Calendar No. 639

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2161

A BILL

Reauthorizing programs of the Federal Aviation

Administration, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 1, 1996

Read the second time and placed on the calendar
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Calendar No. 639

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2161

Reauthorizing programs of the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 30, 1996

Mr. SIMON (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill;

which was read the first time

OCTOBER 1, 1996

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

A BILL

Reauthorizing 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 ‘‘Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

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

Sec. 3. Applicability.
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TITLE I—AIRPORT AND AIRWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Subtitle A—Reauthorization of FAA Programs

Sec. 101. Airport improvement program.

Sec. 102. Airway facilities improvement program.

Sec. 103. FAA operations.

Subtitle B—Airport Development Financing

Sec. 121. Apportionments.

Sec. 122. Discretionary fund.

Sec. 123. Use of apportioned amounts.

Sec. 124. Designating current and former military airports.

Sec. 125. Period of applicability of amendments.

Subtitle C—Airport Improvement Program Modifications

Sec. 141. Intermodal planning.

Sec. 142. Pavement maintenance program.

Sec. 143. Access to airports by intercity buses.

Sec. 144. Cost reimbursement for projects commenced prior to grant award.

Sec. 145. Selection of projects for grants from discretionary fund.

Sec. 146. Small airport fund.

Sec. 147. State block grant program.

Sec. 148. Innovative financing techniques.

Sec. 149. Pilot program on private ownership of airports.

TITLE II—FAA REFORM

Sec. 201. Short title.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Effective date.

Subtitle A—General Provisions

Sec. 221. Findings.

Sec. 222. Purposes.

Sec. 223. Regulation of civilian air transportation and related services by the

Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation.

Sec. 224. Regulations.

Sec. 225. Personnel and services.

Sec. 226. Contracts.

Sec. 227. Facilities.

Sec. 228. Property.

Sec. 229. Transfers of funds from other Federal agencies.

Sec. 230. Management Advisory Council.

Subtitle B—Federal Aviation Administration Streamlining Programs

Sec. 251. Review of acquisition management system.

Sec. 252. Air traffic control modernization reviews.

Sec. 253. Federal Aviation Administration personnel management system.

Sec. 254. Conforming amendment.

Subtitle C—System To Fund Certain Federal Aviation Administration

Functions
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Sec. 271. Findings.

Sec. 272. Purposes.

Sec. 273. User fees for various Federal Aviation Administration services.

Sec. 274. Independent assessment of FAA financial requirements; establishment of National Civil Aviation Review Commission.

Sec. 275. Procedure for consideration of certain funding proposals.

Sec. 276. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 277. Advance appropriations for Airport and Airway Trust Fund activities.

Sec. 278. Rural Air Service Survival Act.

TITLE III—AVIATION SECURITY

Sec. 301. Report including proposed legislation on funding for airport security.

Sec. 302. Certification of screening companies.

Sec. 303. Weapons and explosive detection study.

Sec. 304. Requirement for criminal history records checks.

Sec. 305. Interim deployment of commercially available explosive detection

equipment.

Sec. 306. Audit of performance of background checks for certain personnel.

Sec. 307. Passenger profiling.

Sec. 308. Authority to use certain funds for airport security programs and activities.

Sec. 309. Development of aviation security liaison agreement.

Sec. 310. Regular joint threat assessments.

Sec. 311. Baggage match report.

Sec. 312. Enhanced security programs.

Sec. 313. Report on air cargo.

Sec. 314. Sense of the Senate regarding acts of international terrorism.

TITLE IV—AVIATION SAFETY

Sec. 401. Elimination of dual mandate.

Sec. 402. Protection of voluntarily submitted information.

Sec. 403. Supplemental type certificates.

Sec. 404. Certification of small airports.

Sec. 405. Authorization for State-specific safety measures.

Sec. 406. Aircraft engine standards.

Sec. 407. Accident and safety data classification; report on effects of publication and automated surveillance targeting systems.

TITLE V—PILOT RECORD SHARING

Sec. 501. Short title.

Sec. 502. Employment investigations of pilot applicants.

Sec. 503. Studies of minimum standards for pilot qualifications and of pay for

training.

Sec. 504. Study of minimum flight time.

TITLE VI—CHILD PILOT SAFETY

Sec. 601. Short title.

Sec. 602. Child pilot safety.

TITLE VII—FAMILY ASSISTANCE

Sec. 701. Short title.
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Sec. 702. Assistance by National Transportation Safety Board to families of

passengers involved in aircraft accidents.

Sec. 703. Air carrier plans to address needs of families of passengers involved

in aircraft accidents.

Sec. 704. Establishment of task force.

Sec. 705. Limitation on statutory construction.

TITLE VIII—AIRPORT REVENUE PROTECTION

Sec. 801. Short title.

Sec. 802. Findings; purpose.

Sec. 803. Definitions.

Sec. 804. Restriction on use of airport revenues.

Sec. 805. Regulations; audits and accountability.

Sec. 806. Conforming amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

TITLE IX—METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS

Sec. 901. Short title.

Sec. 902. Use of leased property.

Sec. 903. Board of Directors.

Sec. 904. Termination of Board of Review.

Sec. 905. Limitations.

Sec. 906. Use of Dulles Airport Access Highway.

Sec. 907. Effect of judicial order.

Sec. 908. Amendment of lease.

Sec. 909. Sense of the Senate.

TITLE X—EXTENSION OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND

EXPENDITURES

Sec. 1001. Extension of Airport and Airway Trust Fund expenditures.

TITLE XI—FAA RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 1101. Short title.

Sec. 1102. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 1103. Research priorities.

Sec. 1104. Research advisory committee.

Sec. 1105. National aviation research plan.

TITLE XII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 1201. Purchase of housing units.

Sec. 1202. Clarification of passenger facility revenues as constituting trust

funds.

Sec. 1203. Authority to close airport located near closed or realigned military

base.

Sec. 1204. Gadsden Air Depot, Alabama.

Sec. 1205. Regulations affecting intrastate aviation in Alaska.

Sec. 1206. Westchester County Airport, New York.

Sec. 1207. Bedford Airport, Pennsylvania.

Sec. 1208. Worcester Municipal Airport, Massachusetts.

Sec. 1209. Central Florida Airport, Sanford, Florida.

Sec. 1210. Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.

Sec. 1211. Special rule for privately owned reliever airports.
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Sec. 1212. Sense of the Senate regarding the funding of the Federal Aviation

Administration.

Sec. 1213. Rural air fare study.

Sec. 1214. Carriage of candidates in State and local elections.

Sec. 1215. Special flight rules in the vicinity of Grand Canyon National Park.

Sec. 1216. Transfer of air traffic control tower; closing of flight service stations.

Sec. 1217. Location of Doppler radar stations, New York.

Sec. 1218. Train whistle requirements.

Sec. 1219. Increased fees.

Sec. 1220. Structures interfering with air commerce.

Sec. 1221. Hawaii cargo.

Sec. 1222. Limitation on authority of States to regulate gambling devices on

vessels.

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

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

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

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

7 Code.

8 SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically

10 provided, this Act and the amendments made by this Act

11 apply only to fiscal years beginning after September 30,

12 1996.

13 (b) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

14 Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act

15 shall be construed as affecting funds made available for

16 a fiscal year ending before October 1, 1996.
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1 TITLE I—AIRPORT AND AIRWAY

2 IMPROVEMENTS

3 Subtitle A—Reauthorization of

4 FAA Programs

5 SEC. 101. AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

7 48103 is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 1981’’ and in9 serting ‘‘September 30, 1996’’; and

10 (2) by striking ‘‘$17,583,500,000’’ and all that

11 follows through the period at the end and inserting

12 the following: ‘‘$2,280,000,000 for fiscal years end13 ing before October 1, 1997, and $4,627,000,000 for

14 fiscal years ending before October 1, 1998.’’.

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

16 is amended by striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’.

17 SEC. 102. AIRWAY FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

19 48101(a) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through

20 (4) and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(1) $2,068,000,000 for fiscal year 1997.

22 ‘‘(2) $2,129,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.’’.

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 481 is

24 amended—
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1 (1) by striking the heading for section 48101

2 and inserting the following:

3 ‘‘§ 48101. Air navigation facilities and equipment’’; and

4 (2) in the table of sections by striking the item

5 relating to section 48101 and inserting the follow6 ing:

‘‘48101. Air navigation facilities and equipment.’’.

7 SEC. 103. FAA OPERATIONS.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM

9 GENERAL FUND.—Section 106(k) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘$4,088,000,000’’ and all that follows through the period

11 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘$5,158,000,000

12 for fiscal year 1997 and $5,344,000,000 for fiscal year

13 1998.’’.

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FROM

15 TRUST FUND.—Section 48104(c) is amended—

16 (1) in the subsection heading by striking

17 ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’;

18 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by

19 striking ‘‘1994, 1995, and 1996’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘1994 through 1998’’; and

21 (3) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘70 per22 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘72.5 percent’’.

23 (c) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATING OR EXPENDING

24 AMOUNTS.—Section 48108(c) is amended by striking

25 ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’.
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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 481 is

2 amended—

3 (1) by striking the heading for section 48104

4 and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘§ 48104. Operations and maintenance’’; and

6 (2) in the table of sections by striking the item

7 relating to section 48104 and inserting the follow8 ing:

‘‘48104. Operations and maintenance.’’.

9 Subtitle B—Airport Development

10 Financing

11 SEC. 121. APPORTIONMENTS.

12 (a) AMOUNTS APPORTIONED TO SPONSORS.—

13 (1) PRIMARY AIRPORTS.—Section

14 47114(c)(1)(A) is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause

16 (iii);

17 (B) in clause (iv) by striking ‘‘additional

18 passenger boarding’’ and inserting ‘‘of the next

19 500,000 passenger boardings’’;

20 (C) by striking the period at the end of

21 clause (iv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

23 ‘‘(v) $.50 for each additional passenger board24 ing at the airport during the prior calendar year.’’.
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1 (2) CARGO ONLY AIRPORTS.—Section

2 47114(c)(2) of such title is amended to read as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(2) CARGO ONLY AIRPORTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) APPORTIONMENT.—Subject to sub6 paragraph (D), the Secretary shall apportion an

7 amount equal to 2.5 percent of the amount sub8 ject to apportionment each fiscal year to the

9 sponsors of airports served by aircraft providing

10 air transportation of only cargo with a total an11 nual landed weight of more than 100,000,000

12 pounds.

13 ‘‘(B) SUBALLOCATION FORMULA.—Any

14 funds apportioned under subparagraph (A) to

15 sponsors of airports described in subparagraph

16 (A) shall be allocated among those airports in

17 the proportion that the total annual landed

18 weight of aircraft described in subparagraph

19 (A) landing at each of those airports bears to

20 the total annual landed weight of those aircraft

21 landing at all those airports.

22 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Not more than 8 per23 cent of the amount apportioned under subpara24 graph (A) may be apportioned for any one air25 port.
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1 ‘‘(D) DISTRIBUTION TO OTHER AIR2 PORTS.—Before apportioning amounts to the

3 sponsors of airports under subparagraph (A)

4 for a fiscal year, the Secretary may set-aside a

5 portion of such amounts for distribution to the

6 sponsors of other airports, selected by the Sec7 retary, that the Secretary finds will be served

8 primarily by aircraft providing air transpor9 tation of only cargo.

10 ‘‘(E) DETERMINATION OF LANDED

11 WEIGHT.—Landed weight under this paragraph

12 is the landed weight of aircraft landing at each

13 airport described in subparagraph (A) during

14 the prior calendar year.’’.

15 (3) REPEAL OF LIMITATION.—Section

16 47114(c)(3) is repealed.

17 (b) AMOUNTS APPORTIONED TO STATES.—Section

18 47114(d)(2) of such title is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘18.5’’;

20 (2) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘one’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘0.66’’;

22 (3) in each of subparagraphs (B) and (C) by

23 striking ‘‘49.5’’ and inserting ‘‘49.67’’; and

24 (4) in each of subparagraphs (B) and (C) by

25 striking ‘‘except’’ the second place it appears and all
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1 that follows through ‘‘title,’’ and inserting ‘‘exclud2 ing primary airports but including reliever and non3 primary commercial service airports,’’.

