 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula17 tions. 

18 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

19 the airport disadvantaged business enterprise pro20 gram referenced in section 140(a) of the FAA Mod21 ernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 

22 47113 note). 

23 SEC. 599A. GAO STUDY ON AVIATION WORKFORCE. 

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

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States shall initiate a study, based on pre2 vious studies, that looks at the current and future supply 

3 of individuals in the aviation workforce. 

4 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out the study, the Comp5 troller General shall review, at a minimum— 

6 (1) the current state of the aviation workforce; 

7 (2) barriers to entry into the aviation work8 force; and 

9 (3) options to increase the future supply of in10 dividuals in the aviation workforce. 

11 (c) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In14 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

16 Senate a report on the results of the study, including any 

17 findings and recommendations. 

18 SEC. 599B. METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS. 

19 Section 134(d)(4) of title 23, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 

21 with respect to a metropolitan planning organization 

22 whose structure consists of no local elected officials, noth23 ing’’. 


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1 SEC. 599C. STUDY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

4 of the United States shall begin a study of international 

5 air cargo services among the United States and Central 

6 American, South American, and Caribbean Basin coun7 tries, that— 

8 (1) analyzes the supply of and demand for air 

9 cargo transportation services among the United 

10 States and Central American, South American, and 

11 Caribbean Basin countries; 

12 (2) analyzes the supply of and demand for air 

13 cargo transportation services between— 

14 (A) the United States, Central American, 

15 South American, and Caribbean Basin coun16 tries; and 

17 (B) Africa and Europe; 

18 (3) identifies the busiest routes in terms of 

19 cargo capacity and frequency of air service; 

20 (4) identifies any air carrier or foreign air car21 rier hubs in Central American, South American, and 

22 Caribbean Basin countries at which a significant 

23 amount of air cargo is sorted, handled, or consoli24 dated for transportation to or from the United 

25 States; 


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1 (5) identifies any air carrier or foreign air car2 rier hubs in the United States at which a significant 

3 amount of air cargo is sorted, handled, or consoli4 dated for transportation to or from Central Amer5 ican, South American, and Caribbean Basin coun6 tries. 

7 (6) identifies any significant gaps in the air 

8 cargo services or cargo air carrier networks— 

9 (A) among the countries described in para10 graph (2)(A); 

11 (B) between such countries and Africa; 

12 and 

13 (C) between such countries and Europe; 

14 and 

15 (7) assesses the possible impact of the estab16 lishment of an air carrier hub in Puerto Rico at 

17 which air cargo is sorted, handled, or consolidated 

18 for transportation to or from the United States, in19 cluding the impact on— 

20 (A) the employment rate and economy of 

21 Puerto Rico; 

22 (B) domestic and foreign air transpor23 tation of cargo; 

24 (C) United States competitiveness in the 

25 air transportation of cargo; 


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1 (D) air cargo operations at other airports 

2 in the United States; and 

3 (E) domestic air carrier employment. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In7 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

9 Senate a report on the results of the study described in 

10 subsection (a). 

11 (c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘Caribbean Basin coun12 tries’’ has the same meaning given the term ‘‘Caribbean 

13 Basin country’’ in section 501 of the Food for Peace Act 

14 (7 U.S.C. 1737). 

15 SEC. 599D. SPACEPORTS. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STATE SPACEPORT

17 CONTRIBUTIONS.—It is the Sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) State government-owned and -operated 

19 spaceports have contributed hundreds of millions of 

20 dollars in infrastructure improvements to the na21 tional space launch infrastructure, providing the 

22 United States Government and commercial cus23 tomers with world-class space launch and processing 

24 infrastructure that is necessary to support continued 

25 American leadership in space; 


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1 (2) State spaceports play a critical role in pro2 viding resiliency and redundancy in the national 

3 launch infrastructure to support national security 

4 and civil government capabilities, and should be rec5 ognized as a critical infrastructure in Federal strat6 egy and planning; 

7 (3) continued State and local government in8 vestments at Federal and non-Federal launch facili9 ties should be encouraged and to the maximum ex10 tent practicable supported in Federal policies, plan11 ning and infrastructure investment considerations, 

12 including through Federal-State partnerships; 

13 (4) there is currently no Federal infrastructure 

14 investment program funding or encouraging State 

15 and local government investment in spaceport infra16 structure, unlike Federal grant programs to encour17 age continued investment in all other modes of 

18 transportation, including aviation, highways, ports, 

19 and rail, which limits opportunities for the Federal 

20 government to leverage and coordinate infrastruc21 ture investments with State and local governments; 

22 (5) Federal investments in space infrastructure 

23 should enable partnerships between Federal agencies 

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1 ture, especially multi-modal networks needed for ro2 bust space transportation that support national se3 curity, civil, and commercial launch customers; and 

4 (6) States that have made investments to build, 

5 maintain, operate, and improve capabilities for na6 tional security, civil, and commercial customers 

7 should be commended for their infrastructure con8 tributions to both Federal and non-Federal launch 

9 sites, and encouraged through a variety of programs 

10 and policies to continue these investments in the na11 tional interest. 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF SPACE14 PORTS.—Title 51, United States Code, is amended 

15 by adding at the end of subtitle V the following: 

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 515—OFFICE OF SPACEPORTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘51501. Establishment of Office of Spaceports. 

17 ‘‘§ 51501. Establishment of Office of Spaceports 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Not later than 

19 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

20 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 

21 shall identify, within the Office of Commercial Space 

22 Transportation, a centralized policy office to be known as 

23 the Office of Spaceports. 

24 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Spaceports shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) support licensing activities for launch sites; 

2 ‘‘(2) develop policies that promote infrastruc3 ture improvements at licensed public launch sites; 

4 ‘‘(3) provide technical assistance and guidance 

5 to licensed public spaceports; 

6 ‘‘(4) promote United States licensed spaceports 

7 within the Department; and 

8 ‘‘(5) strengthen the Nation’s competitiveness in 

9 launch infrastructure and increase resilience for the 

10 Federal Government and commercial customers. 

11 ‘‘(c) RECOGNITION.—In carrying out the functions 

12 assigned in subsection (b), the Secretary shall recognize 

13 the unique needs and distinctions of spaceports that— 

14 ‘‘(1) launch to orbit; and 

15 ‘‘(2) are involved in suborbital launch activities. 

16 ‘‘(d) DIRECTOR.—The Associate Administrator for 

17 Commercial Space Transportation of the Federal Aviation 

18 Administration shall designate a Director of the Office of 

19 Spaceports. 

20 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) SPACEPORT.—The term ‘spaceport’ means 

22 a launch site that is licensed by the Federal Aviation 

23 Administration. 

24 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC SPACEPORT.—The term ‘public 

25 spaceport’ means a launch site that is licensed by 


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1 the Federal Aviation Administration and is owned or 

2 operated by a State or local governmental entity, in3 cluding political subdivisions of a State or local gov4 ernment.’’. 

5 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND6 MENT.—The table of chapters of title 51, United 

7 State Code, is amended by adding at the end of sub8 title V the following: 

‘‘515. Office of Spaceports .............................................................51501’’. 

9 (c) REPORT ON NATIONAL SPACEPORTS POLICY.— 

10 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

11 (A) A robust network of space transpor12 tation infrastructure, including spaceports li13 censed by the Federal Aviation Administration, 

14 is vital to the growth of the domestic space in15 dustry and America’s competitiveness and ac16 cess to space. 

17 (B) Non-Federal spaceports licensed by the 

18 Federal Aviation Administration have signifi19 cantly increased the launch infrastructure of 

20 the United States through significant invest21 ments by State and local governments, which 

22 have encouraged greater private investment. 

23 (C) These spaceports have led to the devel24 opment of a growing number of orbital and sub25 orbital launch sites that are available to the naVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00412 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 tional security, civil, and commercial space cus2 tomers at minimal cost to the Federal Govern3 ment. 

4 (D) The Federal Government, led by the 

5 Secretary of Transportation, should seek to pro6 mote the growth, resilience, and capabilities of 

7 this space infrastructure through policies and 

8 through partnerships with State and local gov9 ernments. 

10 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

12 Transportation shall submit to Congress a report 

13 that— 

14 (A) evaluates the Federal Government’s 

15 national security and civil space launch de16 mands and the needs of the United States and 

17 international commercial markets; 

18 (B) proposes policies and programs de19 signed to ensure a robust and resilient orbital 

20 and suborbital spaceport infrastructure to serve 

21 and capitalize on these launch opportunities; 

22 (C) reviews the development and invest23 ments made by international competitors in for24 eign spaceports; 


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1 (D) makes recommendations on how the 

2 Federal Government can support, encourage, 

3 promote, and facilitate greater investments in 

4 infrastructure at public spaceports licensed by 

5 the Federal Aviation Administration; and 

6 (E) considers and makes recommendations 

7 about how spaceports licensed by the Federal 

8 Aviation Administration can fully support and 

9 enable the national space policy. 

10 (3) UPDATES TO THE REPORT.—Not later than 

11 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act and 

12 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

13 (A) update the previous report prepared 

14 under this subsection; and 

15 (B) submit the updated report to Con16 gress. 

17 (4) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.—In preparing 

18 the reports required by this subsection, the Sec19 retary shall consult with individuals including— 

20 (A) the Secretary of Defense; 

21 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

23 (C) the Administrator of the National Aer24 onautics and Space Administration; and 


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1 (D) interested persons at spaceports, State 

2 and local governments, and industry. 

3 (d) REPORT ON SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRA4 STRUCTURE MATCHING GRANTS.— 

5 (1) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.—The Comp6 troller General of the United States shall conduct a 

7 study regarding spaceport activities carried out pur8 suant to chapters 509 and 511 of title 51, United 

9 States Code, including— 

10 (A) an assessment of potential mechanisms 

11 to provide Federal support to spaceports, in12 cluding the airport improvement program estab13 lished under subchapter I of chapter 471 of 

14 title 49, United States Code, and the program 

15 established under chapter 511 of title 51, 

16 United States Code; 

17 (B) recommendations for potential funding 

18 options, including funds that may be collected 

19 from launch providers or launch customers; and 

20 (C) any necessary changes to improve the 

21 spaceport application review process. 

22 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the study 

23 described in paragraph (1), the Comptroller General 

24 shall consult with sources from each component of 

25 the launch process, including interested persons in 


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1 industry and government officials at the Federal, 

2 State, and local levels. 

3 (3) USER-FUNDED SPACEPORTS.—In reviewing 

4 funding options, the Comptroller General shall dis5 tinguish between spaceports that are funded by 

6 users and those that are not. 

7 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen9 eral shall submit to Congress a report containing re10 sults of the study conducted under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 599E. MANDATORY USE OF THE NEW YORK NORTH 

12 SHORE HELICOPTER ROUTE. 

13 (a) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

15 Federal Aviation Administration shall provide notice 

16 of, and an opportunity for, at least 60 days of public 

17 comment with respect to the regulations in subpart 

18 H of part 93 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula19 tions. 

20 (2) TIMING.—The public comment period re21 quired under paragraph (1) shall begin not later 

22 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (b) PUBLIC HEARING.—Not later than 30 days after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 


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1 hold a public hearing in the communities impacted by the 

2 regulations described in subsection (a)(1) to solicit feed3 back with respect to the regulations. 

4 (c) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall initiate 

6 a review of the regulations described in subsection (a)(1) 

7 that assesses the— 

8 (1) noise impacts of the regulations for commu9 nities, including communities in locations where air10 craft are transitioning to or from a destination or 

11 point of landing; 

12 (2) enforcement of applicable flight standards, 

13 including requirements for helicopters operating on 

14 the relevant route to remain at or above 2,500 feet 

15 mean sea level; and 

16 (3) availability of alternative or supplemental 

17 routes to reduce the noise impacts of the regula18 tions, including the institution of an all water route 

19 over the Atlantic Ocean. 

20 SEC. 599F. STUDY ON DIVERSITY OF CYBERSECURITY 

21 WORKFORCE OF FAA. 

22 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Fed24 eral Aviation Administration shall enter into an agreement 

25 with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study 


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1 on the diversity of the cybersecurity workforce of the Ad2 ministration in order to develop recommendations to in3 crease the size, quality, and diversity of such workforce, 

4 including cybersecurity researchers and specialists. 

5 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the completion of the study conducted under sub7 section (a), the Administrator shall submit to the Com8 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 

11 results of such study. 

12 SEC. 599G. FEDERAL AUTHORITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 14501(c) of title 49, 

14 United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘paragraphs 

16 (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and 

17 (4)’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

19 (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6) respectively; 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State, political sub24 division of a State, or political authority of 2 or 

25 more States may not enact or enforce a law, 


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1 regulation, or other provision having the force 

2 and effect of law prohibiting employees whose 

3 hours of service are subject to regulation by the 

4 Secretary under section 31502 from working to 

5 the full extent permitted or at such times as 

6 permitted under such section, or imposing any 

7 additional obligations on motor carriers if such 

8 employees work to the full extent or at such 

9 times as permitted under such section, includ10 ing any related activities regulated under part 

11 395 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

12 ‘‘(B) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Noth13 ing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit 

14 the provisions of paragraph (1).’’; 

15 (4) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated) by strik16 ing ‘‘Paragraph (1)—’’ and inserting ‘‘Paragraphs 

17 (1) and (2)—’’; and 

18 (5) in paragraph (4)(A) (as redesignated) by 

19 striking ‘‘Paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘Paragraphs 

20 (1) and (2)’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall have the force and effect as if enacted 

23 on the date of enactment of the Federal Aviation Adminis24 tration Authorization Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–305). 


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1 SEC. 599H. NATIONAL HIRING STANDARD OF CARE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An entity hiring a federally li3 censed motor carrier shall be deemed to have made the 

4 selection of the motor carrier in a reasonable and prudent 

5 manner if before tendering a shipment, but not more than 

6 45 days before the pickup of the shipment by the hired 

7 motor carrier, that entity verified that the motor carrier, 

8 at the time of such verification— 

9 (1) is registered with and authorized by the 

10 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to op11 erate as a motor carrier or household goods motor 

12 carrier, if applicable; 

13 (2) has the minimum insurance coverage re14 quired by Federal law; and 

15 (3)(A) before the safety fitness determination 

16 regulations are issued, does not have an unsatisfac17 tory safety fitness determination issued by the Fed18 eral Motor Carrier Safety Administration in force at 

19 the time of such verification; or 

20 (B) beginning on the date that revised safety 

21 fitness determination regulations are implemented, 

22 does not have a safety fitness rating issued by the 

23 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under 

24 such regulations that would place a motor carrier 

25 out-of-service. 