4 SEC. 122. DISCRETIONARY FUND.

5 Section 47115 is amended by striking the second sub6 section (f), relating to minimum amounts to be credited,

7 and inserting the following:

8 ‘‘(g) MINIMUM AMOUNT TO BE CREDITED.—

9 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—In a fiscal year, there

10 shall be credited to the fund, out of amounts made

11 available under section 48103 of this title, an

12 amount that is at least equal to the sum of—

13 ‘‘(A) $148,000,000; plus

14 ‘‘(B) the total amount required from the

15 fund to carry out in the fiscal year letters of in16 tent issued before January 1, 1996, under sec17 tion 47110(e) of this title or the Airport and

18 Airway Improvement Act of 1982.

19 The amount credited is exclusive of amounts that

20 have been apportioned in a prior fiscal year under

21 section 47114 of this title and that remain available

22 for obligation.

23 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION OF APPORTIONMENTS.—In a

24 fiscal year in which the amount credited under sub25 section (a) is less than the minimum amount to be
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1 credited under paragraph (1), the total amount cal2 culated under paragraph (3) shall be reduced by an

3 amount that, when credited to the fund, together

4 with the amount credited under subsection (a),

5 equals such minimum amount.

6 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF REDUCTION.—For a fiscal

7 year, the total amount available to make a reduction

8 to carry out paragraph (2) is the total of the

9 amounts determined under sections 47114(c)(1)(A),

10 47114(c)(2), 47114(d), and 47117(e) of this title.

11 Each amount shall be reduced by an equal percent12 age to achieve the reduction.

13 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—For a fiscal year in

14 which the amount credited to the fund under this

15 subsection exceeds $300,000,000, the Secretary shall

16 allocate the amount of such excess as follows:

‘‘(A) 1 17 ⁄3 shall be made available to airports

18 for which apportionments are made under sec19 tion 47114(d) of this title.

‘‘(B) 1 20 ⁄3 shall be made available for airport

21 noise compatibility planning under section

22 47505(a)(2) of this title and for carrying out

23 noise compatibility programs under section

24 47504(c)(1) of this title.
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‘‘(C) 1 1 ⁄3 shall be made available to current

2 or former military airports for which grants

3 may be made under section 47117(e)(1)(B) of

4 this title.’’.

5 SEC. 123. USE OF APPORTIONED AMOUNTS.

6 (a) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Section 47117(b) is

7 amended by inserting before the period at the end of the

8 first sentence the following: ‘‘or the 3 fiscal years imme9 diately following that year in the case of a primary airport

10 that had less than .05 percent of the total boardings in

11 the United States in the preceding calendar year’’.

12 (b) SPECIAL APPORTIONMENT CATEGORIES.—Sec13 tion 47117(e)(1) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘made available under section

15 48103’’ and inserting ‘‘available to the discretionary

16 fund under section 47115’’;

17 (2) by striking subparagraphs (A), (C), and

18 (D);

19 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and

20 (E) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

21 (4) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated, by

22 striking ‘‘at least 12.5’’ and inserting ‘‘At least 31’’;

23 (5) by adding at the end of subparagraph (A),

24 as so redesignated, the following: ‘‘The Secretary

25 may count the amount of grants made for such plan-
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1 ning and programs with funds apportioned under

2 section 47114 in that fiscal year in determining

3 whether or not such 31 percent requirement is being

4 met in that fiscal year.’’;

5 (6) in subparagraph (B), as so redesignated, by

6 striking ‘‘at least 2.25’’ and all that follows through

7 ‘‘1996,’’ and inserting ‘‘At least 4 percent for each

8 fiscal year thereafter’’; and

9 (7) by inserting before the period at the end of

10 subparagraph (B), as so redesignated, the following:

11 ‘‘and to sponsors of noncommercial service airports

12 for grants for operational and maintenance expenses

13 at any such airport if the amount of such grants to

14 the sponsor of the airport does not exceed $30,000

15 in that fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that

16 the airport is adversely affected by the closure or re17 alignment of a military base, and if the sponsor of

18 the airport certifies that the airport would otherwise

19 close if the airport does not receive the grant’’.

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 47117(e)

21 is amended—

22 (1) by striking paragraph (2); and

23 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para24 graph (2).
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1 SEC. 124. DESIGNATING CURRENT AND FORMER MILITARY

2 AIRPORTS.

3 (a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 47118(a) is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of

6 Transportation shall designate current or former military

7 airports for which grants may be made under section

8 47117(e)(1)(B) of this title. The maximum number of air9 ports bearing such designation at any time is 12. The Sec10 retary may only so designate an airport (other than an

11 airport so designated before August 24, 1994) if—

12 ‘‘(1) the airport is a former military installation

13 closed or realigned under—

14 ‘‘(A) section 2687 of title 10;

15 ‘‘(B) section 201 of the Defense Authoriza16 tion Amendments and Base Closure and Re17 alignment Act (10 U.S.C. 2687 note); or

18 ‘‘(C) section 2905 of the Defense Base

19 Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10

20 U.S.C. 2687 note); or

21 ‘‘(2) the Secretary finds that such grants

22 would—

23 ‘‘(A) reduce delays at an airport with more

24 than 20,000 hours of annual delays in commer25 cial passenger aircraft takeoffs and landings; or
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1 ‘‘(B) enhance airport and air traffic con2 trol system capacity in a metropolitan area or

3 reduce current and projected flight delays.’’.

4 (b) ADDITIONAL DESIGNATION PERIODS.—Section

5 47118(d) is amended by striking ‘‘designation.’’ and in6 serting ‘‘designation, and for subsequent 5-fiscal-year pe7 riods if the Secretary determines that the airport satisfies

8 the designation criteria under subsection (a) at the begin9 ning of each such subsequent 5-fiscal-year period.’’.

10 (c) PARKING LOTS, FUEL FARMS, UTILITIES, AND

11 HANGARS.—Section 47118(f) is amended—

12 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘AND UTILITIES’’

13 and inserting ‘‘UTILITIES, AND HANGARS’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘for the fiscal years ending Sep15 tember 30, 1993–1996,’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal

16 years beginning after September 30, 1992,’’; and

17 (3) by striking ‘‘and utilities’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘utilities, and hangars’’.

19 (d) 2-YEAR EXTENSION.—Section 47117(e)(1)(B),

20 as redesignated by section 123(b) of this Act, is amended

21 by striking ‘‘and 1996,’’ and inserting ‘‘1996, 1997, and

22 1998’’.

23 SEC. 125. PERIOD OF APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.

24 The amendments made by this subtitle shall cease to

25 be effective on September 30, 1998. On and after such
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1 date, sections 47114, 47115, 47117, and 47118 of title

2 49, United States Code, shall read as if such amendments

3 had not been enacted.

4 Subtitle C—Airport Improvement

5 Program Modifications

6 SEC. 141. INTERMODAL PLANNING.

7 Section 47101(g) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(g) INTERMODAL PLANNING.—To carry out the pol9 icy of subsection (a)(5) of this section, the Secretary of

10 Transportation shall take each of the following actions:

11 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF AIR12 PORT PLANS AND PROGRAMS.—Cooperate with State

13 and local officials in developing airport plans and

14 programs that are based on overall transportation

15 needs. The airport plans and programs shall be de16 veloped in coordination with other transportation

17 planning and considering comprehensive long-range

18 land-use plans and overall social, economic, environ19 mental, system performance, and energy conserva20 tion objectives. The process of developing airport

21 plans and programs shall be continuing, cooperative,

22 and comprehensive to the degree appropriate to the

23 complexity of the transportation problems.

24 ‘‘(2) GOALS FOR AIRPORT MASTER AND SYSTEM

25 PLANS.—Encourage airport sponsors and State and
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1 local officials to develop airport master plans and

2 airport system plans that—

3 ‘‘(A) foster effective coordination between

4 aviation planning and metropolitan planning;

5 ‘‘(B) include an evaluation of aviation

6 needs within the context of multimodal plan7 ning; and

8 ‘‘(C) are integrated with metropolitan

9 plans to ensure that airport development pro10 posals include adequate consideration of land

11 use and ground transportation access.

12 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION OF AIRPORT OPERA13 TORS ON MPO’S.—Encourage metropolitan planning

14 organizations, particularly in areas with populations

15 greater than 200,000, to establish membership posi16 tions for airport operators.’’.

17 SEC. 142. PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.

18 (a) PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE.—Subchapter I of

19 chapter 471 is amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘§ 47132. Pavement maintenance

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed23 eral Aviation Administration shall issue guidelines to carry

24 out a pavement maintenance pilot project to preserve and

25 extend the useful life of runways, taxiways, and aprons
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1 at airports for which apportionments are made under sec2 tion 47114(d). The guidelines shall provide that the Ad3 ministrator may designate not more than 10 projects. The

4 guidelines shall provide criteria for the Administrator to

5 use in choosing the projects. At least 2 such projects must

6 be in States without a primary airport that had 0.25 per7 cent or more of the total boardings in the United States

8 in the preceding calendar year. In designating a project,

9 the Administrator shall take into consideration geographi10 cal, climatological, and soil diversity.

11 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall be effec12 tive beginning on the date of the enactment of this section

13 and ending on September 30, 1999.’’.

14 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL MANDATES.—

15 (1) USE OF AIP GRANTS.—Section 47102(3) is

16 amended—

17 (A) in subparagraph (E) by inserting ‘‘or

18 under section 40117’’ before the period at the

19 end; and

20 (B) in subparagraph (F) by striking ‘‘paid

21 for by a grant under this subchapter and’’.

22 (2) USE OF PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES.—

23 Section 40117(a)(3) is amended—

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (D);
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (E) and inserting a period; and

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (F).

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec5 tions for such subchapter is amended by inserting after

6 the item relating to section 47131 the following:

‘‘47132. Pavement maintenance.’’.

7 SEC. 143. ACCESS TO AIRPORTS BY INTERCITY BUSES.

8 Section 47107(a) is amended—

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

10 (18);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(20) the airport owner or operator will permit,

15 to the maximum extent practicable, intercity buses

16 or other modes of transportation to have access to

17 the airport, but the sponsor does not have any obli18 gation under this paragraph, or because of it, to

19 fund special facilities for intercity bus service or for

20 other modes of transportation.’’.

21 SEC. 144. COST REIMBURSEMENT FOR PROJECTS COM22 MENCED PRIOR TO GRANT AWARD.

23 (a) COST REIMBURSEMENT.—Section

24 47110(b)(2)(C) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(C) if the Government’s share is paid only

2 with amounts apportioned under paragraphs (1) and

3 (2) of section 47114(c) of this title and if the cost

4 is incurred—

5 ‘‘(i) after September 30, 1996;

6 ‘‘(ii) before a grant agreement is executed

7 for the project; and

8 ‘‘(iii) in accordance with an airport layout

9 plan approved by the Secretary and with all

10 statutory and administrative requirements that

11 would have been applicable to the project if the

12 project had been carried out after the grant

13 agreement had been executed;’’.

14 (b) USE OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.—Section 47110

15 is amended by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(g) USE OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS.—A project for

17 which cost reimbursement is provided under subsection

18 (b)(2)(C) shall not receive priority consideration with re19 spect to the use of discretionary funds made available

20 under section 47115 of this title even if the amounts made

21 available under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section

22 47114(c) are not sufficient to cover the Government’s

23 share of the cost of project.’’.
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1 SEC. 145. SELECTION OF PROJECTS FOR GRANTS FROM

2 DISCRETIONARY FUND.

3 (a) SELECTION OF PROJECTS FOR GRANTS.—Section

4 47115(d) is amended—

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

6 (2) and inserting the following: ‘‘, including, in the

7 case of a project at a reliever airport, the number

8 of operations projected to be diverted from a pri9 mary airport to the reliever airport as a result of the

10 project, as well as the cost savings projected to be

11 realized by users of the local airport system;’’;

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (3) and inserting a semicolon; and

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

15 ‘‘(4) the airport improvement priorities of the

16 States, and regional offices of the Administration, to

17 the extent such priorities are not in conflict with

18 paragraphs (1) and (2);

19 ‘‘(5) the projected growth in the number of pas20 sengers that will be using the airport at which the

21 project will be carried out; and

22 ‘‘(6) any increase in the number of passenger

23 boardings in the preceding 12-month period at the

24 airport at which the project will be carried out, with

25 priority consideration to be given to projects at air26 ports at which the number of passenger boardings
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1 increased by at least 20 percent as compared to the

2 number of passenger boardings in the 12-month pe3 riod preceding such period.’’.

4 (b) PRIORITY FOR LETTERS OF INTENT.—Section

5 47115, as amended by section 122 of this Act, is further

6 amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(h) PRIORITY FOR LETTERS OF INTENT.—In mak8 ing grants in a fiscal year with funds made available under

9 this section, the Secretary shall fulfill intentions to obli10 gate under section 47110(e).’’.