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1 (b) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the 

2 implementation of the safety fitness determination ref3 erenced in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall issue 

4 guidelines that specifically outline how a motor carrier’s 

5 operating authority and registration number could be re6 voked and subsequently placing them out-of-service. 

7 TITLE VI—DISASTER RECOVERY 

8 REFORM ACT 

9 SEC. 601. APPLICABILITY. 

10 Except as otherwise expressly provided, the amend11 ments in this title to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re12 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 

13 seq.) apply to each major disaster and emergency declared 

14 by the President on or after August 1, 2017, under such 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 602. STATE DEFINED. 

17 In this title, the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 

18 that term in section 102(4) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis19 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 5122(4)). 

21 SEC. 603. WILDFIRE PREVENTION. 

22 (a) MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.—Section 420 of the 

23 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist24 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (e); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.—Whether 

6 or not a major disaster is declared, the President may pro7 vide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with sec8 tion 404 in any area affected by a fire for which assistance 

9 was provided under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Robert T. 

11 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 404(a) (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) (as 

14 amended by section 636(a) of this Act)— 

15 (A) by inserting before the first period ‘‘, 

16 or any area affected by a fire for which assist17 ance was provided under section 420’’; and 

18 (B) in the third sentence by inserting ‘‘or 

19 event under section 420’’ after ‘‘major disaster’’ 

20 each place it appears; and 

21 (2) in section 322(e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5165(e)(1)), 

22 by inserting ‘‘or event under section 420’’ after 

23 ‘‘major disaster’’ each place it appears. 

24 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 

25 year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually 


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1 thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

2 Management Agency shall submit to the Committee on 

3 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen4 ate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

5 of the House of Representatives, and the Appropriations 

6 Committees of the Senate and the House of Representa7 tives a report containing a summary of any projects car8 ried out, and any funding provided to those projects, 

9 under subsection (d) of section 420 of the Robert T. Staf10 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by this section). 

12 SEC. 604. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

13 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

14 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(f) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Recipients of hazard 

17 mitigation assistance provided under this section and sec18 tion 203 may use the assistance to conduct activities to 

19 help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or 

20 suffering in any area affected by a wildfire or windstorm, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(1) reseeding ground cover with quick-growing 

23 or native species; 

24 ‘‘(2) mulching with straw or chipped wood; 


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1 ‘‘(3) constructing straw, rock, or log dams in 

2 small tributaries to prevent flooding; 

3 ‘‘(4) placing logs and other erosion barriers to 

4 catch sediment on hill slopes; 

5 ‘‘(5) installing debris traps to modify road and 

6 trail drainage mechanisms; 

7 ‘‘(6) modifying or removing culverts to allow 

8 drainage to flow freely; 

9 ‘‘(7) adding drainage dips and constructing 

10 emergency spillways to keep roads and bridges from 

11 washing out during floods; 

12 ‘‘(8) planting grass to prevent the spread of 

13 noxious weeds; 

14 ‘‘(9) installing warning signs; 

15 ‘‘(10) establishing defensible space measures; 

16 ‘‘(11) reducing hazardous fuels; 

17 ‘‘(12) windstorm damage, including replacing or 

18 installing electrical transmission or distribution util19 ity pole structures with poles that are resilient to ex20 treme wind and combined ice and wind loadings for 

21 the basic wind speeds and ice conditions associated 

22 with the relevant location; 

23 ‘‘(13) removing standing burned trees; and 

24 ‘‘(14) replacing water systems that have been 

25 burned and have caused contamination.’’. 


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1 SEC. 605. ELIGIBILITY FOR CODE IMPLEMENTATION AND 

2 ENFORCEMENT. 

3 Section 406(a)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

4 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 5172(a)(2)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (B); 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub9 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(D) base and overtime wages for extra 

12 hires to facilitate the implementation and en13 forcement of adopted building codes for a pe14 riod of not more than 180 days after the major 

15 disaster is declared.’’. 

16 SEC. 606. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS. 

17 (a) HAZARD MITIGATION.—Section 406(c) of the 

18 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist19 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘90 per21 cent of’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘75 per23 cent of’’. 

24 (b) PARTICIPATION.—Section 428(d) of such Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 5189f) is amended— 


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

2 ‘‘Participation in’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(2) NO CONDITIONS.—The President may not 

5 condition the provision of Federal assistance under 

6 this Act on the election by a State, Tribal, or local 

7 government, or owner or operator of a private non8 profit facility to participate in the alternative proce9 dures adopted under this section.’’. 

10 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 428(e)(1) of such Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 5189f(e)(1)) is amended— 

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

13 the end; 

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

15 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(G) once certified by a professionally li18 censed engineer and accepted by the Adminis19 trator, the estimates on which grants made pur20 suant to this section are based shall be pre21 sumed to be reasonable and eligible costs, as 

22 long as there is no evidence of fraud.’’. 

23 SEC. 607. PRIORITIZATION OF FACILITIES. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 


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1 Management Agency shall provide guidance and training 

2 on an annual basis to State, Tribal, and local govern3 ments, first responders, and utility companies on— 

4 (1) the need to prioritize assistance to hospitals, 

5 nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities to 

6 ensure that such health care facilities remain func7 tioning or return to functioning as soon as prac8 ticable during power outages caused by natural haz9 ards, including severe weather events; 

10 (2) how hospitals, nursing homes and other 

11 long-term care facilities should adequately prepare 

12 for power outages during a major disaster or emer13 gency; and 

14 (3) how State, Tribal, and local governments, 

15 first responders, utility companies, hospitals, nursing 

16 homes, and other long-term care facilities should de17 velop a strategy to coordinate emergency response 

18 plans, including the activation of emergency re19 sponse plans, in anticipation of a major disaster, in20 cluding severe weather events. 

21 SEC. 608. GUIDANCE ON EVACUATION ROUTES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—The Administrator of 

24 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in co25 ordination with the Administrator of the Federal 


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1 Highway Administration, shall develop and issue 

2 guidance for State, local, and Tribal governments re3 garding the identification of evacuation routes. 

4 (2) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator of the Fed5 eral Highway Administration, in coordination with 

6 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man7 agement Agency, shall revise existing guidance or 

8 issue new guidance as appropriate for State, local, 

9 and Tribal governments regarding the design, con10 struction, maintenance, and repair of evacuation 

11 routes. 

12 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.— 

13 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—In developing the guid14 ance under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator of 

15 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall 

16 consider— 

17 (A) whether evacuation routes have re18 sisted impacts and recovered quickly from dis19 asters, regardless of cause; 

20 (B) the need to evacuate special needs pop21 ulations, including— 

22 (i) individuals with a physical or men23 tal disability; 

24 (ii) individuals in schools, daycare 

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1 ing homes and other long-term care facili2 ties, and detention centers; 

3 (iii) individuals with limited-English 

4 proficiency; 

5 (iv) the elderly; and 

6 (v) individuals who are tourists, sea7 sonal workers, or homeless; 

8 (C) the sharing of information and other 

9 public communications with evacuees during 

10 evacuations; 

11 (D) the sheltering of evacuees, including 

12 the care, protection, and sheltering of animals; 

13 (E) the return of evacuees to their homes; 

14 and 

15 (F) such other items the Administrator 

16 considers appropriate. 

17 (2) DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, 

18 AND REPAIR.—In revising or issuing guidance under 

19 (a)(2), the Administrator of the Federal Highway 

20 Administration shall consider— 

21 (A) methods that assist evacuation routes 

22 to— 

23 (i) withstand likely risks to viability, 

24 including flammability and hydrostatic 

25 forces; 


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1 (ii) improve durability, strength (in2 cluding the ability to withstand tensile 

3 stresses and compressive stresses), and 

4 sustainability; and 

5 (iii) provide for long-term cost sav6 ings; 

7 (B) the ability of evacuation routes to ef8 fectively manage contraflow operations; 

9 (C) for evacuation routes on public lands, 

10 the viewpoints of the applicable Federal land 

11 management agency regarding emergency oper12 ations, sustainability, and resource protection; 

13 and 

14 (D) such other items the Administrator 

15 considers appropriate. 

16 SEC. 609. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312(b) of the Robert T. 

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5155(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(4) WAIVER OF GENERAL PROHIBITION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

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1 ness concern, or any other entity suffering 

2 losses as a result of a major disaster or emer3 gency, if the President finds such waiver is in 

4 the public interest and will not result in waste, 

5 fraud, or abuse. In making this decision, the 

6 President may consider the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) The recommendations of the Ad8 ministrator of the Federal Emergency 

9 Management Agency made in consultation 

10 with the Federal agency or agencies ad11 ministering the duplicative program. 

12 ‘‘(ii) If a waiver is granted, the assist13 ance to be funded is cost effective. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Equity and good conscience. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Other matters of public policy 

16 considered appropriate by the President. 

17 ‘‘(B) GRANT OR DENIAL OF WAIVER.—A 

18 request under subparagraph (A) shall be grant19 ed or denied not later than 45 days after sub20 mission of such request. 

21 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON DETERMINATION

22 THAT LOAN IS A DUPLICATION.—Notwith23 standing subsection (c), in carrying out sub24 paragraph (A), the President may not deter25 mine that a loan is a duplication of assistance, 


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1 provided that all Federal assistance is used to2 ward a loss suffered as a result of the major 

3 disaster or emergency.’’. 

4 (b) FUNDING OF A FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED WATER

5 RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.— 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding 

7 section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

8 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) 

9 and its implementing regulations, assistance pro10 vided pursuant to section 404 of such Act may be 

11 used to fund activities authorized for construction 

12 within the scope of a federally authorized water re13 sources development project of the Army Corps of 

14 Engineers if such activities are also eligible activities 

15 under such section. 

16 (2) FEDERAL FUNDING.—All Federal funding 

17 provided under section 404 pursuant to this section 

18 shall be applied toward the Federal share of such 

19 project. 

20 (3) NON-FEDERAL MATCH.—All non-Federal 

21 matching funds required under section 404 pursuant 

22 to this section shall be applied toward the non-Fed23 eral share of such project. 

24 (4) TOTAL FEDERAL SHARE.—Funding pro25 vided under section 404 pursuant to this section 


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1 may not exceed the total Federal share for such 

2 project. 

3 (5) NO EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 

4 shall— 

5 (A) affect the cost-share requirement of a 

6 hazard mitigation measure under section 404; 

7 (B) affect the eligibility criteria for a haz8 ard mitigation measure under section 404; 

9 (C) affect the cost share requirements of a 

10 federally authorized water resources develop11 ment project; and 

12 (D) affect the responsibilities of a non13 Federal interest with respect to the project, in14 cluding those related to the provision of lands, 

15 easements, rights-of-way, dredge material dis16 posal areas, and necessary relocations. 

17 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to each 

18 disaster and emergency declared pursuant to the Robert 

19 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) after January 1, 2016. 


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1 SEC. 610. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR DI2 RECT TEMPORARY HOUSING AND PERMA3 NENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Section 408(f) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re5 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(f)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the paragraph 

8 heading and inserting ‘‘STATE- OR TRIBAL-ADMINIS9 TERED ASSISTANCE AND OTHER NEEDS ASSIST10 ANCE.—’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘financial’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘subsections (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), and (e) if 

15 the President and the State or Tribal govern16 ment comply, as determined by the Adminis17 trator, with paragraph (3)’’; 

18 (3) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘financial’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in21 serting ‘‘subsections (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), and (e)’’; 

22 and 

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

24 ‘‘(3) IN GENERAL.— 

25 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—A State or Tribal 

26 government desiring to provide assistance under 


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1 subsection (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), or (e) shall submit 

2 to the President an application for a grant to 

3 provide financial assistance under the program. 

4 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The President, in con5 sultation and coordination with State, Tribal, 

6 and local governments, shall establish criteria 

7 for the approval of applications submitted 

8 under subparagraph (A). The criteria shall in9 clude, at a minimum— 

10 ‘‘(i) the demonstrated ability of the 

11 State or Tribal government to manage the 

12 program under this section; 

13 ‘‘(ii) there being in effect a plan ap14 proved by the President as to how the 

15 State or Tribal government will comply 

16 with applicable Federal laws and regula17 tions and how the State or Tribal govern18 ment will provide assistance under its plan; 

19 ‘‘(iii) a requirement that the State, 

20 Tribal, or local government comply with 

21 rules and regulations established pursuant 

22 to subsection (j); and 

23 ‘‘(iv) a requirement that the Presi24 dent, or the designee of the President, 

25 comply with subsection (i). 


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1 ‘‘(C) QUALITY ASSURANCE.—Before ap2 proving an application submitted under this 

3 section, the President, or the designee of the 

4 President, shall institute adequate policies, pro5 cedures, and internal controls to prevent waste, 

6 fraud, abuse, and program mismanagement for 

7 this program and for programs under sub8 sections (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), and (e). The Presi9 dent shall monitor and conduct quality assur10 ance activities on a State or Tribal govern11 ment’s implementation of programs under sub12 sections (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), and (e). If, after ap13 proving an application of a State or Tribal gov14 ernment submitted under this section, the 

15 President determines that the State or Tribal 

16 government is not administering the program 

17 established by this section in a manner satisfac18 tory to the President, the President shall with19 draw the approval. 

20 ‘‘(D) AUDITS.—The Office of the inspector 

21 general shall provide for periodic audits of the 

22 programs administered by States and Tribal 

23 governments under this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(E) APPLICABLE LAWS.—All Federal 

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1 tion, or contracting of the programs by the 

2 Federal Emergency Management Agency under 

3 this section shall be applicable to the manage4 ment, administration, or contracting by a non5 Federal entity under this section. 

6 ‘‘(F) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

8 the inspector general of the Department of 

9 Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 

10 Committee on Homeland Security and Govern11 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

12 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

13 House of Representatives on the State or Tribal 

14 government’s role to provide assistance under 

15 this section. The report shall contain an assess16 ment of the effectiveness of the State or Tribal 

17 government’s role to provide assistance under 

18 this section, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) whether the State or Tribal gov20 ernment’s role helped to improve the gen21 eral speed of disaster recovery; 

22 ‘‘(ii) whether the State or Tribal gov23 ernment providing assistance under this 

24 section had the capacity to administer this 

25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) recommendations for changes to 

2 improve the program if the State or Tribal 

3 government’s role to administer the pro4 grams should be continued. 