11 SEC. 146. SMALL AIRPORT FUND.

12 Section 47116 is amended by adding at the end the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION FOR CERTAIN

15 PROJECTS.—In making grants to sponsors described in

16 subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall give priority consid17 eration to multi-year projects for construction of new run18 ways that the Secretary finds are cost beneficial and would

19 increase capacity in a region of the United States.’’.

20 SEC. 147. STATE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

21 (a) PARTICIPATING STATES.—Section 47128 is

22 amended—

23 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘7 qualified

24 States’’ and inserting ‘‘8 qualified States for fiscal
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1 year 1997 and 9 qualified States for each fiscal year

2 thereafter’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’; and

5 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

6 through (E) as paragraphs (1) through (5), re7 spectively; and

8 (3) by striking subsection (b)(2).

9 (b) USE OF STATE PRIORITY SYSTEM.—Section

10 47128(c) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(b)(1)(B) or (C)’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘(b)(2) or (b)(3)’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In car14 rying out this subsection, the Secretary shall permit

15 a State to use the priority system of the State if

16 such system is not inconsistent with the national pri17 ority system.’’.

18 (c) REPEAL OF EXPIRATION DATE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 47128 is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ in the section

21 heading;

22 (B) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ in subsection (a);

23 and

24 (C) by striking subsection (d).
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

2 sections for chapter 471 is amended by striking the

3 item relating to section 47128 and inserting the fol4 lowing:

‘‘47128. State block grant program.’’.

5 SEC. 148. INNOVATIVE FINANCING TECHNIQUES.

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

7 is authorized to carry out a demonstration program under

8 which the Secretary may approve applications under sub9 chapter I of chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code,

10 for not more than 10 projects for which grants received

11 under such subchapter may be used to implement innova12 tive financing techniques.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstration

14 program shall be to provide information on the use of in15 novative financing techniques for airport development

16 projects to Congress and the National Civil Aviation Re17 view Commission.

18 (c) LIMITATION.—In no case shall the implementa19 tion of an innovative financing technique under the dem20 onstration program result in a direct or indirect guarantee

21 of any airport debt instrument by the Federal Govern22 ment.

23 (d) INNOVATIVE FINANCING TECHNIQUE DE24 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘innovative financing

25 technique’’ shall be limited to the following:
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1 (1) Payment of interest.

2 (2) Commercial bond insurance and other credit

3 enhancement associated with airport bonds for eligi4 ble airport development.

5 (3) Flexible non-Federal matching require6 ments.

7 (e) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of

8 the Secretary to carry out the demonstration program

9 shall expire on September 30, 1998.

10 SEC. 149. PILOT PROGRAM ON PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF

11 AIRPORTS.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter

14 471, as amended by section 804 of this Act, is fur15 ther amended by adding after section 47133 the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘§ 47134. Pilot program on private ownership of air18 ports

19 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—If a sponsor

20 intends to sell or lease a general aviation airport or lease

21 any other type of airport for a long term to a person (other

22 than a public agency), the sponsor and purchaser or lessee

23 may apply to the Secretary of Transportation for exemp24 tions under this section.
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1 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary

2 may approve, with respect to not more than 5 airports,

3 applications submitted under subsection (a) granting ex4 emptions from the following provisions:

5 ‘‘(1) USE OF REVENUES.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may

7 grant an exemption to a sponsor from the pro8 visions of sections 47107(b) and 47133 of this

9 title (and any other law, regulation, or grant

10 assurance) to the extent necessary to permit the

11 sponsor to recover from the sale or lease of the

12 airport such amount as may be approved—

13 ‘‘(i) by at least 65 percent of the air

14 carriers serving the airport; and

15 ‘‘(ii) by air carriers whose aircraft

16 landing at the airport during the preceding

17 calendar year had a total landed weight

18 during the preceding calendar year of at

19 least 65 percent of the total landed weight

20 of all aircraft landing at the airport during

21 such year.

22 ‘‘(B) LANDED WEIGHT DEFINED.—In this

23 paragraph, the term ‘landed weight’ means the

24 weight of aircraft transporting passengers or

25 cargo, or both, in intrastate, interstate, and for-
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1 eign air transportation, as the Secretary deter2 mines under regulations the Secretary pre3 scribes.

4 ‘‘(2) REPAYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec5 retary may grant an exemption to a sponsor from

6 the provisions of sections 47107 and 47152 of this

7 title (and any other law, regulation, or grant assur8 ance) to the extent necessary to waive any obligation

9 of the sponsor to repay to the Federal Government

10 any grants, or to return to the Federal Government

11 any property, received by the airport under this title,

12 the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982,

13 or any other law.

14 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION FROM AIRPORT OPER15 ATIONS.—The Secretary may grant an exemption to

16 a purchaser or lessee from the provisions of sections

17 47107(b) and 47133 of this title (and any other law,

18 regulation, or grant assurance) to the extent nec19 essary to permit the purchaser or lessee to earn

20 compensation from the operations of the airport.

21 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

22 approve an application under subsection (b) only if the

23 Secretary finds that the sale or lease agreement includes

24 provisions satisfactory to the Secretary to ensure the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(1) The airport will continue to be available

2 for public use on reasonable terms and conditions

3 and without unjust discrimination.

4 ‘‘(2) The operation of the airport will not be in5 terrupted in the event that the purchaser or lessee

6 becomes insolvent or seeks or becomes subject to any

7 State or Federal bankruptcy, reorganization, insol8 vency, liquidation, or dissolution proceeding or any

9 petition or similar law seeking the dissolution or re10 organization of the purchaser or lessee or the ap11 pointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, or liq12 uidator for the purchaser or lessee or a substantial

13 part of the purchaser or lessee’s property, assets, or

14 business.

15 ‘‘(3) The purchaser or lessee will maintain, im16 prove, and modernize the facilities of the airport

17 through capital investments and will submit to the

18 Secretary a plan for carrying out such maintenance,

19 improvements, and modernization.

20 ‘‘(4) Every fee of the airport imposed on an air

21 carrier on the day before the date of the lease of the

22 airport will not increase faster than the rate of infla23 tion unless a higher amount is approved—

24 ‘‘(A) by at least 65 percent of the air car25 riers serving the airport; and
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1 ‘‘(B) by air carriers whose aircraft landing

2 at the airport during the preceding calendar

3 year had a total landed weight during the pre4 ceding calendar year of at least 65 percent of

5 the total landed weight of all aircraft landing at

6 the airport during such year.

7 ‘‘(5) The percentage increase in fees imposed

8 on general aviation aircraft at the airport will not

9 exceed the percentage increase in fees imposed on

10 air carriers at the airport.

11 ‘‘(6) Safety and security at the airport will be

12 maintained at the highest possible levels.

13 ‘‘(7) The adverse effects of noise from oper14 ations at the airport will be mitigated to the same

15 extent as at a public airport.

16 ‘‘(8) Any adverse effects on the environment

17 from airport operations will be mitigated to the same

18 extent as at a public airport.

19 ‘‘(9) Any collective bargaining agreement that

20 covers employees of the airport and is in effect on

21 the date of the sale or lease of the airport will not

22 be abrogated by the sale or lease.

23 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION OF CERTAIN AIRPORTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS.—If the

25 Secretary approves under subsection (b) applications
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1 with respect to 5 airports, one of the airports must

2 be a general aviation airport.

3 ‘‘(2) LARGE HUB AIRPORTS.—The Secretary

4 may not approve under subsection (b) more than 1

5 application submitted by an airport that had 1 per6 cent or more of the total passenger boardings (as de7 fined in section 47102) in the United States in the

8 preceding calendar year.

9 ‘‘(e) REQUIRED FINDING THAT APPROVAL WILL

10 NOT RESULT IN UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION.—

11 The Secretary may approve an application under sub12 section (b) only if the Secretary finds that the approval

13 will not result in unfair and deceptive practices or unfair

14 methods of competition.

15 ‘‘(f) INTERESTS OF GENERAL AVIATION USERS.—In

16 approving an application of an airport under this section,

17 the Secretary shall ensure that the interests of general

18 aviation users of the airport are not adversely affected.

19 ‘‘(g) PASSENGER FACILITY FEES; APPORTION20 MENTS; SERVICE CHARGES.—Notwithstanding that the

21 sponsor of an airport receiving an exemption under sub22 section (b) is not a public agency, the sponsor shall not

23 be prohibited from—

24 ‘‘(1) imposing a passenger facility fee under

25 section 40117 of this title;
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1 ‘‘(2) receiving apportionments under section

2 47114 of this title; or

3 ‘‘(3) collecting reasonable rental charges, land4 ing fees, and other service charges from aircraft op5 erators under section 40116(e)(2) of this title.

6 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVENESS OF EXEMPTIONS.—An exemp7 tion granted under subsection (b) shall continue in effect

8 only so long as the facilities sold or leased continue to be

9 used for airport purposes.

10 ‘‘(i) REVOCATION OF EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary

11 may revoke an exemption issued to a purchaser or lessee

12 of an airport under subsection (b)(3) if, after providing

13 the purchaser or lessee with notice and an opportunity to

14 be heard, the Secretary determines that the purchaser or

15 lessee has knowingly violated any of the terms specified

16 in subsection (c) for the sale or lease of the airport.

17 ‘‘(j) NONAPPLICATION OF PROVISIONS TO AIRPORTS

18 OWNED BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—The provisions of this

19 section requiring the approval of air carriers in determina20 tions concerning the use of revenues, and imposition of

21 fees, at an airport shall not be extended so as to apply

22 to any airport owned by a public agency that is not partici23 pating in the program established by this section.
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1 ‘‘(k) AUDITS.—The Secretary may conduct periodic

2 audits of the financial records and operations of an airport

3 receiving an exemption under this section.

4 ‘‘(l) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date

5 of the initial approval of an application under this section,

6 the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Trans7 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa8 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

9 Transportation of the Senate a report on implementation

10 of the program under this section.

11 ‘‘(m) GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORT DEFINED.—In

12 this section, the term ‘general aviation airport’ means an

13 airport that is not a commercial service airport.’’.

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

15 sections for such chapter is amended by inserting

16 after the item relating to section 47133, as added by

17 section 804 of this Act, the following:

‘‘47134. Pilot program on private ownership of airports.’’.

18 (b) TAXATION.—Section 40116(b) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘a State or’’ and inserting ‘‘a

20 State, a’’; and

21 (2) by inserting after ‘‘of a State’’ the follow22 ing: ‘‘, and any person that has purchased or leased

23 an airport under section 47134 of this title’’.
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1 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 47109(a) is amend2 ed—

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

4 (1);

5 (2) by striking the period at the end of para6 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

8 ‘‘(3) 40 percent for a project funded by the Ad9 ministrator from the discretionary fund under sec10 tion 47115 at an airport receiving an exemption

11 under section 47134.’’.

12 (d) RESOLUTION OF AIRPORT-AIR CARRIER DIS13 PUTES CONCERNING AIRPORT FEES.—Section 47129(a)

14 is amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(4) FEES IMPOSED BY PRIVATELY-OWNED AIR16 PORTS.—In evaluating the reasonableness of a fee

17 imposed by an airport receiving an exemption under

18 section 47134 of this title, the Secretary shall con19 sider whether the airport has complied with section

20 47134(c)(4).’’.

21 TITLE II—FAA REFORM

22 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Air Traffic Manage24 ment System Performance Improvement Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title, the following definitions apply:

3 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ means the Federal Aviation Administration.

5 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

7 Aviation Administration.

8 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

9 the Secretary of Transportation.

10 SEC. 203. EFFECTIVE DATE.

11 The provisions of this title and the amendments made

12 by this title shall take effect on the date that is 30 days

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 Subtitle A—General Provisions

15 SEC. 221. FINDINGS.

16 Congress finds the following:

17 (1) In many respects the Administration is a

18 unique agency, being one of the few non-defense gov19 ernment agencies that operates 24 hours a day, 365

20 days of the year, while continuing to rely on out21 dated technology to carry out its responsibilities for

22 a state-of-the-art industry.

23 (2) Until January 1, 1996, users of the air

24 transportation system paid 70 percent of the budget

25 of the Administration, with the remaining 30 per26 cent coming from the General Fund. The General
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1 Fund contribution over the years is one measure of

2 the benefit received by the general public, military,

3 and other users of Administration’s services.

4 (3) The Administration must become a more ef5 ficient, effective, and different organization to meet

6 future challenges.

7 (4) The need to balance the Federal budget

8 means that it may become more and more difficult

9 to obtain sufficient General Fund contributions to

10 meet the Administration’s future budget needs.