5 ‘‘(G) PROHIBITION.—The President may 

6 not condition the provision of Federal assist7 ance under this Act by a State or Tribal gov8 ernment requesting a grant under this section. 

9 ‘‘(H) MISCELLANEOUS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The 

11 Administrator may waive notice and com12 ment rulemaking, if the Administrator de13 termines doing so is necessary to expedi14 tiously implement this section, and may 

15 carry out this section as a pilot program 

16 until such regulations are promulgated. 

17 ‘‘(ii) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 2 

18 years after the date of enactment of this 

19 paragraph, the Administrator shall issue 

20 final regulations to implement this sub21 section as amended by the Disaster Recov22 ery Reform Act. 

23 ‘‘(iii) WAIVER AND EXPIRATION.—The 

24 authority under clause (i) and any pilot 

25 program implemented pursuant to such 


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1 clause shall expire 2 years after the date of 

2 enactment of this paragraph or upon 

3 issuance of final regulations pursuant to 

4 clause (ii), whichever occurs sooner.’’. 

5 SEC. 611. ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS. 

6 Section 408(h) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

7 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(h)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, excluding 

10 financial assistance to rent alternate housing accom11 modations under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) and finan12 cial assistance to address other needs under sub13 section (e)’’ after ‘‘disaster’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para15 graph (3); 

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(2) OTHER NEEDS ASSISTANCE.—The max19 imum financial assistance any individual or house20 hold may receive under subsection (e) shall be equiv21 alent to the amount set forth in paragraph (1) with 

22 respect to a single major disaster.’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by 

24 striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 

25 (1) and (2)’’; and 


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1 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as so re2 designated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) EXCLUSION OF NECESSARY EXPENSES FOR

4 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) The maximum amount of assistance 

6 established under paragraph (1) shall exclude 

7 expenses to repair or replace damaged accessi8 bility-related improvements under paragraphs 

9 (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (c) for individ10 uals with disabilities. 

11 ‘‘(B) The maximum amount of assistance 

12 established under paragraph (2) shall exclude 

13 expenses to repair or replace accessibility-re14 lated personal property under subsection (e)(2) 

15 for individuals with disabilities.’’. 

16 SEC. 612. MULTIFAMILY LEASE AND REPAIR ASSISTANCE. 

17 (a) LEASE AND REPAIR OF RENTAL UNITS FOR

18 TEMPORARY HOUSING.—Section 408(c)(1)(B)(ii)(II) of 

19 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As20 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(c)(1)(B)(ii)(II)) is amended 

21 to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(II) IMPROVEMENTS OR RE23 PAIRS.—Under the terms of any lease 

24 agreement for property entered into 

25 under this subsection, the value of the 


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1 improvements or repairs shall be de2 ducted from the value of the lease 

3 agreement.’’. 

4 (b) RENTAL PROPERTIES IMPACTED.—Section 

5 408(c)(1)(B)(ii)(I)(aa) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

6 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 5174(c)(1)(B)(ii)(I)(aa)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(aa) enter into lease agree9 ments with owners of multifamily 

10 rental property impacted by a 

11 major disaster or located in areas 

12 covered by a major disaster dec13 laration to house individuals and 

14 households eligible for assistance 

15 under this section; and’’. 

16 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 

17 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security 

19 shall assess the use of the authority provided under section 

20 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 5174(c)(1)(B)), including the adequacy of any benefit-cost 

23 analysis done to justify the use of this alternative, and 

24 submit a report on the results of that review to the appro25 priate committees of Congress. 


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1 SEC. 613. PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITY. 

2 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 

4 amended in paragraph (11)(B) by inserting ‘‘food banks,’’ 

5 after ‘‘shelter workshops,’’. 

6 SEC. 614. MANAGEMENT COSTS. 

7 Section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

8 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165b) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘any adminis11 trative expense, and any other expense not directly 

12 chargeable to’’ and inserting ‘‘direct administrative 

13 cost, and any other administrative expense associ14 ated with’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and inserting 

20 the following: ‘‘implement’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Ad23 ministrator shall provide the following percentage 

24 rates, in addition to the eligible project costs, to 

25 cover direct and indirect costs of administering the 

26 following programs: 


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1 ‘‘(A) HAZARD MITIGATION.—A grantee 

2 under section 404 may be reimbursed not more 

3 than 15 percent of the total amount of the 

4 grant award under such section of which not 

5 more than 10 percent may be used by the 

6 grantee and 5 percent by the subgrantee for 

7 such costs. 

8 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—A grantee 

9 under sections 403, 406, 407, and 502 may be 

10 reimbursed not more than 12 percent of the 

11 total award amount under such sections, of 

12 which not more than 7 percent may be used by 

13 the grantee and 5 percent by the subgrantee for 

14 such costs.’’. 

15 SEC. 615. FLEXIBILITY. 

16 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

17 assistance’’ means assistance provided— 

18 (1) under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 

19 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 5174); and 

21 (2) in relation to a major disaster or emergency 

22 declared by the President under section 401 or 501 

23 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer24 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 U.S.C. 

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1 (b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding section 

2 3716(e) of title 31, United States Code, the Administrator 

3 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency— 

4 (1) subject to paragraph (2), may waive a debt 

5 owed to the United States related to covered assist6 ance provided to an individual or household if— 

7 (A) the covered assistance was distributed 

8 based on an error by the Federal Emergency 

9 Management Agency; 

10 (B) there was no fault on behalf of the 

11 debtor; and 

12 (C) the collection of the debt would be 

13 against equity and good conscience; and 

14 (2) may not waive a debt under paragraph (1) 

15 if the debt involves fraud, the presentation of a false 

16 claim, or misrepresentation by the debtor or any 

17 party having an interest in the claim. 

18 (c) MONITORING OF COVERED ASSISTANCE DISTRIB19 UTED BASED ON ERROR.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The inspector general of the 

21 Department of Homeland Security shall monitor the 

22 distribution of covered assistance to individuals and 

23 households to determine the percentage of such as24 sistance distributed based on an error. 


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1 (2) REMOVAL OF WAIVER AUTHORITY BASED

2 ON EXCESSIVE ERROR RATE.—If the inspector gen3 eral determines, with respect to any 12-month pe4 riod, that the amount of covered assistance distrib5 uted based on an error by the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency exceeds 4 percent of the total 

7 amount of covered assistance distributed— 

8 (A) the inspector general shall notify the 

9 Administrator and publish the determination in 

10 the Federal Register; and 

11 (B) with respect to any major disaster or 

12 emergency declared by the President under sec13 tion 401 or section 501, respectively, of the 

14 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer15 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 

16 U.S.C. 5191) after the date on which the deter17 mination is published under subparagraph (A), 

18 the authority of the Administrator to waive 

19 debt under subsection (b) shall no longer be ef20 fective. 

21 SEC. 616. ADDITIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) DISASTER MITIGATION.—Section 209 of the Pub23 lic Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 

24 U.S.C. 3149) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e) DISASTER MITIGATION.—In providing assist2 ance pursuant to subsection (c)(2), if appropriate and as 

3 applicable, the Secretary may encourage hazard mitigation 

4 in assistance provided pursuant to such subsection.’’. 

5 (b) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COM6 PACT GRANTS.—Section 661(d) of the Post-Katrina 

7 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

8 761(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 2008’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’. 

10 (c) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE

11 GRANTS PROGRAM.—Section 662(f) of the Post-Katrina 

12 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

13 762(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘the program’’ and all that 

14 follows through ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘the program, for 

15 each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’. 

16 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 403(a)(3) of 

17 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As18 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)(3)) is amended by strik19 ing the second subparagraph (J). 

20 SEC. 617. NATIONAL VETERINARY EMERGENCY TEAMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 

22 Emergency Management Agency may establish one or 

23 more national veterinary emergency teams at accredited 

24 colleges of veterinary medicine. 


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1 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A national veterinary emer2 gency team shall— 

3 (1) deploy with a team of the National Urban 

4 Search and Rescue Response System to assist 

5 with— 

6 (A) veterinary care of canine search teams; 

7 (B) locating and treating companion ani8 mals, service animals, livestock, and other ani9 mals; and 

10 (C) surveillance and treatment of zoonotic 

11 diseases; 

12 (2) recruit, train, and certify veterinary profes13 sionals, including veterinary students, in accordance 

14 with an established set of plans and standard oper15 ating guidelines to carry out the duties associated 

16 with planning for and responding to emergencies as 

17 described in paragraph (1); 

18 (3) assist State, Tribal, and local governments 

19 and nonprofit organizations in developing emergency 

20 management and evacuation plans that account for 

21 the care and rescue of animals and in improving 

22 local readiness for providing veterinary medical re23 sponse during a disaster; and 

24 (4) coordinate with the Department of Home25 land Security, the Department of Health and 


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1 Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, 

2 State, Tribal, and local governments (including de3 partments of animal and human health), veterinary 

4 and health care professionals, and volunteers. 

5 SEC. 618. RIGHT OF ARBITRATION. 

6 Section 423 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) RIGHT OF ARBITRATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding this sec11 tion, an applicant for assistance under this title may 

12 request arbitration to dispute the eligibility for as13 sistance or repayment of assistance provided for a 

14 project of more than $100,000 for any disaster that 

15 occurred after January 1, 2016. Such arbitration 

16 shall be conducted de novo by the Civilian Board of 

17 Contract Appeals and the decision of such Board 

18 shall be binding. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To participate in arbitra20 tion under this subsection, an applicant— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall submit the dispute to the arbi22 tration process established under the authority 

23 granted under section 601 of Public Law 111– 

24 5; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may submit a request for arbitration 

2 in lieu of an appeal under subsection (a) at any 

3 time before the Administrator of FEMA has 

4 issued a final agency determination.’’. 

5 SEC. 619. UNIFIED FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND HIS6 TORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW. 

7 (a) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis9 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

10 shall review the Unified Federal Environmental and His11 toric Preservation review process established pursuant to 

12 section 429 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

13 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189g), and submit 

14 a report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra15 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

17 of the Senate that includes the following: 

18 (1) An analysis of whether and how the unified 

19 process has expedited the interagency review process 

20 to ensure compliance with the environmental and 

21 historic requirements under Federal law relating to 

22 disaster recovery projects. 

23 (2) A survey and analysis of categorical exclu24 sions used by other Federal agencies that may be 

25 applicable to any activity related to a Presidentially 


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1 declared major disaster or emergency under such 

2 Act. 

3 (3) Recommendations on any further actions, 

4 including any legislative proposals, needed to expe5 dite and streamline the review process. 

6 (b) REGULATIONS.—After completing the review, 

7 survey, and analyses under subsection (a), but not later 

8 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

9 after providing notice and opportunity for public comment, 

10 the Administrator shall issue regulations to implement any 

11 regulatory recommendations, including any categorical ex12 clusions identified under subsection (a), to the extent that 

13 the categorical exclusions meet the criteria for a categor14 ical exclusion under section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations, and section II of DHS Instruction 

16 Manual 023–01–001–01. 

17 SEC. 620. CLOSEOUT INCENTIVES. 

18 (a) FACILITATING CLOSEOUT.—Section 705 of the 

19 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist20 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) FACILITATING CLOSEOUT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) INCENTIVES.—The Administrator may de24 velop incentives and penalties that encourage State, 

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1 tures and activities on a timely basis related to dis2 aster or emergency assistance. 

3 ‘‘(2) AGENCY REQUIREMENTS.—The Agency 

4 shall, consistent with applicable regulations and re5 quired procedures, meet its responsibilities to im6 prove closeout practices and reduce the time to close 

7 disaster program awards.’’. 

8 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue 

9 regulations to implement this section. 

10 SEC. 621. PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES. 

11 Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

12 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

15 Management Agency is authorized to appoint temporary 

16 personnel, after serving continuously for 3 years, to posi17 tions in the Agency in the same manner that competitive 

18 service employees with competitive status are considered 

19 for transfer, reassignment, or promotion to such positions. 

20 An individual appointed under this subsection shall be21 come a career-conditional employee, unless the employee 

22 has already completed the service requirements for career 

23 tenure.’’. 


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1 SEC. 622. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE IN2 FORMATION COLLECTION. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

5 Management Agency shall— 

6 (1) in coordination with the Small Business Ad7 ministration, the Department of Housing and Urban 

8 Development, the Disaster Assistance Working 

9 Group of the Council of the Inspectors General on 

10 Integrity and Efficiency, and other appropriate 

11 agencies, conduct a study and develop a plan, con12 sistent with law, under which the collection of infor13 mation from disaster assistance applicants and 

14 grantees will be modified, streamlined, expedited, ef15 ficient, flexible, consolidated, and simplified to be 

16 less burdensome, duplicative, and time consuming 

17 for applicants and grantees; 

18 (2) in coordination with the Small Business Ad19 ministration, the Department of Housing and Urban 

20 Development, the Disaster Assistance Working 

21 Group of the Council of the Inspectors General on 

22 Integrity and Efficiency, and other appropriate 

23 agencies, develop a plan for the regular collection 

24 and reporting of information on Federal disaster as25 sistance awarded, including the establishment and 


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1 maintenance of a website for presenting the informa2 tion to the public; and 

3 (3) submit the plans to the Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

6 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 623. AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY. 

8 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

9 Emergency Assistance Act is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 430. AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY. 

12 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 5 days 

13 after an award of a public assistance grant is made under 

14 section 406 that is in excess of $1,000,000, the Adminis15 trator shall publish on the Agency’s website the specifics 

16 of each such grant award, including— 

17 ‘‘(1) identifying the Federal Emergency Man18 agement Agency Region; 

19 ‘‘(2) the disaster or emergency declaration 

20 number; 

21 ‘‘(3) the State, county, and applicant name; 

22 ‘‘(4) if the applicant is a private nonprofit orga23 nization; 

24 ‘‘(5) the damage category code; 


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1 ‘‘(6) the amount of the Federal share obligated; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(7) the date of the award. 

4 ‘‘(b) MISSION ASSIGNMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 days after 

6 the issuance of a mission assignment or mission as7 signment task order, the Administrator shall publish 

8 on the Agency’s website any mission assignment or 

9 mission assignment task order to another Federal 

10 department or agency regarding a major disaster in 

11 excess of $1,000,000, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) the name of the impacted State or 

13 Tribe; 

14 ‘‘(B) the disaster declaration for such 

15 State or Tribe; 

16 ‘‘(C) the assigned agency; 

17 ‘‘(D) the assistance requested; 

18 ‘‘(E) a description of the disaster; 

19 ‘‘(F) the total cost estimate; 

20 ‘‘(G) the amount obligated; 

21 ‘‘(H) the State or Tribal cost share, if ap22 plicable; 

23 ‘‘(I) the authority under which the mission 

24 assignment or mission assignment task order 

25 was directed; and 


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1 ‘‘(J) if applicable, the date a State or 

2 Tribe requested the mission assignment. 

3 ‘‘(2) RECORDING CHANGES.—Not later than 10 

4 days after the last day of each month until a mission 

5 assignment or mission assignment task order de6 scribed in paragraph (1) is completed and closed 

7 out, the Administrator shall update any changes to 

8 the total cost estimate and the amount obligated. 

9 ‘‘(c) DISASTER RELIEF MONTHLY REPORT.—Not 

10 later than 10 days after the first day of each month, the 

11 Administrator shall publish on the Agency’s website re12 ports, including a specific description of the methodology 

13 and the source data used in developing such reports, in14 cluding— 

15 ‘‘(1) an estimate of the amounts for the fiscal 

16 year covered by the President’s most recent budget 

17 pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United 

18 States Code, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the unobligated balance of funds to 

20 be carried over from the prior fiscal year to the 

21 budget year; 

22 ‘‘(B) the unobligated balance of funds to 

23 be carried over from the budget year to the 

24 budget year plus 1; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the amount of obligations for non2 catastrophic events for the budget year; 

3 ‘‘(D) the amount of obligations for the 

4 budget year for catastrophic events delineated 

5 by event and by State; 

6 ‘‘(E) the total amount that has been pre7 viously obligated or will be required for cata8 strophic events delineated by event and by State 

9 for all prior years, the current fiscal year, the 

10 budget year, and each fiscal year thereafter; 

11 ‘‘(F) the amount of previously obligated 

12 funds that will be recovered for the budget 

13 year; 

14 ‘‘(G) the amount that will be required for 

15 obligations for emergencies, as described in sec16 tion 102(1), major disasters, as described in 

17 section 102(2), fire management assistance 

18 grants, as described in section 420, surge ac19 tivities, and disaster readiness and support ac20 tivities; and 

21 ‘‘(H) the amount required for activities not 

22 covered under section 251(b)(2)(D)(iii) of the 

23 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con24 trol Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(D)(iii)); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) an estimate or actual amounts, if available, 

2 of the following for the current fiscal year shall be 

3 submitted not later than the fifth day of each 

4 month, published by the Administrator on the Agen5 cy’s website not later than the fifth day of each 

6 month: 

7 ‘‘(A) A summary of the amount of appro8 priations made available by source, the trans9 fers executed, the previously allocated funds re10 covered, and the commitments, allocations, and 

11 obligations made. 

12 ‘‘(B) A table of disaster relief activity de13 lineated by month, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) the beginning and ending bal15 ances; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the total obligations to include 

17 amounts obligated for fire assistance, 

18 emergencies, surge, and disaster support 

19 activities; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the obligations for catastrophic 

21 events delineated by event and by State; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) the amount of previously obli24 gated funds that are recovered. 


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1 ‘‘(C) A summary of allocations, obligations, 

2 and expenditures for catastrophic events delin3 eated by event. 

4 ‘‘(D) The cost of the following categories 

5 of spending: 

6 ‘‘(i) Public assistance. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Individual assistance. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Mitigation. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Administrative. 

10 ‘‘(v) Operations. 

11 ‘‘(vi) Any other relevant category (in12 cluding emergency measures and disaster 

13 resources) delineated by disaster. 

14 ‘‘(E) The date on which funds appro15 priated will be exhausted. 

16 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION.—Not later than 10 days 

18 after the first day of each month, the Administrator 

19 shall publish on the Agency’s website the specifics of 

20 each contract in excess of $1,000,000 that the Agen21 cy enters into, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) the name of the party; 

23 ‘‘(B) the date the contract was awarded; 

24 ‘‘(C) the amount and scope of the contract; 


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1 ‘‘(D) if the contract was awarded through 

2 competitive bidding process; 

3 ‘‘(E) if no competitive bidding process was 

4 used, the reason why competitive bidding was 

5 not used; and 

6 ‘‘(F) the authority used to bypass the com7 petitive bidding process. 

8 The information shall be delineated by disaster, if 

9 applicable, and specify the damage category code, if 

10 applicable. 

11 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 10 days after 

12 the last day of the fiscal year, the Administrator 

13 shall provide a report to the appropriate committees 

14 of Congress summarizing the following information 

15 for the preceding fiscal year: 

16 ‘‘(A) The number of contracts awarded 

17 without competitive bidding. 

18 ‘‘(B) The reasons why a competitive bid19 ding process was not used. 

20 ‘‘(C) The total amount of contracts award21 ed with no competitive bidding. 

22 ‘‘(D) The damage category codes, if appli23 cable, for contracts awarded without competi24 tive bidding.’’. 


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1 SEC. 624. AUDIT OF CONTRACTS. 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad3 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen4 cy shall not reimburse a State, Tribe, or local government 

5 or the owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility for 

6 any activities made pursuant to a contract entered into 

7 after August 1, 2017, that prohibits the Administrator or 

8 the Comptroller General of the United States from audit9 ing or otherwise reviewing all aspects relating to the con10 tract. 

11 SEC. 625. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT OF FEMA CON12 TRACTS FOR TARPS AND PLASTIC SHEETING. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the inspector general of the 

15 Department of Homeland Security shall initiate an audit 

16 of the contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Man17 agement Agency (in this section referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) 

18 for tarps and plastic sheeting for the Commonwealth of 

19 Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in re20 sponse to Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. 

21 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the audit 

22 under subsection (a), the inspector general shall review— 

23 (1) the contracting process used by FEMA to 

24 evaluate offerors and award the relevant contracts to 

25 contractors; 


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1 (2) FEMA’s assessment of the past perform2 ance of the contractors, including any historical in3 formation showing that the contractors had sup4 ported large-scale delivery quantities in the past; 

5 (3) FEMA’s assessment of the capacity of the 

6 contractors to carry out the relevant contracts, in7 cluding with respect to inventory, production, and fi8 nancial capabilities; 

9 (4) how FEMA ensured that the contractors 

10 met the terms of the relevant contracts; and 

11 (5) whether the failure of the contractors to 

12 meet the terms of the relevant contracts and 

13 FEMA’s subsequent cancellation of the relevant con14 tracts affected the provision of tarps and plastic 

15 sheeting to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 

16 the United States Virgin Islands. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

18 of initiation of the audit under subsection (a), the inspec19 tor general shall submit to the Committee on Transpor20 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern22 mental Affairs of the Senate a report on the results of 

23 the audit, including findings and recommendations. 


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1 SEC. 626. RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS. 

2 Section 309 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5152) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and other re6 lief or’’ and inserting ‘‘long-term recovery groups, 

7 domestic hunger relief, and other relief, or’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and other re9 lief or’’ and inserting ‘‘long-term recovery groups, 

10 domestic hunger relief, and other relief, or’’. 

11 SEC. 627. GUIDANCE ON INUNDATED AND SUBMERGED 

12 ROADS. 

13 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man14 agement Agency, in coordination with the Administrator 

15 of the Federal Highway Administration, shall develop and 

16 issue guidance for State, local, and Tribal governments 

17 regarding repair, restoration, and replacement of inun18 dated and submerged roads damaged or destroyed by a 

19 major disaster, and for associated expenses incurred by 

20 the Government, with respect to roads eligible for assist21 ance under section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

22 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172). 

23 SEC. 628. AUTHORITIES. 

24 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the non25 federally funded actions of private parties and State, local, 

26 or Tribal governments, on State, local, Tribal, and private 


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1 land, and the effects of those actions, shall not be attrib2 uted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ac3 tions under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), the Flood Disaster Protection Act 

5 of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4002 et seq.), the Biggert-Waters 

6 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (subtitle A of title 

7 II of division F of Public Law 112–141; 126 Stat. 916), 

8 and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 

9 2014 (Public Law 113–89; 128 Stat. 1020) for the pur10 poses of section 7 (16 U.S.C. 1536) and section 9 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1538) of the Endangered Species Act. Actions 

12 taken under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 

13 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, the Biggert14 Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, and the 

15 Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, 

16 that may influence private actions do not create a Federal 

17 nexus for the purpose of applying the requirements of sec18 tion 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

19 1536). 

20 SEC. 629. RECOUPMENT OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE PROHIB21 ITED. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 3716(e) 

23 of title 31, United States Code, and unless there is evi24 dence of civil or criminal fraud, the Federal Emergency 

25 Management Agency may not take any action to recoup 


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1 covered assistance from the recipient of such assistance 

2 if the receipt of such assistance occurred on a date that 

3 is more than 3 years before the date on which the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency first provides to the re5 cipient written notification of an intent to recoup. 

6 (b) COVERED ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—In this sec7 tion, the term ‘‘covered assistance’’ means assistance pro8 vided— 

9 (1) under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 

10 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 5174); and 

12 (2) in relation to a major disaster or emergency 

13 declared by the President under section 401 or 501 

14 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 U.S.C. 5191) on 

15 or after January 1, 2012. 

16 SEC. 630. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Robert T. 

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, 

23 United States Code, and except’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘report for the disaster or 

2 emergency’’ and inserting ‘‘report for project 

3 completion as certified by the grantee’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘report 

6 for the disaster or emergency’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘report for project completion as certified by 

8 the grantee’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘for 

10 project completion as certified by the grantee’’ 

11 after ‘‘final expenditure report’’. 

12 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to disaster or 

14 emergency assistance provided to a State or local 

15 government on or after January 1, 2004— 

16 (A) no administrative action may be taken 

17 to recover a payment of such assistance after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act if the action 

19 is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) of the 

20 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer21 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205(a)(1)), 

22 as amended by subsection (a); and 

23 (B) any administrative action to recover a 

24 payment of such assistance that is pending on 

25 such date of enactment shall be terminated if 


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1 the action is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) 

2 of that Act, as amended by subsection (a). 

3 (2) LIMITATION.—This section, including the 

4 amendments made by this section, may not be con5 strued to invalidate or otherwise affect any adminis6 tration action completed before the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 631. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RECOMMENDA9 TIONS. 

10 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator of 

11 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide 

12 technical assistance to a common interest community that 

13 provides essential services of a governmental nature on ac14 tions that a common interest community may take in 

15 order to be eligible to receive reimbursement from a grant16 ee that receives funds from the Agency for certain activi17 ties performed after an event that results in a disaster 

18 declaration. 

19 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

21 shall provide to the Committee on Transportation and In22 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

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1 bility for disaster assistance with respect to common areas 

2 of condominiums and housing cooperatives. 

3 SEC. 632. GUIDANCE ON HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

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

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

6 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue guid7 ance regarding the acquisition of property for open space 

8 as a mitigation measure under section 404 of the Robert 

9 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 5170c) that includes— 

11 (1) a process by which the State hazard mitiga12 tion officer appointed for such an acquisition shall, 

13 not later than 60 days after the applicant for assist14 ance enters into an agreement with the Adminis15 trator regarding the acquisition, provide written no16 tification to each affected unit of local government 

17 for such acquisition that includes— 

18 (A) the location of the acquisition; 

19 (B) the State-local assistance agreement 

20 for the hazard mitigation grant program; 

21 (C) a description of the acquisition; and 

22 (D) a copy of the deed restriction; and 

23 (2) recommendations for entering into and im24 plementing a memorandum of understanding be25 tween units of local government and covered entities 


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1 that includes provisions to allow an affected unit of 

2 local government notified under paragraph (1) to— 

3 (A) use and maintain the open space cre4 ated by such a project, consistent with section 

5 404 (including related regulations, standards, 

6 and guidance) and consistent with all adjoining 

7 property, subject to the notification of the ad8 joining property, so long as the cost of the 

9 maintenance is borne by the local government; 

10 and 

11 (B) maintain the open space pursuant to 

12 standards exceeding any local government 

13 standards defined in the agreement with the 

14 Administrator described under paragraph (1). 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi16 nitions apply: 

17 (1) AFFECTED UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN18 MENT.—The term ‘‘affected unit of local govern19 ment’’ means any entity covered by the definition of 

20 local government in section 102 of the Robert T. 

21 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), that has jurisdiction over the 

23 property subject to the acquisition described in sub24 section (a). 


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1 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en2 tity’’ means— 

3 (A) the grantee or subgrantee receiving as4 sistance for an open space project described in 

5 subsection (a); 

6 (B) the State in which such project is lo7 cated; and 

8 (C) the applicable Regional Administrator 

9 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

10 SEC. 633. LOCAL IMPACT. 

11 In making recommendations to the President regard12 ing a major disaster declaration, the Administrator of the 

13 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall give great14 er weight and consideration to severe local impact or re15 cent multiple disasters. Further, the Administrator shall 

16 make corresponding adjustments to the Agency’s policies 

17 and regulations regarding such consideration. Not later 

18 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 

19 the Administrator shall report to the Committee on Trans20 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa21 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov22 ernmental Affairs of the Senate on the changes made to 

23 regulations and policies and the number of declarations 

24 that have been declared based on the new criteria. 


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1 SEC. 634. ADDITIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION ACTIVITIES. 

2 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is fur4 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(g) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Recipients of hazard 

6 mitigation assistance provided under this section and sec7 tion 203 may use the assistance to conduct activities to 

8 help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or 

9 suffering in any area affected by earthquake hazards, in10 cluding— 

11 ‘‘(1) improvements to regional seismic networks 

12 in support of building a capability for earthquake 

13 early warning; 

14 ‘‘(2) improvements to geodetic networks in sup15 port of building a capability for earthquake early 

16 warning; and 

17 ‘‘(3) improvements to seismometers, Global Po18 sitioning System receivers, and associated infrastruc19 ture in support of building a capability for earth20 quake early warning.’’. 