11 (5) Congress must keep its commitment to the

12 users of the national air transportation system by

13 seeking to spend all moneys collected from them

14 each year and deposited into the Airport and Airway

15 Trust Fund. Existing surpluses representing past re16 ceipts must also be spent for the purposes for which

17 such funds were collected.

18 (6) The aviation community and the employees

19 of the Administration must come together to im20 prove the system. The Administration must continue

21 to recognize who its customers are and what their

22 needs are, and to design and redesign the system to

23 make safety improvements and increase productivity.

24 (7) The Administration projects that commer25 cial operations will increase by 18 percent and pas-
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1 senger traffic by 35 percent by the year 2002. With2 out effective airport expansion and system mod3 ernization, these needs cannot be met.

4 (8) Absent significant and meaningful reform,

5 future challenges and needs cannot be met.

6 (9) The Administration must have a new way

7 of doing business.

8 (10) There is widespread agreement within gov9 ernment and the aviation industry that reform of the

10 Administration is essential to safely and efficiently

11 accommodate the projected growth of aviation within

12 the next decade.

13 (11) To the extent that Congress determines

14 that certain segments of the aviation community are

15 not required to pay all of the costs of the govern16 ment services which they require and benefits which

17 they receive, Congress should appropriate the dif18 ference between such costs and any receipts received

19 from such segment.

20 (12) Prior to the imposition of any new charges

21 or user fees on segments of the industry, an inde22 pendent review must be performed to assess the

23 funding needs and assumptions for operations, cap24 ital spending, and airport infrastructure.
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1 (13) An independent, thorough, and complete

2 study and assessment must be performed of the

3 costs to the Administration and the costs driven by

4 each segment of the aviation system for safety and

5 operational services, including the use of the air

6 traffic control system and the Nation’s airports.

7 (14) Because the Administration is a unique

8 Federal entity in that it is a participant in the daily

9 operations of an industry, and because the national

10 air transportation system faces significant problems

11 without significant changes, the Administration has

12 been authorized to change the Federal procurement

13 and personnel systems to ensure that the Adminis14 tration has the ability to keep pace with new tech15 nology and is able to match resources with the real

16 personnel needs of the Administration.

17 (15) The existing budget system does not allow

18 for long-term planning or timely acquisition of tech19 nology by the Administration.

20 (16) Without reforms in the areas of procure21 ment, personnel, funding, and governance, the Ad22 ministration will continue to experience delays and

23 cost overruns in its major modernization programs

24 and needed improvements in the performance of the

25 air traffic management system will not occur.
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1 (17) All reforms should be designed to help the

2 Administration become more responsive to the needs

3 of its customers and maintain the highest standards

4 of safety.

5 SEC. 222. PURPOSES.

6 The purposes of this title are—

7 (1) to ensure that final action shall be taken on

8 all notices of proposed rulemaking of the Adminis9 tration within 18 months after the date of their pub10 lication;

11 (2) to permit the Administration, with Congres12 sional review, to establish a program to improve air

13 traffic management system performance and to es14 tablish appropriate levels of cost accountability for

15 air traffic management services provided by the Ad16 ministration;

17 (3) to establish a more autonomous and ac18 countable Administration within the Department of

19 Transportation; and

20 (4) to make the Administration a more efficient

21 and effective organization, able to meet the needs of

22 a dynamic, growing industry, and to ensure the safe23 ty of the traveling public.
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1 SEC. 223. REGULATION OF CIVILIAN AIR TRANSPORTATION

2 AND RELATED SERVICES BY THE FEDERAL

3 AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AND DEPART4 MENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106 is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ in sub7 section (b) and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in

8 subsection (f) or in other provisions of law, the Ad9 ministrator’’; and

10 (2) in subsection (f)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(f) The Secretary’’ and in12 serting the following:

13 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY AND THE AD14 MINISTRATOR.—

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Except

16 as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary’’;

17 (B) in subsection (f)(1), as so des18 ignated—

19 (i) by moving the remainder of the

20 text 2 ems to the right;

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary may

22 not’’ and inserting ‘‘Neither the Secretary

23 nor the Administrator may’’; and

24 (iii) by striking ‘‘nor’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘or’’; and

26 (C) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

2 The Administrator—

3 ‘‘(A) is the final authority for carrying out

4 all functions, powers, and duties of the Admin5 istration relating to—

6 ‘‘(i) the appointment and employment

7 of all officers and employees of the Admin8 istration (other than Presidential and po9 litical appointees);

10 ‘‘(ii) the acquisition and maintenance

11 of property and equipment of the Adminis12 tration;

13 ‘‘(iii) except as otherwise provided in

14 paragraph (3), the promulgation of regula15 tions, rules, orders, circulars, bulletins, and

16 other official publications of the Adminis17 tration; and

18 ‘‘(iv) any obligation imposed on the

19 Administrator, or power conferred on the

20 Administrator, by the Air Traffic Manage21 ment System Performance Improvement

22 Act of 1996 (or any amendment made by

23 that Act);

24 ‘‘(B) shall offer advice and counsel to the

25 President with respect to the appointment and
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1 qualifications of any officer or employee of the

2 Administration to be appointed by the Presi3 dent or as a political appointee;

4 ‘‘(C) may delegate, and authorize succes5 sive redelegations of, to an officer or employee

6 of the Administration any function, power, or

7 duty conferred upon the Administrator, unless

8 such delegation is prohibited by law; and

9 ‘‘(D) except as otherwise provided for in

10 this title, and notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, shall not be required to coordinate,

12 submit for approval or concurrence, or seek the

13 advice or views of the Secretary or any other of14 ficer or employee of the Department of Trans15 portation on any matter with respect to which

16 the Administrator is the final authority.

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—

18 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘political

19 appointee’ means any individual who—

20 ‘‘(A) is employed in a position listed in sec21 tions 5312 through 5316 of title 5 (relating to

22 the Executive Schedule);

23 ‘‘(B) is a limited term appointee, limited

24 emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in

25 the Senior Executive Service, as defined under
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1 paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of

2 section 3132(a) of title 5; or

3 ‘‘(C) is employed in a position in the exec4 utive branch of the Government of a confiden5 tial or policy-determining character under

6 schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5

7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.’’.

8 (b) PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AUTHORITY.—

9 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this title

10 limits any authority granted to the Administrator by stat11 ute or by delegation that was in effect on the day before

12 the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 224. REGULATIONS.

14 Section 106(f), as amended by section 223 of this

15 Act, is further amended—

16 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para17 graph (4); and

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow19 ing:

20 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the performance of

22 the functions of the Administrator and the Ad23 ministration, the Administrator is authorized to

24 issue, rescind, and revise such regulations as

25 are necessary to carry out those functions. The
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1 issuance of such regulations shall be governed

2 by the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5. The

3 Administrator shall act upon all petitions for

4 rulemaking no later than 6 months after the

5 date such petitions are filed by dismissing such

6 petitions, by informing the petitioner of an in7 tention to dismiss, or by issuing a notice of pro8 posed rulemaking or advanced notice of pro9 posed rulemaking. The Administrator shall

10 issue a final regulation, or take other final ac11 tion, not later than 16 months after the last

12 day of the public comment period for the regu13 lations or, in the case of an advanced notice of

14 proposed rulemaking, if issued, not later than

15 24 months after the date of publication in the

16 Federal Register of notice of the proposed rule17 making.

18 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF SECRETARY OF TRANS19 PORTATION.—(i) The Administrator may not

20 issue a proposed regulation or final regulation

21 that is likely to result in the expenditure by

22 State, local, and tribal governments in the ag23 gregate, or by the private sector, of

24 $100,000,000 or more (adjusted annually for

25 inflation beginning with the year following the
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1 date of the enactment of the Air Traffic Man2 agement System Performance Improvement Act

3 of 1996) in any year, or any regulation which

4 is significant, unless the Secretary of Transpor5 tation approves the issuance of the regulation in

6 advance. For purposes of this paragraph, a reg7 ulation is significant if the Administrator, in

8 consultation with the Secretary (as appro9 priate), determines that the regulation is likely

10 to—

11 ‘‘(I) have an annual effect on the

12 economy of $100,000,000 or more or ad13 versely affect in a material way the econ14 omy, a sector of the economy, productivity,

15 competition, jobs, the environment, public

16 health or safety, or State, local, or tribal

17 governments or communities;

18 ‘‘(II) create a serious inconsistency or

19 otherwise interfere with an action taken or

20 planned by another agency;

21 ‘‘(III) materially alter the budgetary

22 impact of entitlements, grants, user fees,

23 or loan programs or the rights and obliga24 tions of recipients thereof; or
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1 ‘‘(IV) raise novel legal or policy issues

2 arising out of legal mandates.

3 ‘‘(ii) In an emergency, the Administrator

4 may issue a regulation described in clause (i)

5 without prior approval by the Secretary, but

6 any such emergency regulation is subject to

7 ratification by the Secretary after it is issued

8 and shall be rescinded by the Administrator

9 within 5 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays,

10 and legal public holidays) after issuance if the

11 Secretary fails to ratify its issuance.

12 ‘‘(iii) Any regulation that does not meet

13 the criteria of clause (i), and any regulation or

14 other action that is a routine or frequent action

15 or a procedural action, may be issued by the

16 Administrator without review or approval by the

17 Secretary.

18 ‘‘(iv) The Administrator shall submit a

19 copy of any regulation requiring approval by

20 the Secretary under clause (i) to the Secretary,

21 who shall either approve it or return it to the

22 Administrator with comments within 45 days

23 after receiving it.

24 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC REVIEW.—(i) Beginning on

25 the date which is 3 years after the date of the
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1 enactment of the Air Traffic Management Sys2 tem Performance Improvement Act of 1996, the

3 Administrator shall review any unusually bur4 densome regulation issued by the Administrator

5 after such date of enactment beginning not

6 later than 3 years after the effective date of the

7 regulation to determine if the cost assumptions

8 were accurate, the benefit of the regulations,

9 and the need to continue such regulations in

10 force in their present form.

11 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator may identify for

12 review under the criteria set forth in clause (i)

13 unusually burdensome regulations that were is14 sued before the date of the enactment of the

15 Air Traffic Management System Performance

16 Improvement Act of 1996 and that have been

17 in force for more than 3 years.

18 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph,

19 the term ‘unusually burdensome regulation’

20 means any regulation that results in the annual

21 expenditure by State, local, and tribal govern22 ments in the aggregate, or by the private sec23 tor, of $25,000,000 or more (adjusted annually

24 for inflation beginning with the year following

25 the date of the enactment of the Air Traffic
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1 Management System Performance Act of 1996)

2 in any year.

3 ‘‘(iv) The periodic review of regulations

4 may be performed by advisory committees and

5 the Management Advisory Council established

6 under subsection (p).’’.

7 SEC. 225. PERSONNEL AND SERVICES.

8 Section 106 is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(l) PERSONNEL AND SERVICES.—

11 ‘‘(1) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—Except as

12 provided in section 40122(a) of this title and section

13 347 of Public Law 104–50, the Administrator is au14 thorized, in the performance of the functions of the

15 Administrator, to appoint, transfer, and fix the com16 pensation of such officers and employees, including

17 attorneys, as may be necessary to carry out the

18 functions of the Administrator and the Administra19 tion. In fixing compensation and benefits of officers

20 and employees, the Administrator shall not engage

21 in any type of bargaining, except to the extent pro22 vided for in section 40122(a), nor shall the Adminis23 trator be bound by any requirement to establish

24 such compensation or benefits at particular levels.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Ad2 ministrator is authorized to obtain the services of ex3 perts and consultants in accordance with section

4 3109 of title 5.

5 ‘‘(3) TRANSPORTATION AND PER DIEM EX6 PENSES.—The Administrator is authorized to pay

7 transportation expenses, and per diem in lieu of sub8 sistence expenses, in accordance with chapter 57 of

9 title 5.

10 ‘‘(4) USE OF PERSONNEL FROM OTHER AGEN11 CIES.—The Administrator is authorized to utilize

12 the services of personnel of any other Federal agen13 cy (as such term is defined under section 551(1) of

14 title 5).

15 ‘‘(5) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—

16 ‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—In exercising the

17 authority to accept gifts and voluntary services

18 under section 326 of this title, and without re19 gard to section 1342 of title 31, the Adminis20 trator may not accept voluntary and uncompen21 sated services if such services are used to dis22 place Federal employees employed on a full23 time, part-time, or seasonal basis.

24 ‘‘(B) INCIDENTAL EXPENSES.—The Ad25 ministrator is authorized to provide for inciden-
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1 tal expenses, including transportation, lodging,

2 and subsistence, for volunteers who provide vol3 untary services under this subsection.