21 SEC. 635. NATIONAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE 

22 PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 

23 (a) PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.—Section 

24 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer25 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘Public Infra2 structure’’ after ‘‘the National’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (e)(1)(B)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 

5 (ii); 

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

7 clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(iv) to establish and carry out en10 forcement activities to implement the latest 

11 published editions of relevant consensus12 based codes, specifications, and standards 

13 that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant 

14 designs and establish minimum acceptable 

15 criteria for the design, construction, and 

16 maintenance of residential structures and 

17 facilities that may be eligible for assistance 

18 under this Act for the purpose of pro19 tecting the health, safety, and general wel20 fare of the buildings’ users against disas21 ters.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (f)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘for 

24 mitigation activities that are cost effective’’ 

25 after ‘‘competitive basis’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) REDISTRIBUTION OF UNOBLIGATED

3 AMOUNTS.—The President may— 

4 ‘‘(A) withdraw amounts of financial assist5 ance made available to a State (including 

6 amounts made available to local governments of 

7 a State) under this subsection that remain un8 obligated by the end of the third fiscal year 

9 after the fiscal year for which the amounts were 

10 allocated; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the fiscal year following a fiscal 

12 year in which amounts were withdrawn under 

13 subparagraph (A), add the amounts to any 

14 other amounts available to be awarded on a 

15 competitive basis pursuant to paragraph (1).’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (g)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 

20 paragraph (12); and 

21 (C) by adding after paragraph (9) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(10) the extent to which the State or local 

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1 sensus-based codes, specifications, and standards 

2 that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs 

3 and establish criteria for the design, construction, 

4 and maintenance of residential structures and facili5 ties that may be eligible for assistance under this 

6 Act for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, 

7 and general welfare of the buildings’ users against 

8 disasters; 

9 ‘‘(11) the extent to which the assistance will 

10 fund activities that increase the level of resiliency; 

11 and’’; 

12 (5) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

15 PREDISASTER MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may set 

17 aside from the Disaster Relief Fund, with respect to 

18 each major disaster, an amount equal to 6 percent 

19 of the estimated aggregate amount of the grants to 

20 be made pursuant to sections 403, 406, 407, 408, 

21 410, and 416 for the major disaster in order to pro22 vide technical and financial assistance under this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(2) ESTIMATED AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—Not 

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1 laration pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggre2 gate amount of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) 

3 shall be determined by the President and such esti4 mated amount need not be reduced, increased, or 

5 changed due to variations in estimates. 

6 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The 

7 amount set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

8 not reduce the amounts otherwise made available for 

9 sections 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, and 416 

10 under this Act.’’; and 

11 (6) by striking subsections (j) and (m) and re12 designating subsections (k), (l), and (n) as sub13 sections (j), (k), and (l), respectively. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made to sec15 tion 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

16 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) by para17 graphs (3) and (5) of subsection (a) shall apply to funds 

18 appropriated after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 636. ADDITIONAL MITIGATION ACTIVITIES. 

20 (a) HAZARD MITIGATION CLARIFICATION.—Section 

21 404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

22 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is 

23 amended by striking the first sentence and inserting the 

24 following: ‘‘The President may contribute up to 75 percent 

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1 dent has determined are cost effective and which substan2 tially reduce the risk of, or increase resilience to, future 

3 damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected 

4 by a major disaster.’’. 

5 (b) ELIGIBLE COST.—Section 406(e)(1)(A) of such 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)(1)(A)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by insert8 ing after ‘‘section,’’ the following: ‘‘for disasters de9 clared on or after August 1, 2017, or a disaster in 

10 which a cost estimate has not yet been finalized for 

11 a project,’’; 

12 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

13 (3) in clause (ii)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘codes, specifications, and 

15 standards’’ and inserting ‘‘the latest published 

16 editions of relevant consensus-based codes, 

17 specifications, and standards that incorporate 

18 the latest hazard-resistant designs and establish 

19 minimum acceptable criteria for the design, 

20 construction, and maintenance of residential 

21 structures and facilities that may be eligible for 

22 assistance under this Act for the purposes of 

23 protecting the health, safety, and general wel24 fare of a facility’s users against disasters’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘applicable at the time at 

2 which the disaster occurred’’; and 

3 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(iii) in a manner that allows the fa7 cility to meet the definition of resilient de8 veloped pursuant to this subsection.’’. 

9 (c) OTHER ELIGIBLE COST.—Section 406(e)(1) of 

10 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)(1)) is further amended by 

11 inserting at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Contributions for 

13 the eligible cost made under this section may be 

14 provided on an actual cost basis or on cost-esti15 mation procedures.’’. 

16 (d) NEW RULES.—Section 406(e) of such Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 5172(e)) is further amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) NEW RULES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

21 months after the date of enactment of this 

22 paragraph, the President, acting through the 

23 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man24 agement Agency, shall issue a final rulemaking 


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1 that defines the terms ‘resilient’ and ‘resiliency’ 

2 for purposes of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) INTERIM GUIDANCE.—Not later than 

4 60 days after the date of enactment of this 

5 paragraph, the Administrator shall issue in6 terim guidance to implement this subsection. 

7 Such interim guidance shall expire 18 months 

8 after the date of enactment of this paragraph 

9 or upon issuance of final regulations pursuant 

10 to subparagraph (A), whichever occurs first. 

11 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date on which the Administrator 

13 issues the final rulemaking under this para14 graph, the Administrator shall issue any nec15 essary guidance related to the rulemaking. 

16 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

18 the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

19 report summarizing the regulations and guid20 ance issued pursuant to this paragraph.’’. 

21 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 205(d)(2) 

22 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106– 

23 390) is amended by inserting ‘‘(B)’’ after ‘‘except that 

24 paragraph (1)’’. 


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1 SEC. 637. ELIGIBILITY FOR CODE IMPLEMENTATION AND 

2 ENFORCEMENT. 

3 Section 402 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

4 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a) is 

5 amended— 

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

7 (4); 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para9 graph (6); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(5) provide assistance to State and local gov13 ernments for building code and floodplain manage14 ment ordinance administration and enforcement, in15 cluding inspections for substantial damage compli16 ance.’’. 

17 SEC. 638. GAO REPORT ON LONG-TERM RECOVERY EF18 FORTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

21 shall submit to Congress a report on long-term recovery 

22 efforts following Hurricane Andrew, the attacks of Sep23 tember 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and 

24 Hurricane Sandy. 

25 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report shall contain 

26 the following: 


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1 (1) Information on defining a long-term recov2 ery, the stages of a long-term recovery, and the 

3 transition from Federal Government management of 

4 long-term recovery efforts to State and local leader5 ship. 

6 (2) An assessment of the personnel needed, and 

7 the types of expertise or certifications required to ac8 complish the administration and management of re9 covery efforts for each of the disasters described in 

10 subsection (a). 

11 (3) An analysis of the success and efficiency of 

12 the long-term disaster recovery, and best practices 

13 learned that may be applied to future long-term dis14 aster recovery plans. 

15 (4) Recommendations of the Comptroller Gen16 eral for what should be defined as a long-term dis17 aster recovery project using existing authority and 

18 responsibility of the Federal Emergency Manage19 ment Agency (FEMA) to advise and make rec20 ommendations to the President regarding Presi21 dential Disaster Declarations. 

22 (5) Recommendations of FEMA on the capacity 

23 and competence of FEMA to manage multiple major 

24 Presidential Disaster Declarations simultaneously of 

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1 scribed in subsection (a) occurring within weeks of 

2 each other. 

3 SEC. 639. GUIDANCE AND TRAINING BY FEMA ON COORDI4 NATION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS. 

5 (a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator of 

6 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide 

7 guidance and training on an annual basis to State, local, 

8 and Tribal governments, first responders, and facilities 

9 that store hazardous materials on coordination of emer10 gency response plans in the event of a major disaster or 

11 emergency, including severe weather events. The guidance 

12 and training shall include the following: 

13 (1) Providing a list of equipment required in 

14 the event a hazardous substance is released into the 

15 environment. 

16 (2) Outlining the health risks associated with 

17 exposure to hazardous substances to improve treat18 ment response. 

19 (3) Publishing best practices for mitigating fur20 ther danger to communities from hazardous sub21 stances. 

22 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The requirement of sub23 section (a) shall be implemented not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 640. REIMBURSEMENT. 

2 The Federal Emergency Management Agency 

3 (FEMA) shall retroactively reimburse State and local 

4 units of government (for a period of 3 years after the dec5 laration of a major disaster under section 401 of the Rob6 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170)) upon determination that a locally8 implemented housing solution, implemented by State or 

9 local units of government, costs 50 percent of comparable 

10 FEMA solution or whatever the locally-implemented solu11 tion costs, whichever is lower. 

12 SEC. 641. FLOOD INSURANCE. 

13 Section 406(d)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

14 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 5172(d)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: ‘‘This section shall not apply to more than one 

17 building of a multi-structure educational, law enforcement, 

18 correctional, fire, or medical campus, effective January 1, 

19 2016.’’. 

20 SEC. 642. CERTAIN RECOUPMENT PROHIBITED. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

23 shall deem any covered disaster assistance to have been 

24 properly procured, provided, and utilized, and shall restore 

25 any funding of covered disaster assistance previously pro26 vided but subsequently withdrawn or deobligated. 


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1 (b) COVERED DISASTER ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—In 

2 this section, the term ‘‘covered disaster assistance’’ means 

3 assistance— 

4 (1) provided to a local government pursuant to 

5 section 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 

6 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, or 5173); and 

8 (2) with respect to which, the Inspector General 

9 of the Department of Homeland Security has deter10 mined, after an audit, that— 

11 (A) the Federal Emergency Management 

12 Agency deployed to the local government a 

13 Technical Assistance Contractor to review field 

14 operations, provide eligibility advice, and assist 

15 with day-to-day decisions; 

16 (B) the Technical Assistance Contractor 

17 provided inaccurate information to the local 

18 government; and 

19 (C) the local government relied on the in20 accurate information to determine that relevant 

21 contracts were eligible, reasonable, and reim22 bursable. 


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1 TITLE VII—FLIGHT R&D ACT 

2 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

3 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘FAA Leadership in 

5 Groundbreaking High-Tech Research and Development 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘FLIGHT R&D Act’’. 

7 SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

9 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

11 Aviation Administration. 

12 (2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed13 eral Aviation Administration. 

14 (3) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

16 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Transportation. 

18 SEC. 703. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 48102(a) of title 49, 

20 United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1) by strik22 ing ‘‘and, for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

23 2015, under subsection (g)’’; 

24 (2) at the end of paragraph (9), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking paragraph (10) and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(10) for fiscal year 2018, $181,000,000, in4 cluding— 

5 ‘‘(A) $128,500,000 for Safety Research 

6 and Development programs, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

8 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

9 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

10 Safety; 

11 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

12 Safety; 

13 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

14 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

15 Prevention Research; 

16 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

17 Integration Human Factors; 

18 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

19 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

20 Operations Human Factors; 

21 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

22 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

23 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

24 Research; 


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1 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

2 General Aviation; 

3 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop4 ment Office; 

5 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca6 tions ATS Research Program; 

7 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro8 gram; 

9 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

10 Program; 

11 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

12 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

13 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

14 Research Program; 

15 ‘‘(B) $26,000,000 for Economic Competi16 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

17 including— 

18 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

19 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

20 Human Factors; 

21 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

22 in the Cockpit; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor24 tation Safety; 


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1 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 for Environmental Sus2 tainability Research and Development pro3 grams, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re6 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

7 Metrics; and 

8 ‘‘(D) $6,500,000 for Mission Support pro9 grams, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

11 Management; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

13 Center Laboratory Facility; 

14 ‘‘(11) for fiscal year 2019, $186,000,000, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(A) $131,000,000 for Safety Research 

17 and Development programs, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

19 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

20 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

21 Safety; 

22 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

23 Safety; 

24 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

2 Prevention Research; 

3 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

4 Integration Human Factors; 

5 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

6 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

7 Operations Human Factors; 

8 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

9 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

10 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

11 Research; 

12 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

13 General Aviation; 

14 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop15 ment Office; 

16 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca17 tions ATS Research Program; 

18 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro19 gram; 

20 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

21 Program; 

22 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

23 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

24 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

25 Research Program; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $28,000,000 for Economic Competi2 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

3 including— 

4 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

5 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

6 Human Factors; 

7 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

8 in the Cockpit; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor10 tation Safety; 

11 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 for Environmental Sus12 tainability Research and Development pro13 grams, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re16 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

17 Metrics; and 

18 ‘‘(D) $7,000,000 for Mission Support pro19 grams, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

21 Management; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

23 Center Laboratory Facility; 

24 ‘‘(12) for fiscal year 2020, $190,000,000, in25 cluding— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $133,500,000 for Safety Research 

2 and Development programs, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

4 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

5 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

6 Safety; 

7 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

8 Safety; 

9 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

10 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

11 Prevention Research; 

12 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

13 Integration Human Factors; 

14 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

15 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

16 Operations Human Factors; 

17 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

18 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

19 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

20 Research; 

21 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

22 General Aviation; 

23 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop24 ment Office; 


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1 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca2 tions ATS Research Program; 

3 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro4 gram; 

5 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

6 Program; 

7 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

8 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

9 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

10 Research Program; 

11 ‘‘(B) $29,000,000 for Economic Competi12 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

13 including— 

14 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

15 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

16 Human Factors; 

17 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

18 in the Cockpit; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor20 tation Safety; 

21 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 for Environmental Sus22 tainability Research and Development pro23 grams, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re2 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

3 Metrics; and 

4 ‘‘(D) $7,500,000 for Mission Support pro5 grams, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

7 Management; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

9 Center Laboratory Facility; 

10 ‘‘(13) for fiscal year 2021, $195,000,000; 

11 ‘‘(14) for fiscal year 2022, $200,000,000; and 

12 ‘‘(15) for fiscal year 2023, $204,000,000.’’. 

13 (b) ANNUAL SUBMISSION OF THE NATIONAL AVIA14 TION RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 48102(g) of title 49, 

15 United States, Code, is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL SUBMISSION OF THE NATIONAL AVIA17 TION RESEARCH PLAN.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

18 no funds are authorized to be appropriated for the Office 

19 of the Administrator for a fiscal year unless the Secretary 

20 has submitted the national aviation research plan to Con21 gress no later than the date of submission of the Presi22 dent’s budget request to Congress for that fiscal year, as 

23 required under section 44501(c).’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—FAA Research and 

2 Development Organization 

3 SEC. 711. ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR RESEARCH AND 

4 DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 3 months after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

7 appoint an Associate Administrator for Research and De8 velopment. 