4 ‘‘(C) LIMITED TREATMENT AS FEDERAL

5 EMPLOYEES.—An individual who provides vol6 untary services under this subsection shall not

7 be considered a Federal employee for any pur8 pose other than for purposes of chapter 81 of

9 title 5, relating to compensation for work inju10 ries, and chapter 171 of title 28, relating to

11 tort claims.’’.

12 SEC. 226. CONTRACTS.

13 Section 106(l), as added by section 225 of this Act,

14 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(6) CONTRACTS.—The Administrator is au16 thorized to enter into and perform such contracts,

17 leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions

18 as may be necessary to carry out the functions of

19 the Administrator and the Administration. The Ad20 ministrator may enter into such contracts, leases,

21 cooperative agreements, and other transactions with

22 any Federal agency (as such term is defined in sec23 tion 551(1) of title 5) or any instrumentality of the

24 United States, any State, territory, or possession, or

25 political subdivision thereof, any other governmental
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1 entity, or any person, firm, association, corporation,

2 or educational institution, on such terms and condi3 tions as the Administrator may consider appro4 priate.’’.

5 SEC. 227. FACILITIES.

6 Section 106, as amended by section 225 of this Act,

7 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(m) COOPERATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—With the

9 consent of appropriate officials, the Administrator may,

10 with or without reimbursement, use or accept the services,

11 equipment, personnel, and facilities of any other Federal

12 agency (as such term is defined in section 551(1) of title

13 5) and any other public or private entity. The Adminis14 trator may also cooperate with appropriate officials of

15 other public and private agencies and instrumentalities

16 concerning the use of services, equipment, personnel, and

17 facilities. The head of each Federal agency shall cooperate

18 with the Administrator in making the services, equipment,

19 personnel, and facilities of the Federal agency available

20 to the Administrator. The head of a Federal agency is au21 thorized, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to

22 transfer to or to receive from the Administration, without

23 reimbursement, supplies and equipment other than admin24 istrative supplies or equipment.’’.
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1 SEC. 228. PROPERTY.

2 Section 106, as amended by section 227 of this Act,

3 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(n) ACQUISITION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is au6 thorized—

7 ‘‘(A) to acquire (by purchase, lease, con8 demnation, or otherwise), construct, improve,

9 repair, operate, and maintain—

10 ‘‘(i) air traffic control facilities and

11 equipment;

12 ‘‘(ii) research and testing sites and fa13 cilities; and

14 ‘‘(iii) such other real and personal

15 property (including office space and pat16 ents), or any interest therein, within and

17 outside the continental United States as

18 the Administrator considers necessary;

19 ‘‘(B) to lease to others such real and per20 sonal property; and

21 ‘‘(C) to provide by contract or otherwise

22 for eating facilities and other necessary facili23 ties for the welfare of employees of the Admin24 istration at the installations of the Administra25 tion, and to acquire, operate, and maintain

26 equipment for these facilities.
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1 ‘‘(2) TITLE.—Title to any property or interest

2 therein acquired pursuant to this subsection shall be

3 held by the Government of the United States.’’.

4 SEC. 229. TRANSFERS OF FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL

5 AGENCIES.

6 Section 106, as amended by section 228 of this Act,

7 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(o) TRANSFERS OF FUNDS.—The Administrator is

9 authorized to accept transfers of unobligated balances and

10 unexpended balances of funds appropriated to other Fed11 eral agencies (as such term is defined in section 551(1)

12 of title 5) to carry out functions transferred by law to the

13 Administrator or functions transferred pursuant to law to

14 the Administrator on or after the date of the enactment

15 of the Air Traffic Management System Performance Im16 provement Act of 1996.’’.

17 SEC. 230. MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.

18 Section 106, as amended by section 229 of this Act,

19 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(p) MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.—

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Within 3 months after

22 the date of the enactment of the Air Traffic Man23 agement System Performance Improvement Act of

24 1996, the Administrator shall establish an advisory

25 council which shall be known as the Federal Aviation
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1 Management Advisory Council (in this subsection re2 ferred to as the ‘Council’). With respect to Adminis3 tration management, policy, spending, funding, and

4 regulatory matters affecting the aviation industry,

5 the Council may submit comments, recommended

6 modifications, and dissenting views to the Adminis7 trator. The Administrator shall include in any sub8 mission to Congress, the Secretary, or the general

9 public, and in any submission for publication in the

10 Federal Register, a description of the comments,

11 recommended modifications, and dissenting views re12 ceived from the Council, together with the reasons

13 for any differences between the views of the Council

14 and the views or actions of the Administrator.

15 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall consist

16 of 15 members, who shall consist of—

17 ‘‘(A) a designee of the Secretary of Trans18 portation;

19 ‘‘(B) a designee of the Secretary of De20 fense; and

21 ‘‘(C) 13 members representing aviation in22 terests, appointed by the President by and with

23 the advice and consent of the Senate.

24 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—No member appointed

25 under paragraph (2)(C) may serve as an officer or
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1 employee of the United States Government while

2 serving as a member of the Council.

3 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—(i) The Council shall

5 provide advice and counsel to the Administrator

6 on issues which affect or are affected by the op7 erations of the Administrator. The Council shall

8 function as an oversight resource for manage9 ment, policy, spending, and regulatory matters

10 under the jurisdiction of the Administration.

11 ‘‘(ii) The Council shall review the rule12 making cost-benefit analysis process and de13 velop recommendations to improve the analysis

14 and ensure that the public interest is fully pro15 tected.

16 ‘‘(iii) The Council shall review the process

17 through which the Administration determines to

18 use advisory circulars and service bulletins.

19 ‘‘(B) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet

20 on a regular and periodic basis or at the call of

21 the chairman or of the Administrator.

22 ‘‘(C) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND

23 STAFF.—The Administration may give the

24 Council appropriate access to relevant docu25 ments and personnel of the Administration, and
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1 the Administrator shall make available, consist2 ent with the authority to withhold commercial

3 and other proprietary information under section

4 552 of title 5 (commonly known as the ‘Free5 dom of Information Act’), cost data associated

6 with the acquisition and operation of air traffic

7 service systems. Any member of the Council

8 who receives commercial or other proprietary

9 data from the Administrator shall be subject to

10 the provisions of section 1905 of title 18, per11 taining to unauthorized disclosure of such infor12 mation.

13 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT NOT

14 TO APPLY.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

15 U.S.C. App.) does not apply to the Council or such

16 aviation rulemaking committees as the Adminis17 trator shall designate.

18 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—

19 ‘‘(A) TERMS OF MEMBERS.—(i) Except as

20 provided in subparagraph (B), members of the

21 Council appointed by the President under para22 graph (2)(C) shall be appointed for a term of

23 3 years.

24 ‘‘(ii) Of the members first appointed by the

25 President—
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1 ‘‘(I) 4 shall be appointed for terms of

2 1 year;

3 ‘‘(II) 5 shall be appointed for terms of

4 2 years; and

5 ‘‘(III) 4 shall be appointed for terms

6 of 3 years.

7 ‘‘(iii) An individual chosen to fill a vacancy

8 shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the

9 member replaced.

10 ‘‘(iv) A member whose term expires shall

11 continue to serve until the date on which the

12 member’s successor takes office.

13 ‘‘(B) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.—The

14 Council shall elect a chair and a vice chair from

15 among the members appointed under paragraph

16 (2)(C), each of whom shall serve for a term of

17 1 year. The vice chair shall perform the duties

18 of the chairman in the absence of the chairman.

19 ‘‘(C) TRAVEL AND PER DIEM.—Each mem20 ber of the Council shall be paid actual travel ex21 penses, and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex22 penses when away from his or her usual place

23 of residence, in accordance with section 5703 of

24 title 5.
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1 ‘‘(D) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL FROM THE

2 ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator shall

3 make available to the Council such staff, infor4 mation, and administrative services and assist5 ance as may reasonably be required to enable

6 the Council to carry out its responsibilities

7 under this subsection.’’.

8 Subtitle B—Federal Aviation Ad9 ministration Streamlining Pro10 grams

11 SEC. 251. REVIEW OF ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

12 Not later than April 1, 1999, the Administrator shall

13 employ outside experts to provide an independent evalua14 tion of the effectiveness of the Administration’s acquisition

15 management system within 3 months after such date. The

16 Administrator shall transmit a copy of the evaluation to

17 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and

19 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

20 SEC. 252. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL MODERNIZATION RE21 VIEWS.

22 Chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end the

23 following:
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1 ‘‘§ 40121. Air traffic control modernization reviews

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED TERMINATIONS OF ACQUISITIONS.—

3 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

4 shall terminate any acquisition program initiated after the

5 date of the enactment of the Air Traffic Management Sys6 tem Performance Improvement Act of 1996 and funded

7 under the Facilities and Equipment account that—

8 ‘‘(1) is more than 50 percent over the cost goal

9 established for the program;

10 ‘‘(2) fails to achieve at least 50 percent of the

11 performance goals established for the program; or

12 ‘‘(3) is more than 50 percent behind schedule

13 as determined in accordance with the schedule goal

14 established for the program.

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED TERMINATION OF ACQUISITION

16 PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall consider terminat17 ing, under the authority of subsection (a), any substantial

18 acquisition program that—

19 ‘‘(1) is more than 10 percent over the cost goal

20 established for the program;

21 ‘‘(2) fails to achieve at least 90 percent of the

22 performance goals established for the program; or

23 ‘‘(3) is more than 10 percent behind schedule

24 as determined in accordance with the schedule goal

25 established for the program.

26 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS AND REPORT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) CONTINUANCE OF PROGRAM, ETC.—Not2 withstanding subsection (a), the Administrator may

3 continue an acquisitions program required to be ter4 minated under subsection (a) if the Administrator

5 determines that termination would be inconsistent

6 with the development or operation of the national air

7 transportation system in a safe and efficient man8 ner.

9 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—The Depart10 ment of Defense shall have the same exemptions

11 from acquisition laws as are waived by the Adminis12 trator under section 348(b) of Public Law 104–50

13 when engaged in joint actions to improve or replen14 ish the national air traffic control system. The Ad15 ministration may acquire real property, goods, and

16 services through the Department of Defense, or

17 other appropriate agencies, but is bound by the ac18 quisition laws and regulations governing those cases.

19 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—If the Administrator makes a

20 determination under paragraph (1), the Adminis21 trator shall transmit a copy of the determination, to22 gether with a statement of the basis for the deter23 mination, to the Committees on Appropriations of

24 the Senate and the House of Representatives, the

25 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
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1 tation of the Senate, and the Committee on Trans2 portation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep3 resentatives.’’.

4 SEC. 253. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PERSON5 NEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

6 Chapter 401, as amended by section 252 of this Act,

7 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘§ 40122. Federal Aviation Administration personnel

9 management system

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

11 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION AND NEGOTIATION.—In

12 developing and making changes to the personnel

13 management system initially implemented by the Ad14 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

15 on April 1, 1996, the Administrator shall negotiate

16 with the exclusive bargaining representatives of em17 ployees of the Administration certified under section

18 7111 of title 5 and consult with other employees of

19 the Administration.

20 ‘‘(2) MEDIATION.—If the Administrator does

21 not reach an agreement under paragraph (1) with

22 the exclusive bargaining representatives, the services

23 of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

24 shall be used to attempt to reach such agreement.

25 If the services of the Federal Mediation and Concil-
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1 iation Service do not lead to an agreement, the Ad2 ministrator’s proposed change to the personnel man3 agement system shall not take effect until 60 days

4 have elapsed after the Administrator has transmit5 ted the proposed change, along with the objections

6 of the exclusive bargaining representatives to the

7 change, and the reasons for such objections, to Con8 gress.

9 ‘‘(3) COST SAVINGS AND PRODUCTIVITY

10 GOALS.—The Administration and the exclusive bar11 gaining representatives of the employees shall use

12 every reasonable effort to find cost savings and to

13 increase productivity within each of the affected bar14 gaining units.

15 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL BUDGET DISCUSSIONS.—The Ad16 ministration and the exclusive bargaining represent17 atives of the employees shall meet annually for the

18 purpose of finding additional cost savings within the

19 Administration’s annual budget as it applies to each

20 of the affected bargaining units and throughout the

21 agency.

22 ‘‘(b) EXPERT EVALUATION.—On the date that is 3

23 years after the personnel management system is imple24 mented, the Administration shall employ outside experts

25 to provide an independent evaluation of the effectiveness
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1 of the system within 3 months after such date. For this

2 purpose, the Administrator may utilize the services of ex3 perts and consultants under section 3109 of title 5 without

4 regard to the limitation imposed by the last sentence of

5 section 3109(b) of such title, and may contract on a sole

6 source basis, notwithstanding any other provision of law

7 to the contrary.