9 (b) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—The Associate 

10 Administrator for Research and Development shall be a 

11 Senior Executive Service position. 

12 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Associate Adminis13 trator for Research and Development shall, at a minimum, 

14 be responsible for— 

15 (1) management and oversight of all the FAA’s 

16 research and development programs and activities; 

17 and 

18 (2) production of all congressional reports from 

19 the FAA relevant to research and development, in20 cluding the national aviation research plan required 

21 under section 44501(c) of title 49, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (d) DUAL APPOINTMENT.—The Associate Adminis24 trator for Research and Development may be a dual-apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00492 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 pointment, holding the responsibilities of another Asso2 ciate Administrator. 

3 SEC. 712. RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

4 (a) ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 

5 44508(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amend6 ed to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) provide advice and recommendations to 

8 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis9 tration and Congress about needs, objectives, plans, 

10 approaches, content, and accomplishments of all 

11 aviation research and development activities and 

12 programs carried out, including those under sections 

13 40119, 44504, 44505, 44507, 44511–44513, and 

14 44912 of this title;’’. 

15 (b) WRITTEN REPLY TO RESEARCH ADVISORY COM16 MITTEE.—Section 44508 of title 49, United States Code, 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(f) WRITTEN REPLY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

20 after receiving any recommendation from the re21 search advisory committee, the Administrator shall 

22 provide a written reply to the research advisory com23 mittee that, at a minimum— 

24 ‘‘(A) clearly states whether the Adminis25 trator accepts or rejects the recommendations; 


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1 ‘‘(B) explains the rationale for the Admin2 istrator’s decision; 

3 ‘‘(C) sets forth the timeframe in which the 

4 Administrator will implement the recommenda5 tion; and 

6 ‘‘(D) describes the steps the Administrator 

7 will take to implement the recommendation. 

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSPARENCY.—The written reply to the 

9 research advisory committee, when transmitted to 

10 the research advisory committee, shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) made publicly available on the re12 search advisory committee website; and 

13 ‘‘(B) transmitted to the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

15 Representatives and the Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen17 ate. 

18 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL AVIATION RESEARCH PLAN.— 

19 The national aviation research plan required under 

20 section 44501(c) shall include a summary of all re21 search advisory committee recommendations and a 

22 description of the status of their implementation.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Unmanned Aircraft 

2 Systems 

3 SEC. 721. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND 

4 DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP. 

5 No funds are authorized to be appropriated for the 

6 Office of the Administrator for a fiscal year unless the 

7 Secretary has submitted the unmanned aircraft systems 

8 roadmap to Congress on an annual basis as required 

9 under section 45502(a) of title 49, United States Code, 

10 (as added by this Act). 

11 SEC. 722. PROBABILISTIC METRICS FOR EXEMPTIONS. 

12 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall commis14 sion an independent study to— 

15 (1) develop parameters to conduct research and 

16 development for probabilistic metrics to enable the 

17 identification of hazards and the assessment of risks 

18 as necessary to make determinations under section 

19 45505(a) of title 49, United States Code, (as added 

20 by this Act) that certain unmanned aircraft systems 

21 may operate safely in the national airspace system; 

22 (2) identify additional research needed to more 

23 effectively develop and use such metrics and make 

24 such determinations; and 


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1 (3) in developing parameters for probabilistic 

2 metrics, this study shall take into account the utility 

3 of performance standards to make determinations 

4 under section 45505(a) of title 49, United States 

5 Code, (as added by this Act). 

6 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RESULTS.—The Adminis7 trator shall consider the results of the study conducted 

8 under subsection (a) when making a determination de9 scribed in subsection (a)(1). 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

12 the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) 

13 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com15 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

16 SEC. 723. PROBABILISTIC ASSESSMENT OF RISKS. 

17 The Administrator shall conduct research and devel18 opment to enable a probabilistic assessment of risks to in19 form requirements for standards for operational certifi20 cation of public unmanned aircraft systems in the national 

21 airspace. 

22 SEC. 724. UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE-MANNED AIRCRAFT 

23 COLLISION RESEARCH. 

24 (a) RESEARCH.—The Administrator shall coordinate 

25 with NASA to conduct comprehensive testing of unVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00496 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 manned aerial vehicles colliding with a manned aircraft, 

2 including— 

3 (1) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

4 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

5 commercial jet airliners of various sizes, traveling at 

6 various speeds; 

7 (2) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

8 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and pro9 peller planes of various sizes, traveling at various 

10 speeds; 

11 (3) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

12 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

13 blimps of various sizes, traveling at various speeds; 

14 (4) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

15 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

16 rotorcraft of various sizes, traveling at various 

17 speeds; and 

18 (5) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

19 and various parts of the aforementioned aircraft, in20 cluding— 

21 (A) windshields; 

22 (B) noses; 

23 (C) engines; 

24 (D) radomes; 

25 (E) propellers; and 


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1 (F) wings. 

2 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

4 a report summarizing the costs and results of research 

5 under this section to the Committee on Science, Space, 

6 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

8 the Senate. 

9 SEC. 725. SPECIAL RULE FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT. 

11 Except as necessary to support enforcement action 

12 under applicable provisions of law against persons oper13 ating unmanned aircraft in a manner that endangers the 

14 safety of the national airspace system, notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law relating to the incorporation 

16 of unmanned aircraft systems into FAA plans and policies, 

17 the Administrator may not promulgate any rule or regula18 tion regarding the operation of an unmanned aircraft sys19 tem— 

20 (1) that is flown strictly for research and devel21 opment use; 

22 (2) that is operated less than 400 feet above 

23 the ground and in Class G airspace; 


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1 (3) that is operated in a manner that does not 

2 interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft; 

3 and 

4 (4) when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the 

5 operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator 

6 and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air 

7 traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior 

8 notice of the operation (unmanned aircraft operators 

9 flying from a permanent location within 5 miles of 

10 an airport should establish a mutually-agreed upon 

11 operating procedure with the airport operator and 

12 the airport air traffic control tower (when an air 

13 traffic facility is located at the airport)). 

14 SEC. 726. BEYOND LINE-OF-SIGHT RESEARCH AND DEVEL15 OPMENT. 

16 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 332(c)(2) the FAA 

17 Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 

18 note) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Administrator shall’’ and in20 serting ‘‘Administrator’’; 

21 (2) at the beginning of each of subparagraphs 

22 (A) through (F), by inserting ‘‘shall’’; 

23 (3) at the end of subparagraph (E), by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’; 


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1 (4) at the end of subparagraph (F), by striking 

2 the period and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub4 paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(G) shall allow beyond line-of-sight oper6 ation of unmanned aircraft systems to be flown 

7 within the boundaries of a test range estab8 lished under this subsection; 

9 ‘‘(H) may promulgate regulations gov10 erning beyond line-of-sight operation of un11 manned aircraft systems flown within the 

12 boundaries of a test range established under 

13 this subsection for the purposes of public safe14 ty; and 

15 ‘‘(I) shall allow NASA to authorize oper16 ation of beyond line-of-sight unmanned aircraft 

17 systems within the boundaries of any NASA 

18 center or facility.’’. 

19 (b) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

20 amendments made by subsection (a) shall be construed to 

21 limit the authority of the Administrator to pursue enforce22 ment action under applicable provisions of law against per23 sons operating unmanned aircraft in a manner that en24 dangers the safety of the national airspace system. 


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1 Subtitle D—Cybersecurity 

2 SEC. 731. CYBER TESTBED. 

3 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Administrator shall develop an integrated 

5 Cyber Testbed for research, development, evaluation, and 

6 validation of air traffic control modernization programs or 

7 technologies, before they enter the national airspace sys8 tem, as being compliant with FAA data security regula9 tions. The Cyber Testbed shall be part of an integrated 

10 research and development test environment capable of cre11 ating, identifying, defending, and solving cybersecurity-re12 lated problems for the national airspace system. This inte13 grated test environment shall incorporate integrated test 

14 capacities within the FAA related to the national airspace 

15 system and NextGen. 

16 SEC. 732. CABIN COMMUNICATIONS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND 

17 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS CY18 BERSECURITY VULNERABILITIES. 

19 (a) EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall evaluate 

20 and determine the research and development needs associ21 ated with cybersecurity vulnerabilities of cabin commu22 nications, entertainment, and information technology sys23 tems on civil passenger aircraft. This evaluation shall in24 clude research and development to address— 

25 (1) technical risks and vulnerabilities; 


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1 (2) potential impacts on the national airspace 

2 and public safety; and 

3 (3) identification of deficiencies in cabin-based 

4 cybersecurity. 

5 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall— 

6 (1) conduct an assessment of opportunities to 

7 cooperate with the private sector in conducting air8 craft in-cabin cybersecurity research and develop9 ment; and 

10 (2) provide recommendations to improve re11 search and development on cabin-based cybersecurity 

12 vulnerabilities. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

15 a report on the results of activities under this section to 

16 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com18 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. This 

19 report may contain classified annexes. 

20 SEC. 733. CYBERSECURITY THREAT MODELING. 

21 (a) PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con23 sult the National Institute of Standards and Tech24 nology to research and develop an internal FAA cy25 bersecurity threat modeling program to detect cyberVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 May 08, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00502 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4.PCS H4

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1 security vulnerabilities, track how those 

2 vulnerabilities might be exploited, and assess the 

3 magnitude of harm that could be caused by the ex4 ploitation of those vulnerabilities. 

5 (2) UPDATES.—This program shall be updated 

6 regularly, not less than once every 5 years. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, and within 7 days of each threat 

9 modeling program update under subsection (a)(2), the Ad10 ministrator shall transmit a report to the Committee on 

11 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate detailing the status, re14 sults, and composition of the threat modeling program. 

15 SEC. 734. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH16 NOLOGY CYBERSECURITY STANDARDS. 

17 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the FAA shall, in consultation with the Na19 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, transmit to 

20 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

23 that includes— 

24 (1) a cybersecurity standards plan to implement 

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1 visions to cybersecurity guidance documents within 

2 timeframes set by the Office of Management and 

3 Budget; and 

4 (2) an explanation of why any such rec5 ommendations are not incorporated in the plan or 

6 are not incorporated within such timeframes. 

7 SEC. 735. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH COORDINATION. 

8 The Administrator shall, where feasible, cooperate on 

9 cybersecurity research and development with other inter10 national air traffic management organizations, including 

11 the European Aviation Safety Agency, the United King12 dom Civil Aviation Authority, Nav Canada, and 

13 Airservices Australia. 

14 SEC. 736. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the FAA, in consulta18 tion with other agencies as appropriate, shall establish a 

19 research and development program to improve the cyber20 security of civil aircraft and the national airspace system. 

21 (b) PLAN.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the FAA shall de24 velop a plan for the research and development pro25 gram established under subsection (a) that contains 


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1 objectives, proposed tasks, milestones, and a 5-year 

2 budgetary profile. 

3 (2) NATIONAL ACADEMIES’ STUDY.—The Ad4 ministrator shall— 

5 (A) enter into an arrangement with the 

6 National Academies for a study of the plan de7 veloped under paragraph (1); and 

8 (B) provide the results of that study to the 

9 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

10 of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 Subtitle E—FAA Research and 

15 Development Activities 

16 SEC. 741. RESEARCH PLAN FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF 

17 NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE NATIONAL 

18 AIRSPACE SYSTEM. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with NASA, 

21 shall transmit a comprehensive research plan for the cer22 tification of new technologies into the national airspace 

23 system to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech24 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

25 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 This plan shall identify research necessary to support the 

2 certification and implementation of NextGen, including 

3 both ground and air elements, and explain the plan’s rela4 tionship to other activities and procedures required for 

5 certification and implementation of new technologies into 

6 the national airspace system. This plan shall be informed 

7 by and conform to the recommendations of the National 

8 Research Council report titled ‘‘Transformation in the 

9 Air—A Review of the FAA Research Plan’’, issued on 

10 June 8, 2015. This report shall include, at a minimum— 

11 (1) a description of the strategic and prescrip12 tive value of the research plan; 

13 (2) an explanation of the expected outcomes 

14 from executing the plan; 

15 (3) an assessment of the FAA’s plan to use re16 search and development to improve cybersecurity 

17 over the next 5 years, taking into account the cyber18 security research and development plan developed 

19 under section 736(b); 

20 (4) an assessment of the current software as21 surance practices, and the desired level or attributes 

22 to target in the software assurance program; 

23 (5) cost estimates, planned schedules, and per24 formance benchmarks, including specific tasks, mile25 stones, and timelines and including an identification 


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1 of cost and schedule reserves, for the certification of 

2 new technologies into the national airspace system, 

3 including NextGen, Automatic Dependent Surveil4 lance-Broadcast, Data Communications, National 

5 Airspace System Voice System, Collaborative Air 

6 Traffic Management Technologies, NextGen Weath7 er, and System Wide Information Management; 

8 (6) methods for integrating emerging tech9 nologies throughout NextGen’s development, certifi10 cation, and implementation process; and 

11 (7) best practices in research and development 

12 used by other organizations, such as NASA, 

13 NavCanada, and Eurocontrol. 

14 SEC. 742. AVIATION FUEL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 

15 USAGE. 

16 The Administrator may conduct or supervise re17 search, development, and service testing, currently being 

18 conducted under the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative 

19 (PAFI) unleaded avgas program, that is required to allow 

20 the use of an unleaded aviation gasoline in existing air21 craft as a replacement for leaded gasoline. 

22 SEC. 743. AIR TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE OVER OCEANS AND 

23 OTHER REMOTE LOCATIONS. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Adminis25 trator, in consultation with NASA and other relevant 


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1 agencies, shall establish a research and development pro2 gram on civilian air traffic surveillance over oceans and 

3 other remote locations. Such program shall— 

4 (1) take into account the need for international 

5 interoperability of technologies and air traffic control 

6 systems; and 

7 (2) recognize that Automatic Dependent Sur8 veillance-Broadcast (ADS–B) is an element of the 

9 Next Generation Air Transportation System. 

10 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall es11 tablish a pilot program to test, evaluate, and certify for 

12 integration into the national airspace system air traffic 

13 surveillance equipment for oceans and other remote loca14 tions. 