8 ‘‘(c) PAY RESTRICTION.—No officer or employee of

9 the Administration may receive an annual rate of basic

10 pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable to

11 the Administrator.

12 ‘‘(d) ETHICS.—The Administration shall be subject

13 to Executive Order No. 12674 and regulations and opin14 ions promulgated by the Office of Government Ethics, in15 cluding those set forth in section 2635 of title 5 of the

16 Code of Federal Regulations.

17 ‘‘(e) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.—Until July 1, 1999,

18 basic wages (including locality pay) and operational dif19 ferential pay provided employees of the Administration

20 shall not be involuntarily adversely affected by reason of

21 the enactment of this section, except for unacceptable per22 formance or by reason of a reduction in force or reorga23 nization or by agreement between the Administration and

24 the affected employees’ exclusive bargaining representa25 tive.
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1 ‘‘(f) LABOR-MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Except

2 as otherwise provided by this title, all labor-management

3 agreements covering employees of the Administration that

4 are in effect on the effective date of the Air Traffic Man5 agement System Performance Improvement Act of 1996

6 shall remain in effect until their normal expiration date,

7 unless the Administrator and the exclusive bargaining rep8 resentative agree to the contrary.’’.

9 SEC. 254. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

10 The table of sections for chapter 401 is amended by

11 adding at the end the following:

‘‘40121. Air traffic control modernization reviews.

‘‘40122. Federal Aviation Administration personnel management system.’’.

12 Subtitle C—System To Fund Cer13 tain Federal Aviation Adminis14 tration Functions

15 SEC. 271. FINDINGS.

16 Congress finds the following:

17 (1) The Administration is recognized through18 out the world as a leader in aviation safety.

19 (2) The Administration certifies aircraft, en20 gines, propellers, and other manufactured parts.

21 (3) The Administration certifies more than 650

22 training schools for pilots and nonpilots, more than

23 4,858 repair stations, and more than 193 mainte24 nance schools.
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1 (4) The Administration certifies pilot examin2 ers, who are then qualified to determine if a person

3 has the skills necessary to become a pilot.

4 (5) The Administration certifies more than

5 6,000 medical examiners, each of whom is then

6 qualified to medically certify the qualifications of pi7 lots and nonpilots.

8 (6) The Administration certifies more than 470

9 airports, and provides a limited certification for an10 other 205 airports. Other airports in the United

11 States are also reviewed by the Administration.

12 (7) The Administration each year performs

13 more than 355,000 inspections.

14 (8) The Administration issues more than

15 655,000 pilot’s licenses and more than 560,000 non16 pilot’s licenses (including mechanics).

17 (9) The Administration’s certification means

18 that the product meets worldwide recognized stand19 ards of safety and reliability.

20 (10) The Administration’s certification means

21 aviation-related equipment and services meet world22 wide recognized standards.

23 (11) The Administration’s certification is recog24 nized by governments and businesses throughout the

25 world and as such may be a valuable element for any
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1 company desiring to sell aviation-related products

2 throughout the world.

3 (12) The Administration’s certification may

4 constitute a valuable license, franchise, privilege or

5 benefits for the holders.

6 (13) The Administration also is a major pur7 chaser of computers, radars, and other systems

8 needed to run the air traffic control system. The Ad9 ministration’s design, acceptance, commissioning, or

10 certification of such equipment enables the private

11 sector to market those products around the world,

12 and as such confers a benefit on the manufacturer.

13 (14) The Administration provides extensive

14 services to public use aircraft.

15 SEC. 272. PURPOSES.

16 The purposes of this subtitle are—

17 (1) to provide a financial structure for the Ad18 ministration so that it will be able to support the fu19 ture growth in the national aviation and airport sys20 tem;

21 (2) to review existing and alternative funding

22 options, including incentive-based fees for services,

23 and establish a program to improve air traffic man24 agement system performance and to establish appro25 priate levels of cost accountability for air traffic
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1 management services provided by the Administra2 tion;

3 (3) to ensure that any funding will be dedicated

4 solely for the use of the Administration;

5 (4) to authorize the Administration to recover

6 the costs of its services from those who benefit from,

7 but do not contribute to, the national aviation sys8 tem and the services provided by the Administration;

9 (5) to consider a fee system based on the cost

10 or value of the services provided and other funding

11 alternatives;

12 (6) to develop funding options for Congress in

13 order to provide for the long-term efficient and cost14 effective support of the Administration and the avia15 tion system; and

16 (7) to achieve a more efficient and effective Ad17 ministration for the benefit of the aviation transpor18 tation industry.

19 SEC. 273. USER FEES FOR VARIOUS FEDERAL AVIATION AD20 MINISTRATION SERVICES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 453 is amended by strik22 ing section 45301 and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘§ 45301. General provisions

24 ‘‘(a) SCHEDULE OF FEES.—The Administrator shall

25 establish a schedule of new fees, and a collection process
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1 for such fees, for the following services provided by the

2 Administration:

3 ‘‘(1) Air traffic control and related services pro4 vided to aircraft other than military and civilian air5 craft of the United States government or of a for6 eign government that neither take off from, nor land

7 in, the United States.

8 ‘‘(2) Services (other than air traffic control

9 services) provided to a foreign government.

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION AND IMPACT CONSIDER12 ATIONS.—In establishing fees under subsection (a),

13 the Administrator—

14 ‘‘(A) is authorized to recover in fiscal year

15 1997 $100,000,000; and

16 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of the fees re17 quired by subsection (a) is directly related to

18 the Administration’s costs of providing the serv19 ice rendered. Services for which costs may be

20 recovered include the costs of air traffic control,

21 navigation, weather services, training and emer22 gency services which are available to facilitate

23 safe transportation over the United States, and

24 other services provided by the Administrator or

25 by programs financed by the Administrator to
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1 flights that neither take off nor land in the

2 United States.

3 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION; COMMENT.—The Adminis4 trator shall publish in the Federal Register an initial

5 fee schedule and associated collection process as an

6 interim final rule, pursuant to which public comment

7 will be sought and a final rule issued.

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—In de9 veloping the system, the Administrator may consult with

10 such nongovernmental experts as the Administrator may

11 employ and the Administrator may utilize the services of

12 experts and consultants under section 3109 of title 5 with13 out regard to the limitation imposed by the last sentence

14 of section 3109(b) of such title, and may contract on a

15 sole source basis, notwithstanding any other provision of

16 law to the contrary. Notwithstanding any other provision

17 of law to the contrary, the Administrator may retain such

18 experts under a contract awarded on a basis other than

19 a competitive basis and without regard to any such provi20 sions requiring competitive bidding or precluding sole

21 source contract authority.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec23 tions for chapter 453 is amended by striking the item re24 lating to section 45301 and inserting the following:

‘‘45301. General provisions.’’.
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1 SEC. 274. INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF FAA FINANCIAL

2 REQUIREMENTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF NA3 TIONAL CIVIL AVIATION REVIEW COMMIS4 SION.

5 (a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—

6 (1) INITIATION.—Not later than 30 days after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis8 trator shall contract with an entity independent of

9 the Administration and the Department of Trans10 portation to conduct a complete independent assess11 ment of the financial requirements of the Adminis12 tration through the year 2002.

13 (2) ASSESSMENT CRITERIA.—The Adminis14 trator shall provide to the independent entity esti15 mates of the financial requirements of the Adminis16 tration for the period described in paragraph (1),

17 using as a base the fiscal year 1997 appropriation

18 levels established by Congress. The independent as19 sessment shall be based on an objective analysis of

20 agency funding needs.

21 (3) CERTAIN FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO AC22 COUNT.—The independent assessment shall take

23 into account all relevant factors, including—

24 (A) anticipated air traffic forecasts;

25 (B) other workload measures;
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1 (C) estimated productivity gains, if any,

2 which contribute to budgetary requirements;

3 (D) the need for programs; and

4 (E) the need to provide for continued im5 provements in all facets of aviation safety,

6 along with operational improvements in air traf7 fic control.

8 (4) COST ALLOCATION.—The independent as9 sessment shall also assess the costs to the Adminis10 tration occasioned by the provision of services to

11 each segment of the aviation system.

12 (5) DEADLINE.—The independent assessment

13 shall be completed no later than 90 days after the

14 contract is awarded, and shall be submitted to the

15 Commission established under subsection (b), the

16 Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

18 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and

19 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

20 and the Committee on Ways and Means of the

21 House of Representatives.

22 (b) NATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION REVIEW COMMIS23 SION.—

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a

25 commission to be known as the National Civil Avia-
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1 tion Review Commission (hereinafter in this section

2 referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

3 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall con4 sist of 21 members to be appointed as follows:

5 (A) 13 members to be appointed by the

6 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

7 the Treasury, from among individuals who have

8 expertise in the aviation industry and who are

9 able, collectively, to represent a balanced view

10 of the issues important to general aviation,

11 major air carriers, air cargo carriers, regional

12 air carriers, business aviation, airports, aircraft

13 manufacturers, the financial community, avia14 tion industry workers, and airline passengers.

15 At least one member appointed under this sub16 paragraph shall have detailed knowledge of the

17 congressional budgetary process.

18 (B) 2 members appointed by the Speaker

19 of the House of Representatives.

20 (C) 2 members appointed by the minority

21 leader of the House of Representatives.

22 (D) 2 members appointed by the majority

23 leader of the Senate.

24 (E) 2 members appointed by the minority

25 leader of the Senate.
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1 (3) TASK FORCES.—The Commission shall es2 tablish an aviation funding task force and an avia3 tion safety task force to carry out the responsibilities

4 of the Commission under this subsection.

5 (4) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission may

6 conduct its first meeting as soon as a majority of

7 the members of the Commission are appointed.

8 (5) HEARINGS AND CONSULTATION.—

9 (A) HEARINGS.—The Commission shall

10 take such testimony and solicit and receive such

11 comments from the public and other interested

12 parties as it considers appropriate, shall con13 duct 2 public hearings after affording adequate

14 notice to the public thereof, and may conduct

15 such additional hearings as may be necessary.

16 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commission

17 shall consult on a regular and frequent basis

18 with the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treas19 ury, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

20 Transportation and the Committee on Finance

21 of the Senate, and the Committee on Transpor22 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on

23 Ways and Means of the House of Representa24 tives.
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1 (C) FACA NOT TO APPLY.—The Commis2 sion shall not be considered an advisory com3 mittee for purposes of the Federal Advisory

4 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

5 (6) DUTIES OF AVIATION FUNDING TASK

6 FORCE.—

7 (A) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The aviation fund9 ing task force established pursuant to

10 paragraph (3) shall submit a report setting

11 forth a comprehensive analysis of the Ad12 ministration’s budgetary requirements

13 through fiscal year 2002, based upon the

14 independent assessment under subsection

15 (a), that analyzes alternative financing and

16 funding means for meeting the needs of

17 the aviation system through the year 2002.

18 The task force shall submit a preliminary

19 report of that analysis to the Secretary not

20 later than 6 months after the independent

21 assessment is completed under subsection

22 (a). The Secretary shall provide comments

23 on the preliminary report to the task force

24 within 30 days after receiving the report.

25 The task force shall issue a final report of
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1 such comprehensive analysis within 30

2 days after receiving the Secretary’s com3 ments on its preliminary report.

4 (ii) CONTENTS.—The report submit5 ted by the aviation funding task force

6 under clause (i)—

7 (I) shall consider the independent

8 assessment under subsection (a);

9 (II) shall consider estimated cost

10 savings, if any, resulting from the

11 procurement and personnel reforms

12 included in this Act or in sections 347

13 and 348 of Public Law 104–50, and

14 additional financial initiatives;

15 (III) shall include specific rec16 ommendations to Congress on how the

17 Administration can reduce costs, raise

18 additional revenue for the support of

19 agency operations, and accelerate

20 modernization efforts; and

21 (IV) shall include a draft bill

22 containing the changes in law nec23 essary to implement its recommenda24 tions.
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1 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The aviation

2 funding task force shall make such rec3 ommendations under subparagraph (A)(ii)(III)

4 as the task force deems appropriate. Those rec5 ommendations may include—

6 (i) proposals for off-budget treatment

7 of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund;

8 (ii) alternative financing and funding

9 proposals, including linked financing pro10 posals;

11 (iii) modifications to existing levels of

12 Airport and Airways Trust Fund receipts

13 and taxes for each type of tax;

14 (iv) establishment of a cost-based user

15 fee system based on, but not limited to,

16 criteria under subparagraph (F) and meth17 ods to ensure that costs are borne by users

18 on a fair and equitable basis;

19 (v) methods to ensure that funds col20 lected from the aviation community are

21 able to meet the needs of the agency;

22 (vi) methods to ensure that funds col23 lected from the aviation community and

24 passengers are used to support the aviation

25 system;
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1 (vii) means of meeting the airport in2 frastructure needs for large, medium, and

3 small airports; and

4 (viii) any other matter the task force

5 deems appropriate to address the funding

6 and needs of the Administration and the

7 aviation system.

8 (C) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—

9 The aviation funding task force report may also

10 make recommendations concerning—

11 (i) means of improving productivity by

12 expanding and accelerating the use of au13 tomation and other technology;

14 (ii) means of contracting out services

15 consistent with this Act, other applicable

16 law, and safety and national defense needs;

17 (iii) methods to accelerate air traffic

18 control modernization and improvements in

19 aviation safety and safety services;

20 (iv) the elimination of unneeded pro21 grams; and

22 (v) a limited innovative program

23 based on funding mechanisms such as loan

24 guarantees, financial partnerships with for25 profit private sector entities, government-
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1 sponsored enterprises, and revolving loan

2 funds, as a means of funding specific fa3 cilities and equipment projects, and to pro4 vide limited additional funding alternatives

5 for airport capacity development.

6 (D) IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR REC7 OMMENDATIONS.—For each recommendation

8 contained in the aviation funding task force’s

9 report, the report shall include a full analysis

10 and assessment of the impact implementation of

11 the recommendation would have on—

12 (i) safety;

13 (ii) administrative costs;

14 (iii) the congressional budget process;

15 (iv) the economics of the industry (in16 cluding the proportionate share of all

17 users);

18 (v) the ability of the Administration

19 to utilize the sums collected; and

20 (vi) the funding needs of the Adminis21 tration.

22 (E) TRUST FUND TAX RECOMMENDA23 TIONS.—If the task force’s report includes a

24 recommendation that the existing Airport and
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1 Airways Trust Fund tax structure be modified,

2 the report shall—

3 (i) state the specific rates for each

4 group affected by the proposed modifica5 tions;

6 (ii) consider the impact such modifica7 tions shall have on specific users and the

8 public (including passengers); and

9 (iii) state the basis for the rec10 ommendations.

11 (F) FEE SYSTEM RECOMMENDATIONS.—If

12 the task force’s report includes a recommenda13 tion that a fee system be established, including

14 an air traffic control performance-based user

15 fee system, the report shall consider—

16 (i) the impact such a recommendation

17 would have on passengers, air fares (in18 cluding low-fare, high frequency service),

19 service, and competition;

20 (ii) existing contributions provided by

21 individual air carriers toward funding the

22 Administration and the air traffic control

23 system through contributions to the Air24 port and Airways Trust Fund;
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1 (iii) continuing the promotion of fair

2 and competitive practices;

3 (iv) the unique circumstances associ4 ated with interisland air carrier service in

5 Hawaii and rural air service in Alaska;

6 (v) the impact such a recommendation

7 would have on service to small commu8 nities;

9 (vi) the impact such a recommenda10 tion would have on services provided by re11 gional air carriers;

12 (vii) alternative methodologies for cal13 culating fees so as to achieve a fair and

14 reasonable distribution of costs of service

15 among users;

16 (viii) the usefulness of phased-in ap17 proaches to implementing such a financing

18 system;

19 (ix) means of assuring the provision

20 of general fund contributions, as appro21 priate, toward the support of the Adminis22 tration; and

23 (x) the provision of incentives to en24 courage greater efficiency in the provision

25 of air traffic services by the Administration
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1 and greater efficiency in the use of air

2 traffic services by aircraft operators.

3 (7) DUTIES OF AVIATION SAFETY TASK

4 FORCE.—

5 (A) REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR.—Not

6 later than 1 year after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the aviation safety task force

8 established pursuant to paragraph (3) shall

9 submit to the Administrator a report setting

10 forth a comprehensive analysis of aviation safe11 ty in the United States and emerging trends in

12 the safety of particular sectors of the aviation

13 industry.

14 (B) CONTENTS.—The report to be submit15 ted under subparagraph (A) shall include an as16 sessment of—

17 (i) the adequacy of staffing and train18 ing resources for safety personnel of the

19 Administration, including safety inspectors;

20 (ii) the Administration’s processes for

21 ensuring the public safety from fraudulent

22 parts in civil aviation and the extent to

23 which use of suspected unapproved parts

24 requires additional oversight or enforce25 ment action; and
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1 (iii) the ability of the Administration

2 to anticipate changes in the aviation indus3 try and to develop policies and actions to

4 ensure the highest level of aviation safety

5 in the 21st century.

6 (8) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND STAFF.—The

7 Administration may give the Commission appro8 priate access to relevant documents and personnel of

9 the Administration, and the Administrator shall

10 make available, consistent with the authority to

11 withhold commercial and other proprietary informa12 tion under section 552 of title 5, United States Code

13 (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information

14 Act’’), cost data associated with the acquisition and

15 operation of air traffic service systems. Any member

16 of the Commission who receives commercial or other

17 proprietary data from the Administrator shall be

18 subject to the provisions of section 1905 of title 18,

19 United States Code, pertaining to unauthorized dis20 closure of such information.

21 (9) TRAVEL AND PER DIEM.—Each member of

22 the Commission shall be paid actual travel expenses,

23 and per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses when

24 away from his or her usual place of residence, in ac-
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1 cordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States

2 Code.

3 (10) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL FROM THE ADMIN4 ISTRATION.—The Administrator shall make available

5 to the Commission such staff, information, and ad6 ministrative services and assistance as may reason7 ably be required to enable the Commission to carry

8 out its responsibilities under this subsection.

9 (11) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

10 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

11 may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this

12 subsection.

13 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—

14 (1) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY BASED ON

15 FINAL REPORT OF AVIATION FUNDING TASK

16 FORCE.—

17 (A) CONSIDERATION OF TASK FORCE’S

18 PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 30 days

19 after receiving the preliminary report of the

20 aviation funding task force, the Secretary, in

21 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury,

22 shall furnish comments on the report to the

23 task force.

24 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later

25 than 30 days after receiving the final report of
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1 the aviation funding task force, and in no event

2 more than 1 year after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary, after consulting

4 the Secretary of the Treasury, shall transmit a

5 report to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

6 and Transportation and the Committee on Fi7 nance of the Senate, and the Committee on

8 Transportation and Infrastructure and the

9 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of

10 Representatives. Such report shall be based

11 upon the final report of the task force and shall

12 contain the Secretary’s recommendations for

13 funding the needs of the aviation system

14 through the year 2002.

15 (C) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall in16 clude in the report to Congress under subpara17 graph (B)—

18 (i) a copy of the final report of the

19 task force; and

20 (ii) a draft bill containing the changes

21 in law necessary to implement the Sec22 retary’s recommendations.

23 (D) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall

24 cause a copy of the report to be printed in the
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1 Federal Register upon its transmittal to Con2 gress under subparagraph (B).

3 (2) REPORT BY THE ADMINISTRATOR BASED ON

4 FINAL REPORT OF AVIATION SAFETY TASK FORCE.—

5 Not later than 30 days after receiving the report of

6 the aviation safety task force, the Administrator

7 shall transmit the report to Congress, together with

8 the Administrator’s recommendations for improving

9 aviation safety in the United States.

10 (d) GAO AUDIT OF COST ALLOCATION.—The Comp11 troller General shall conduct an assessment of the manner

12 in which costs for air traffic control services are allocated

13 between the Administration and the Department of De14 fense. The Comptroller General shall report the results of

15 the assessment, together with any recommendations the

16 Comptroller General may have for reallocation of costs

17 and for opportunities to increase the efficiency of air traf18 fic control services provided by the Administration and by

19 the Department of Defense, to the Commission, the Ad20 ministrator, the Secretary of Defense, the Committee on

21 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep22 resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science,

23 and Transportation of the Senate not later than 180 days

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (e) GAO ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 180 days

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptrol3 ler General shall transmit to the Commission and Con4 gress an independent assessment of airport development

5 needs.

6 SEC. 275. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN

7 FUNDING PROPOSALS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 481 is amended by add9 ing at the end the following:

10 ‘‘§ 48111. Funding proposals

11 ‘‘(a) INTRODUCTION IN THE SENATE.—Within 15

12 days (not counting any day on which the Senate is not

13 in session) after a funding proposal is submitted to the

14 Senate by the Secretary of Transportation under section

15 274(c) of the Air Traffic Management System Perform16 ance Improvement Act of 1996, an implementing bill with

17 respect to such funding proposal shall be introduced in

18 the Senate by the majority leader of the Senate, for him19 self and the minority leader of the Senate, or by Members

20 of the Senate designated by the majority leader and mi21 nority leader of the Senate.

22 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.—An imple23 menting bill introduced in the Senate under subsection (a)

24 shall be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

25 and Transportation. The Committee on Commerce,
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1 Science, and Transportation shall report the bill with its

2 recommendations within 60 days following the date of in3 troduction of the bill. Upon the reporting of the bill by

4 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor5 tation, the reported bill shall be referred sequentially to

6 the Committee on Finance for a period of 60 legislative

7 days.

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

9 following definitions apply:

10 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTING BILL.—The term ‘imple11 menting bill’ means only a bill of the Senate which

12 is introduced as provided in subsection (a) with re13 spect to one or more Federal Aviation Administra14 tion funding proposals which contain changes in ex15 isting laws or new statutory authority required to

16 implement such funding proposal or proposals.

17 ‘‘(2) FUNDING PROPOSAL.—The term ‘funding

18 proposal’ means a proposal to provide interim or

19 permanent funding for operations of the Federal

20 Aviation Administration.

21 ‘‘(d) RULES OF THE SENATE.—The provisions of this

22 section are enacted—

23 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

24 the Senate and as such they are deemed a part of

25 the rules of the Senate and they supersede other
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1 rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent

2 therewith; and

3 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional

4 right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as re5 lating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time,

6 in the same manner and to the same extent as in

7 the case of any other rule of the Senate.’’.

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

9 for chapter 481 is amended by adding at the end thereof

10 the following:

‘‘48111. Funding proposals.’’.

11 SEC. 276. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 453 is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating section 45303 as section

14 45304; and

15 (2) by inserting after section 45302 the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘§ 45303. Administrative provisions

18 ‘‘(a) FEES PAYABLE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—All fees

19 imposed and amounts collected under this chapter for

20 services performed, or materials furnished, by the Federal

21 Aviation Administration are payable to the Administrator

22 of the Federal Aviation Administration.

23 ‘‘(b) REFUNDS.—The Administrator may refund any

24 fee paid by mistake or any amount paid in excess of that

25 required.
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1 ‘‘(c) RECEIPTS CREDITED TO ACCOUNT.—Notwith2 standing section 3302 of title 31, all fees and amounts

3 collected by the Administration, except insurance pre4 miums and other fees charged for the provision of insur5 ance and deposited in the Aviation Insurance Revolving

6 Fund and interest earned on investments of such Fund,

7 and except amounts which on September 30, 1996, are

8 required to be credited to the general fund of the Treasury

9 (whether imposed under this section or not)—

10 ‘‘(1) shall be credited to a separate account es11 tablished in the Treasury and made available for Ad12 ministration activities;

13 ‘‘(2) shall be available immediately for expendi14 ture but only for congressionally authorized and in15 tended purposes; and

16 ‘‘(3) shall remain available until expended.

17 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL BUDGET REPORT BY ADMINIS18 TRATOR.—The Administrator shall, on the same day each

19 year as the President submits the annual budget to Con20 gress, provide to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

21 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep23 resentatives—

24 ‘‘(1) a list of fee collections by the Administra25 tion during the preceding fiscal year;
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1 ‘‘(2) a list of activities by the Administration

2 during the preceding fiscal year that were supported

3 by fee expenditures and appropriations;

4 ‘‘(3) budget plans for significant programs,

5 projects, and activities of the Administration, includ6 ing out-year funding estimates;

7 ‘‘(4) any proposed disposition of surplus fees by

8 the Administration; and

9 ‘‘(5) such other information as those commit10 tees consider necessary.

11 ‘‘(e) DEVELOPMENT OF COST ACCOUNTING SYS12 TEM.—The Administration shall develop a cost accounting

13 system that adequately and accurately reflects the invest14 ments, operating and overhead costs, revenues, and other

15 financial measurement and reporting aspects of its oper16 ations.