15 (c) PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIVATE INDUSTRY.—The 

16 Administrator shall partner with private industry on the 

17 research, development, testing, and evaluation under this 

18 section. 

19 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

21 transmit a report on activities under this section to the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com24 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 744. SINGLE-PILOTED COMMERCIAL CARGO AIR2 CRAFT. 

3 (a) PROGRAM.—The FAA, in consultation with 

4 NASA and other relevant agencies, shall establish a re5 search and development program in support of single-pi6 loted cargo aircraft assisted with remote piloting and com7 puter piloting. 

8 (b) REVIEW.—The FAA, in consultation with NASA, 

9 shall conduct a review of FAA research and development 

10 activities in support of single-piloted cargo aircraft as11 sisted with remote piloting and computer piloting. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

14 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech15 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 that describes— 

18 (1) the program established under subsection 

19 (a); and 

20 (2) the results of the review conducted under 

21 subsection (b). 

22 SEC. 745. ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM RESEARCH AND 

23 DEVELOPMENT. 

24 The Administrator shall develop a program to re25 search the use of spectrum in the civil aviation domain, 


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1 including aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems. This 

2 research shall, at a minimum, address— 

3 (1) how, operating within an Unmanned Air4 craft System Traffic Management system, un5 manned aircraft systems can safely use, for control 

6 link, tracking, diagnostics, payload communication, 

7 collaborative-collision avoidance (e.g. vehicle-to-vehi8 cle communications), and other purposes— 

9 (A) aviation-protected spectrum; 

10 (B) commercial communications networks, 

11 such as mobile communications networks; and 

12 (C) any other licensed or unlicensed spec13 trum; 

14 (2) how the reallocation of spectrum assigned 

15 for use within frequency bands adjacent to those al16 located for position, navigation, and timing may im17 pact the safety of civil aviation; and 

18 (3) measures to protect and mitigate against 

19 spectrum interference in frequency bands used by 

20 the civil aviation community to ensure public safety. 


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1 TITLE VIII—AVIATION REVENUE 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 801. EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY FROM AIRPORT AND 

4 AIRWAY TRUST FUND. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9502(d)(1) of the Inter6 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

7 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

8 by striking ‘‘October 1, 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘Octo9 ber 1, 2023’’; and 

10 (2) in subparagraph (A) by striking the semi11 colon at the end and inserting ‘‘or the FAA Reau12 thorization Act of 2018;’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9502(e)(2) 

14 of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2018’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2023’’. 

16 SEC. 802. EXTENSION OF TAXES FUNDING AIRPORT AND 

17 AIRWAY TRUST FUND. 

18 (a) FUEL TAXES.—Section 4081(d)(2)(B) of the In19 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘Sep20 tember 30, 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2023’’. 

21 (b) TICKET TAXES.— 

22 (1) PERSONS.—Section 4261(k)(1)(A)(ii) of 

23 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

24 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2023’’. 


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1 (2) PROPERTY.—Section 4271(d)(1)(A)(ii) of 

2 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

3 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2023’’. 

4 (c) FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP PROGRAMS.— 

5 (1) FUEL TAX.—Section 4043(d) of such Code 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2021’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘September 30, 2023’’. 

8 (2) TREATMENT AS NONCOMMERCIAL AVIA9 TION.—Section 4083(b) of such Code is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘October 1, 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘October 

11 1, 2023’’. 

12 (3) EXEMPTION FROM TICKET TAXES.—Section 

13 4261(j) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘Sep14 tember 30, 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

15 2023’’. 

16 TITLE IX—PREPAREDNESS AND 

17 RISK MANAGEMENT FOR EX18 TREME WEATHER PATTERNS 

19 ASSURING RESILIENCE AND 

20 EFFECTIVENESS 

21 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Preparedness and 

23 Risk Management for Extreme Weather Patterns Assur24 ing Resilience and Effectiveness Act of 2018’’ or the 

25 ‘‘PREPARE Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 902. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON EXTREME WEATHER 

2 RESILIENCE, PREPAREDNESS, AND RISK 

3 IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 

5 council to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Council on Ex6 treme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, and Risk Identi7 fication and Management’’. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Council shall be 

9 composed of the following: 

10 (1) Senior officials, to be appointed by the 

11 President, including representation from the fol12 lowing: 

13 (A) The Council on Environmental Qual14 ity. 

15 (B) The Office of Science and Technology 

16 Policy. 

17 (C) The National Security Council. 

18 (D) The Office of Management and Budg19 et. 

20 (E) The Department of Transportation. 

21 (F) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

22 (G) The National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration. 

24 (H) The Department of Energy. 

25 (I) The Department of Homeland Security. 


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1 (J) The Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency. 

3 (K) The Department of Defense. 

4 (L) The National Aeronautics and Space 

5 Administration. 

6 (M) The Department of Agriculture. 

7 (N) The Department of Housing and 

8 Urban Development. 

9 (O) The Department of Justice. 

10 (2) Senior officials, to be appointed by the 

11 President, who have relevant policy expertise and 

12 policy responsibilities, including in the following 

13 areas: 

14 (A) Economic policy and risk analysis. 

15 (B) Foreign affairs. 

16 (C) Defense and intelligence. 

17 (D) Homeland security. 

18 (E) Energy. 

19 (F) Environmental protection. 

20 (G) Natural resources. 

21 (H) Coasts, oceans, rivers, and floodplains. 

22 (I) Agriculture. 

23 (J) Health. 

24 (K) Transportation and infrastructure. 

25 (L) Housing. 


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1 (M) Education. 

2 (N) Extreme weather data analysis or me3 teorological science. 

4 (O) Social science. 

5 (P) Strategic planning. 

6 (Q) Urban and land use planning. 

7 (R) Other areas the President determines 

8 appropriate. 

9 (c) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Council 

11 shall be co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary of the 

12 Department of Homeland Security and the Deputy 

13 Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

14 The President may appoint one or more additional 

15 members as co-chairs, as appropriate. 

16 (2) DUTIES.—The co-chairpersons shall— 

17 (A) oversee the Interagency Council’s re18 sponse to the Government Accountability Of19 fice’s recommendations under subsection (f)(5); 

20 (B) use the evaluation framework and per21 formance metrics developed pursuant to sub22 section (f)(6) to evaluate agency progress in 

23 meeting the goals and implementing the prior24 ities described in subsection (f)(1)(A); and 


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1 (C) work to ensure that sufficient re2 sources are available for agencies to— 

3 (i) meet the goals and implement the 

4 priorities described in subsection (f)(1)(A); 

5 and 

6 (ii) implement the recommendations 

7 developed under subsection (f)(2). 

8 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—The co-chairpersons of the 

9 Interagency Council (or staff designed by the co-chair10 persons) shall provide administrative support and addi11 tional resources, as appropriate, to the Interagency Coun12 cil to the extent permitted by law and within existing ap13 propriations. The Interagency Council co-chairpersons 

14 shall determine the amount of funding and personnel nec15 essary for the Interagency Council to carry out its duties 

16 and the amount of funding and personnel each agency rep17 resented on the Interagency Council should contribute in 

18 order for the Interagency Council to carry out such duties. 

19 Agencies shall, upon the request of the co-chairpersons of 

20 the Interagency Council, make available personnel, admin21 istrative support services, and information to the Inter22 agency Council. 

23 (e) STRUCTURE.— 

24 (1) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The co-chair25 persons of the Interagency Council shall designate a 


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1 subset of members of the Interagency Council to 

2 serve on a steering committee. Such steering com3 mittee shall assist the Interagency Council in deter4 mining its priorities and its strategic direction. 

5 (2) WORKING GROUPS.—The co-chairpersons of 

6 the Interagency Council and its steering committee 

7 may establish working groups as needed. 

8 (f) DUTIES OF THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL.— 

9 (1) GOALS AND PRIORITIES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coun11 cil shall establish Governmentwide goals and 

12 priorities for extreme weather resilience, pre13 paredness, and risk identification and manage14 ment. In establishing such goals and priorities, 

15 the Interagency Council shall consider the Na16 tional Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 

17 Contingency Plan, agency continuity of oper18 ations plans, the National Preparedness Goal, 

19 the National Preparedness Report, the National 

20 Global Change Research Plan, the Mitigation 

21 Framework Leadership Group’s National Miti22 gation Investment Strategy (if available), State 

23 and local mitigation plans, and all relevant pro24 visions of the Government Accountability Of25 fice’s High-Risk Series. 


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1 (B) COORDINATION.—In executing the du2 ties pursuant to this subsection, the Inter3 agency Council shall coordinate with other 

4 groups in the Federal Government focused on 

5 extreme weather mitigation and recovery (in6 cluding the Mitigation Framework Leadership 

7 Group, the Recovery Support Functions Lead8 ers Group, and the Emergency Support Func9 tions Leaders Group), to avoid duplication 

10 among Federal activities to the extent prac11 ticable. 

12 (C) INCORPORATION INTO AGENCY ACTIVI13 TIES.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 

14 Interagency Council shall, in order to ensure 

15 that information relating to extreme weather re16 silience, preparedness, and risk identification 

17 and management is incorporated into everyday 

18 agency activities— 

19 (i) work with agencies to assist such 

20 agencies in considering the goals and prior21 ities described in subparagraph (A) in 

22 agency strategic, programmatic, and budg23 et planning; 

24 (ii) identify details to be included in 

25 agency extreme weather plans; and 


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1 (iii) work to identify and communicate 

2 localized extreme weather and natural haz3 ard risk to the extent possible using the 

4 best available information regarding risk, 

5 and encourage the development of thor6 ough, updated maps, models, and tools to 

7 measure and evaluate risk. 

8 (2) PRIORITY INTERAGENCY FEDERAL AC9 TIONS.—The Interagency Council shall develop, rec10 ommend, coordinate, and track implementation of 

11 priority interagency Federal Government actions re12 lated to extreme weather resilience, preparedness, 

13 and risk identification and management. 

14 (3) SUPPORT REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL

15 ACTIONS.—The Interagency Council shall support 

16 regional, State, and local action to assess extreme 

17 weather-related vulnerabilities and cost effectively in18 crease extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and 

19 risk identification and management of communities, 

20 critical economic sectors, natural and built infra21 structure, and natural resources, including by— 

22 (A) conducting inventories under section 

23 906; 

24 (B) convening meetings under section 907; 


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1 (C) providing guidance to agencies to 

2 produce tools and products that enhance ex3 treme weather resilience planning, risk knowl4 edge, and actions for use in all levels of govern5 ment, including guidance on how to prioritize 

6 funding in order to produce such tools and 

7 products; and 

8 (D) reviewing State and local mitigation 

9 plans. 

10 (4) METEOROLOGICAL AND EXTREME WEATHER

11 SCIENCE.—The Interagency Council shall facilitate 

12 the integration of meteorological and extreme weath13 er science, in addition to other scientific disciplines 

14 such as physical, natural, and social science that the 

15 Council determines to be appropriate, in the policies 

16 risk evaluation and communication, and planning of 

17 agencies and the private sector, including by— 

18 (A) promoting the development of innova19 tive, actionable, and accessible Federal extreme 

20 weather resilience, preparedness, and risk iden21 tification and management-related information, 

22 data, tools, and examples of successful actions 

23 at appropriate scales for decisionmakers; and 

24 (B) providing such information, data, 

25 tools, and examples to the agency or agencies 


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1 designated under section 904 to include on the 

2 website established and maintained or des3 ignated pursuant to such section. 

4 (5) HIGH-RISK REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

5 The Interagency Council shall assess the specific 

6 recommendations relating to extreme weather in all 

7 relevant provisions of the Government Accountability 

8 Office’s High-Risk Series, identify the feasibility of 

9 revising Federal programs to implement such rec10 ommendations, and develop a plan to address such 

11 recommendations when feasible that does not dupli12 cate the National Preparedness Goal. 

13 (6) FRAMEWORK AND PERFORMANCE

14 METRICS.—The Interagency Council shall use exist15 ing and emerging science to develop or adopt— 

16 (A) a framework for evaluating the 

17 progress and success of extreme weather resil18 ience, preparedness, and risk identification and 

19 management-related efforts that is complemen20 tary to and not duplicative of any local or na21 tional indicator system developed as part of the 

22 National Preparedness Goal; and 

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1 ward meeting the goals and implementing the 

2 priorities described in paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (7) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CEQ AND

4 OMB.—The Interagency Council shall provide to the 

5 Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of 

6 Management and Budget, and the Department of 

7 Homeland Security recommendations on how agen8 cies should— 

9 (A) develop or update agency extreme 

10 weather plans; 

11 (B) remove barriers to State and local ex12 treme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk 

13 identification and management, in agency regu14 lations, guidance, and policies; and 

15 (C) avoid duplication among Federal ac16 tivities to the extent practicable. 

17 (8) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENT.—The Inter18 agency Council shall solicit and incorporate public 

19 input and comment as appropriate into the decisions 

20 of the Interagency Council. 

21 (9) INVENTORY AND MEETINGS.—The Inter22 agency Council shall conduct inventories under sec23 tion 906 and convene meetings under section 907. 

24 (10) DEFINITION OF EXTREME WEATHER.— 

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1 date, not less frequently than every two years, in 

2 consultation with appropriate scientific bodies, the 

3 definition of ‘‘extreme weather’’ and what other 

4 weather events (in addition to those described in sec5 tion 909(3)) qualify as extreme weather for purposes 

6 of this title. The definition of ‘‘extreme weather’’ 

7 shall be published and updated, as necessary, on the 

8 website of the Council and in the Federal Register. 

9 (11) OTHER DUTIES.—The Interagency Council 

10 shall carry out any other duties the co-chairpersons 

11 of the Interagency Council determine appropriate. 

12 (12) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Interagency 

13 Council shall— 

14 (A) make information available online— 

15 (i) for tracking implementation of 

16 agency extreme weather plans and Govern17 mentwide goals and priorities described in 

18 paragraph (1)(A); 

19 (ii) on recommendations relating to 

20 extreme weather in all relevant provisions 

21 of the Government Accountability Office’s 

22 High-Risk Series; and 

23 (iii) on the results of the Council’s ef24 forts to identify nationwide and localized 


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1 risks (including updated mapping efforts); 

2 and 

3 (B) make such High-Risk Series and the 

4 reports submitted under paragraph (13) avail5 able as the Council determines appropriate. 

6 (13) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an8 nually thereafter (concurrently with the United 

9 States Global Change Research Program Annual Re10 port and the National Preparedness Report), the 

11 Interagency Council shall submit to Congress, and 

12 make available to the United States Global Change 

13 Research Program and the Federal Emergency Man14 agement Agency, a report that— 

15 (A) describes how the goals and priorities 

16 described in paragraph (1)(A) are being met 

17 and implemented using— 

18 (i) the performance metrics developed 

19 under paragraph (6)(B); and 

20 (ii) information on— 

21 (I) agency expenditures, broken 

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1 agement, including extreme weather 

2 resilience, preparedness, and risk 

3 identification and management of 

4 Federal facilities; and 

5 (II) the effectiveness of such ex6 penditures, along with associated fi7 nancial impacts and community, in8 frastructure, and environmental bene9 fits, to the extent such data are avail10 able; 

11 (B) provides recommendations to enhance 

12 the effectiveness of such implementation and 

13 sets benchmarks to meet; 

14 (C) describes the progress of the regional 

15 coordination efforts described in sections 906, 

16 907, and 908; and 

17 (D) includes a summary of public com18 ments solicited under paragraph (8) and any 

19 action the Interagency Council took to respond 

20 to such comments. 

21 (g) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out paragraphs (2) 

22 through (12) of subsection (f), the Interagency Council 

23 shall consult with agencies, State and local governments, 

24 academic and research institutions, and the private and 

25 nonprofit sectors. 


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1 (h) OMB GUIDANCE.—The Director of the Office of 

2 Management and Budget, taking into consideration the 

3 recommendations provided by the Interagency Council 

4 under subsection (f)(7), shall issue guidance to agencies 

5 on— 

6 (1) developing agency extreme weather plans, 

7 which shall incorporate existing agency reports, 

8 where appropriate, to prevent duplication and reduce 

9 overlap; and 

10 (2) developing agency regulations, guidance, 

11 and policies to remove barriers to State and local ex12 treme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk 

13 identification and management. 

14 SEC. 903. AGENCY PLANNING FOR EXTREME WEATHER-RE15 LATED RISKS. 

16 (a) AGENCY EXTREME WEATHER RESILIENCE, PRE17 PAREDNESS, AND RISK IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGE18 MENT PLANS.— 

19 (1) AGENCY SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 

20 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

21 every 2 years thereafter, the head of each agency, in 

22 coordination with the Director of the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency to avoid duplication with 

24 the National Planning Frameworks, shall submit to 

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1 et and to the Interagency Council a comprehensive 

2 plan that integrates consideration of extreme weath3 er into such agency’s operations and overall mission 

4 objectives (hereinafter referred to as an ‘‘agency ex5 treme weather plan’’). 

6 (2) HEARING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

8 thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management 

9 and Budget shall convene an interagency budget 

10 crosscut and policy hearing to review and integrate 

11 all the agency extreme weather plans and to ensure 

12 that such extreme weather plans and the activities of 

13 agencies align with the goals and priorities estab14 lished under section 902(f)(1)(A). 

15 (3) OMB SUBMISSION.—The Director of the 

16 Office of Management and Budget, upon receipt of 

17 all agency extreme weather plans in a given year, 

18 shall consolidate and submit to Congress such plans. 

19 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Each agency extreme weather plan 

20 shall include— 

21 (1) identification and assessment of extreme 

22 weather-related impacts on, and risks to— 

23 (A) the agency’s ability to accomplish its 

24 missions, operations, and programs over time 


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1 periods to be designated by the Interagency 

2 Council; and 

3 (B) State and local entities; 

4 (2) identification and assessment of barriers 

5 posed by Federal programs the agency administers 

6 to State and local extreme weather resilience, pre7 paredness, and risk identification and management 

8 efforts; 

9 (3) a description of programs, policies, and 

10 plans the agency has already put in place, as well as 

11 additional actions the agency will take, to manage 

12 extreme weather risks in the near term and build re13 silience in the short and long term; 

14 (4) a description of how the agency will con15 sider the need to improve extreme weather resilience, 

16 preparedness, and risk identification and manage17 ment, including the costs and benefits of such im18 provement, with respect to agency suppliers, supply 

19 chain, real property investments, and capital equip20 ment purchases, including by updating agency poli21 cies for leasing, building upgrades, relocation of ex22 isting facilities and equipment, and construction of 

23 new facilities; 

24 (5) a description of how the agency will support 

25 any ongoing or future public-private partnership to 


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1 improve extreme weather resilience, preparedness, 

2 and risk identification and management, including 

3 the cost and benefits of technology and methodology 

4 improvements, hardening, or rapid restoration; 

5 (6) a description of how the agency will con6 tribute to coordinated interagency efforts to support 

7 extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk 

8 identification and management at all levels of gov9 ernment, including collaborative work across agen10 cies’ regional offices and hubs, and through coordi11 nated development of information, data, and tools, 

12 consistent with sections 906, 907, and 908; and 

13 (7) any other details identified by the Inter14 agency Council under section 902(f)(1)(B)(ii). 

15 SEC. 904. WEBSITE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Council shall 

17 designate an agency or agencies to establish, maintain, or 

18 designate a website that provides timely, actionable, and 

19 accessible information, data, and tools on current and fu20 ture risks related to extreme weather, preparedness, resil21 ience, and risk identification and management, to support 

22 Federal, regional, State, local, private sector, and other 

23 decisionmakers. 

24 (b) INTERAGENCY PROGRESS.—The website de25 scribed under subsection (a), shall identify interagency 


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1 progress, and propose the next interagency steps, towards 

2 responding to threats posed by extreme weather. 

3 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The website described under 

4 subsection (a) shall provide best practices and examples 

5 from Federal, regional, State, and local decisionmakers in 

6 the public and private sectors about how to use extreme 

7 weather-related information in planning and decision8 making. 

9 (d) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL INFORMATION AND

10 TOOLS.—The website described under subsection (a) shall 

11 include the information, data, tools, and examples pro12 vided by the Interagency Council pursuant to section 

13 902(f)(4). 

14 (e) BEST AVAILABLE METEOROLOGICAL SCIENCE.— 

15 The website described under subsection (a) shall identify 

16 best available meteorological science relating to extreme 

17 weather resilience, preparedness, and risk identification 

18 and management. 

19 (f) PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.—The 

20 Interagency Council shall designate one or more agencies 

21 to conduct outreach and educational activities to inform 

22 the public and regional, State, and local decisionmakers 

23 about the tools and information available on the website 

24 described under subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 905. PROVIDING ADEQUATE RESOURCES AND SUP2 PORT. 

3 The Director of the Office of Management and Budg4 et shall ensure that each agency provides adequate re5 sources to the Interagency Council, including administra6 tive services and personnel support, as appropriate— 

7 (1) for the website described under section 904; 

8 and 

9 (2) to otherwise carry out this title. 

10 SEC. 906. INVENTORY. 

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

12 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there13 after, the Interagency Council, or a working group of such 

14 Interagency Council established by the co-chairpersons 

15 thereof, shall conduct and publish an inventory of all re16 gional offices, centers, and programs of agencies that are 

17 assisting with extreme weather resilience, preparedness, 

18 and risk identification and management efforts at the 

19 State or local level, including— 

20 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad21 ministration’s regional programs; 

22 (2) the Department of the Interior’s Fish and 

23 Wildlife Service Landscape Conservation Coopera24 tives; 

25 (3) the United States Geological Survey’s Cli26 mate Science Centers; 


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1 (4) the Department of Agriculture’s Climate 

2 Hubs; 

3 (5) the regional offices of— 

4 (A) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

5 (B) the Federal Emergency Management 

6 Agency; 

7 (C) the Department of Transportation; 

8 and 

9 (D) the Forest Service; 

10 (6) the division offices of the Army Corps of 

11 Engineers; and 

12 (7) such other offices, centers, and programs or 

13 other agency efforts as determined appropriate by 

14 the Interagency Council. 

15 (b) ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—An inventory con16 ducted and published under subsection (a) shall include 

17 a description of the assistance each agency office, center, 

18 or program is providing to assist with extreme weather 

19 resilience, preparedness, and risk identification and man20 agement efforts at the State or local level. 

21 SEC. 907. MEETINGS. 

22 Not later than 6 months after the publication of each 

23 inventory under section 906, the Interagency Council shall 

24 convene a meeting of representatives of the offices, cen25 ters, and programs included in such inventory and invite 


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1 other local and regional stakeholders to participate and 

2 develop plans to coordinate the efforts of such offices, cen3 ters, and programs and facilitate efficient services to 

4 stakeholders. At such meetings, such representatives 

5 shall— 

6 (1) share information regarding their office, 

7 center, or program’s extreme weather resilience, pre8 paredness, and risk identification and management 

9 efforts; 

10 (2) identify opportunities for collaboration and 

11 coordination of research agendas, extreme weather 

12 assessment activities, vulnerability assessments, data 

13 collection and analysis, and planning and imple14 menting extreme weather resilience, preparedness, 

15 and risk identification and management projects; 

16 (3) identify extreme weather resilience, pre17 paredness, and risk identification and management 

18 information needs, research gaps, and decision sup19 port needs that are not met by any of the offices, 

20 centers, or programs included in the inventory under 

21 section 906 and make available such identification 

22 for purposes of information to be submitted to the 

23 Interagency Council under section 907; 

24 (4) identify common and complementary goals 

25 for extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and 


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1 risk identification and management within each re2 gion to be prioritized for the coming year and be3 yond; 

4 (5) identify barriers to regional extreme weath5 er resilience, preparedness, and risk identification 

6 and management planning and implementation that 

7 can be overcome or minimized through Federal ac8 tion and specific suggestions for improvement; 

9 (6) evaluate progress and jointly develop a 

10 strategy for realizing extreme weather resilience, 

11 preparedness, and risk identification and manage12 ment-related goals, including clearly identified re13 sponsibilities by each collaborating regional office, 

14 center, or program; and 

15 (7) share experiences and best practices in 

16 stakeholder engagement and communication, deci17 sion support, and science-practice interactions that 

18 support the realization of identified extreme weather 

19 resilience, preparedness, and risk identification and 

20 management goals. 

21 SEC. 908. PROGRESS UPDATES. 

22 Not later than 90 days after each meeting under sec23 tion 907, each agency that participates in such meeting 

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1 gram and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

2 information describing progress in regional coordination 

3 and collaboration in aligning Federal resilience, prepared4 ness, and risk identification and management efforts at 

5 the State and local level, and the benefits of such regional 

6 coordination and collaboration. 

7 SEC. 909. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ under 

11 section 105 of title 5, but does not include the Gov12 ernment Accountability Office. 

13 (2) AGENCY EXTREME WEATHER PLAN.—The 

14 term ‘‘agency extreme weather plan’’ means a plan 

15 required under section 903(a). 

16 (3) EXTREME WEATHER.—The term ‘‘extreme 

17 weather’’ includes observed or anticipated severe and 

18 unseasonable atmospheric conditions, including 

19 drought, wildfire, heavy precipitation, wave, high 

20 water, snowstorm, landslide, mudslide, hurricanes, 

21 tornadoes and other windstorms (including 

22 derechos), extreme heat, extreme cold, sustained 

23 temperatures or precipitation that deviate from his24 torical averages, and any other weather event that 


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1 the Interagency Council determines qualifies as ex2 treme weather pursuant to section 902(f)(10). 

3 (4) INTERAGENCY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Inter4 agency Council’’ means the Interagency Council on 

5 Extreme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, and 

6 Risk Identification and Management established 

7 under section 902(a). 

8 (5) MITIGATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘mitigation 

9 plan’’ means the mitigation plan required under sec10 tion 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

11 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165). 

12 (6) NATIONAL GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH

13 PLAN.—The term ‘‘National Global Change Re14 search Plan’’ means the National Global Change Re15 search Plan developed under section 104 of the 

16 Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 

17 2934), or any revision thereof. 

18 (7) NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUB19 STANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN.—The 

20 term ‘‘National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pol21 lution Contingency Plan’’ means the National Oil 

22 and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency 

23 Plan described under part 300 of title 40, Code of 

24 Federal Regulations, or any revision thereof. 


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1 (8) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS GOAL.—The 

2 term ‘‘National Preparedness Goal’’ means the na3 tional preparedness goal developed under section 643 

4 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform 

5 Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 743). 

6 (9) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS REPORT.—The 

7 term ‘‘National Preparedness Report’’ means the re8 port required by section 652(a) of the Post-Katrina 

9 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 

10 U.S.C. 752(a); Public Law 109–295). 

11 (10) PREPAREDNESS.—The term ‘‘prepared12 ness’’ means actions taken to plan, organize, equip, 

13 train, and exercise to build, apply, and sustain the 

14 capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, 

15 ameliorate the effects of, respond to, and recover 

16 from extreme weather related damages to life, 

17 health, property, livelihoods, ecosystems, and na18 tional security. 

19 (11) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ 

20 means the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and 

21 adapt to changing conditions and withstand, respond 

22 to, and recover rapidly from disruptions. 

23 (12) SENIOR OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘senior offi24 cial’’ means a Deputy Secretary (or an equivalent of25 ficer) of an agency. 


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1 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

3 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

4 States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

5 (14) UNITED STATES GLOBAL CHANGE RE6 SEARCH PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘United States Glob7 al Change Research Program’’ means the United 

8 States Global Change Research Program established 

9 under section 103 of the Global Change Research 

10 Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2933). 

11 (15) UNITED STATES GLOBAL CHANGE RE12 SEARCH PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT.—The term 

13 ‘‘United States Global Change Research Program 

14 Annual Report’’ means the report required by sec15 tion 102(e)(7) of the Global Change Research Act of 

16 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2932(e)(7)). 

17 SEC. 910. REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE AGENCY EXTREME 

18 WEATHER PLAN IN AGENCY PERFORMANCE 

19 PLAN. 

20 A description of the most recent agency extreme 

21 weather plan, as required under section 903, shall be in22 cluded in the performance plan of an agency (as defined 

23 in section 909) required pursuant to section 1115(b) of 

24 title 31, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 911. SUNSET AND REPEAL. 

2 This title ceases to be effective and is repealed on 

3 the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 401 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize programs of the Federal Aviation 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

MAY 8, 2018 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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