17 ‘‘(f) COMPENSATION TO CARRIERS FOR ACTING AS

18 COLLECTION AGENTS.—The Administration shall pre19 scribe regulations to ensure that any air carrier required,

20 pursuant to the Air Traffic Management System Perform21 ance Improvement Act of 1996 or any amendments made

22 by that Act, to collect a fee imposed on another party by

23 the Administrator may collect from such other party an

24 additional uniform amount that the Administrator deter25 mines reflects the necessary and reasonable expenses (net
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1 of interest accruing to the carrier after collection and be2 fore remittance) incurred in collecting and handling the

3 fee.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec5 tions for chapter 453 is amended by striking the item re6 lating to section 45303 and inserting the following:

‘‘45303. Administrative provisions.

‘‘45304. Maximum fees for private person services.’’.

7 SEC. 277. ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS FOR AIRPORT AND

8 AIRWAY TRUST FUND ACTIVITIES.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle VII is amended

10 by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 482—ADVANCE APPROPRIA12 TIONS FOR AIRPORT AND AIRWAY

13 TRUST FACILITIES

‘‘Sec.

‘‘48201. Advance appropriations.

14 ‘‘§ 48201. Advance appropriations

15 ‘‘(a) MULTIYEAR AUTHORIZATIONS.—Beginning with

16 fiscal year 1999, any authorization of appropriations for

17 an activity for which amounts are to be appropriated from

18 the Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under sec19 tion 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall pro20 vide funds for a period of not less than 3 fiscal years un21 less the activity for which appropriations are authorized

22 is to be concluded before the end of that period.
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1 ‘‘(b) MULTIYEAR APPROPRIATIONS.—Beginning with

2 fiscal year 1999, amounts appropriated from the Airport

3 and Airway Trust Fund shall be appropriated for periods

4 of 3 fiscal years rather than annually.’’.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

6 subtitle VII is amended by inserting after the item relating

7 to chapter 481 the following:

‘‘482. ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS FOR AIRPORT AND

AIRWAY TRUST FACILITIES ...........................48201.’’.

8 SEC. 278. RURAL AIR SERVICE SURVIVAL ACT.

9 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the

10 ‘‘Rural Air Service Survival Act’’.

11 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

12 (1) air service in rural areas is essential to a

13 national and international transportation network;

14 (2) the rural air service infrastructure supports

15 the safe operation of all air travel;

16 (3) rural air service creates economic benefits

17 for all air carriers by making the national aviation

18 system available to passengers from rural areas;

19 (4) rural air service has suffered since deregula20 tion;

21 (5) the essential air service program under the

22 Department of Transportation—
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1 (A) provides essential airline access to

2 rural and isolated rural communities through3 out the Nation;

4 (B) is necessary for the economic growth

5 and development of rural communities;

6 (C) is a critical component of the national

7 and international transportation system of the

8 United States; and

9 (D) has endured serious funding cuts in

10 recent years; and

11 (6) a reliable source of funding must be estab12 lished to maintain air service in rural areas and the

13 essential air service program.

14 (c) ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE AUTHORIZATION.—Sec15 tion 41742 is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘§ 41742. Essential air service authorization

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Out of the amounts received by

18 the Federal Aviation Administration credited to the ac19 count established under section 45303 of this title or oth20 erwise provided to the Administration, the sum of

21 $50,000,000 is authorized and shall be made available im22 mediately for obligation and expenditure to carry out the

23 essential air service program under this subchapter for

24 each fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(b) FUNDING FOR SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERV2 ICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, moneys

3 credited to the account established under section 45303(a)

4 of this title, including the funds derived from fees imposed

5 under the authority contained in section 45301(a) of this

6 title, shall be used to carry out the essential air service

7 program under this subchapter. Notwithstanding section

8 47114(g) of this title, any amounts from those fees that

9 are not obligated or expended at the end of the fiscal year

10 for the purpose of funding the essential air service pro11 gram under this subchapter shall be made available to the

12 Administration for use in improving rural air safety under

13 subchapter I of chapter 471 of this title and shall be used

14 exclusively for projects at rural airports under this sub15 chapter.

16 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.—Not17 withstanding subsections (a) and (b), in fiscal year 1997,

18 amounts in excess of $75,000,000 that are collected in

19 fees pursuant to section 45301(a)(1) of this title shall be

20 available for the essential air service program under this

21 subchapter, in addition to amounts specifically provided

22 for in appropriations Acts.’’.

23 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions for chapter 417 is amended by striking the item re25 lating to section 41742 and inserting the following:

‘‘41742. Essential air service authorization.’’.
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1 TITLE III—AVIATION SECURITY

2 SEC. 301. REPORT INCLUDING PROPOSED LEGISLATION ON

3 FUNDING FOR AIRPORT SECURITY.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the

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

6 the Federal Aviation Administration, in cooperation with

7 other appropriate persons, shall conduct a study and sub8 mit to Congress a report on whether, and if so how, to

9 transfer certain responsibilities of air carriers under Fed10 eral law for security activities conducted onsite at commer11 cial service airports to airport operators or to the Federal

12 Government or to provide for shared responsibilities be13 tween air carriers and airport operators or the Federal

14 Government.

15 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report submitted

16 under this section shall—

17 (1) examine potential sources of Federal and

18 non-Federal revenue that may be used to fund secu19 rity activities, including providing grants from funds

20 received as fees collected under a fee system estab21 lished under subtitle C of title II of this Act and the

22 amendments made by that subtitle; and

23 (2) provide legislative proposals, if necessary,

24 for accomplishing the transfer of responsibilities re25 ferred to in subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 302. CERTIFICATION OF SCREENING COMPANIES.

2 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis3 tration is directed to certify companies providing security

4 screening and to improve the training and testing of secu5 rity screeners through development of uniform perform6 ance standards for providing security screening services.

7 SEC. 303. WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVE DETECTION STUDY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal

9 Aviation Administration shall enter into an arrangement

10 with the Director of the National Academy of Sciences (or

11 if the National Academy of Sciences is not available, the

12 head of another equivalent entity) to conduct a study in

13 accordance to this section.

14 (b) PANEL OF EXPERTS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a study

16 under this section, the Director of the National

17 Academy of Sciences (or the head of another equiva18 lent entity) shall establish a panel (hereinafter in

19 this section referred to as the ‘‘panel’’).

20 (2) EXPERTISE.—Each member of the panel

21 shall have expertise in weapons and explosive detec22 tion technology, security, air carrier and airport op23 erations, or another appropriate area. The Director

24 of the National Academy of Sciences (or the head of

25 another equivalent entity) shall ensure that the
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1 panel has an appropriate number of representatives

2 of the areas specified in the preceding sentence.

3 (c) STUDY.—The panel, in consultation with the Na4 tional Science and Technology Council, representatives of

5 appropriate Federal agencies, and appropriate members of

6 the private sector, shall—

7 (1) assess the weapons and explosive detection

8 technologies that are available at the time of the

9 study that are capable of being effectively deployed

10 in commercial aviation;

11 (2) determine how the technologies referred to

12 in paragraph (1) may more effectively be used for

13 promotion and improvement of security at airport

14 and aviation facilities and other secured areas;

15 (3) assess the cost and advisability of requiring

16 hardened cargo containers as a way to enhance avia17 tion security and reduce the required sensitivity of

18 bomb detection equipment; and

19 (4) on the basis of the assessments and deter20 minations made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3),

21 identify the most promising technologies for the im22 provement of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of

23 weapons and explosive detection.

24 (d) COOPERATION.—The National Science and Tech25 nology Council shall take such actions as may be necessary
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1 to facilitate, to the maximum extent practicable and upon

2 request of the Director of the National Academy of

3 Sciences (or the head of another equivalent entity), the

4 cooperation of representatives of appropriate Federal

5 agencies, as provided for in subsection (c), in providing

6 the panel, for the study under this section—

7 (1) expertise; and

8 (2) to the extent allowable by law, resources

9 and facilities.

10 (e) REPORTS.—The Director of the National Acad11 emy of Sciences (or the head of another equivalent entity)

12 shall, pursuant to an arrangement entered into under sub13 section (a), submit to the Administrator such reports as

14 the Administrator considers to be appropriate. Upon re15 ceipt of a report under this subsection, the Administrator

16 shall submit a copy of the report to the appropriate com17 mittees of Congress.

18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years

20 1997 through 2001 such sums as may be necessary to

21 carry out this section.

22 SEC. 304. REQUIREMENT FOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

23 RECORDS CHECKS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44936(a)(1) is amend25 ed—
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1 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and

2 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

3 (2) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)’’;

4 and

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

6 ‘‘(B) The Administrator shall require by regulation

7 that an employment investigation (including a criminal

8 history record check in any case described in subpara9 graph (C)) be conducted for—

10 ‘‘(i) individuals who will be responsible for

11 screening passengers or property under section

12 44901 of this title;

13 ‘‘(ii) supervisors of the individuals described in

14 clause (i); and

15 ‘‘(iii) such other individuals who exercise secu16 rity functions associated with baggage or cargo, as

17 the Administrator determines is necessary to ensure

18 air transportation security.

19 ‘‘(C) Under the regulations issued under subpara20 graph (B), a criminal history record check shall be con21 ducted in any case in which—

22 ‘‘(i) an employment investigation reveals a gap

23 in employment of 12 months or more that the indi24 vidual who is the subject of the investigation does

25 not satisfactorily account for;
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1 ‘‘(ii) such individual is unable to support state2 ments made on the application of such individual;

3 ‘‘(iii) there are significant inconsistencies in the

4 information provided on the application of such indi5 vidual; or

6 ‘‘(iv) information becomes available during the

7 employment investigation indicating a possible con8 viction for one of the crimes listed in subsection

9 (b)(1)(B).

10 ‘‘(D) If an individual requires a criminal history

11 record check under subparagraph (C), the individual may

12 be employed as a screener until the check is completed

13 if the individual is subject to supervision.’’.

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub15 section (a)(3) shall apply to individuals hired to perform

16 functions described in section 44936(a)(1)(B) of title 49,

17 United States Code, after the date of the enactment of

18 this Act; except that the Administrator of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration may, as the Administrator deter20 mines to be appropriate, require such employment inves21 tigations or criminal history records checks for individuals

22 performing those functions on the date of the enactment

23 of this Act.
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1 SEC. 305. INTERIM DEPLOYMENT OF COMMERCIALLY

2 AVAILABLE EXPLOSIVE DETECTION EQUIP3 MENT.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44913(a) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para6 graph (4); and

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(3) Until such time as the Administrator determines

10 that equipment certified under paragraph (1) is commer11 cially available and has successfully completed operational

12 testing as provided in paragraph (1), the Administrator

13 shall facilitate the deployment of such approved commer14 cially available explosive detection devices as the Adminis15 trator determines will enhance aviation security signifi16 cantly. The Administrator shall require that equipment

17 deployed under this paragraph be replaced by equipment

18 certified under paragraph (1) when equipment certified

19 under paragraph (1) becomes commercially available. The

20 Administrator is authorized, based on operational consid21 erations at individual airports, to waive the required in22 stallation of commercially available equipment under para23 graph (1) in the interests of aviation security. The Admin24 istrator may permit the requirements of this paragraph

25 to be met at airports by the deployment of dogs or other

26 appropriate animals to supplement equipment for screen-
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1 ing passengers, baggage, mail, or cargo for explosives or

2 weapons.’’.

3 (b) AGREEMENTS.—The Administrator is authorized

4 to use noncompetitive or cooperative agreements with air

5 carriers and airport authorities that provide for the Ad6 ministrator to purchase and assist in installing advanced

7 security equipment for the use of such entities.

8 SEC. 306. AUDIT OF PERFORMANCE OF BACKGROUND

9 CHECKS FOR CERTAIN PERSONNEL.

10 Section 44936(a) is amended by adding at the end

11 the following:

12 ‘‘(3) The Administrator shall provide for the periodic

13 audit of the effectiveness of criminal history record checks

14 conducted under paragraph (1) of this subsection.’’.

15 SEC. 307. PASSENGER PROFILING.

16 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis17 tration, the Secretary of Transportation, the intelligence

18 community, and the law enforcement community should

19 continue to assist air carriers in developing computer-as20 sisted passenger profiling programs and other appropriate

21 passenger profiling programs which should be used in con22 junction with other security measures and technologies.
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1 SEC. 308. AUTHORITY TO USE CERTAIN FUNDS FOR AIR2 PORT SECURITY PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, funds referred to in subsection (b) may be

5 used for the improvement of facilities and the purchase

6 and deployment of equipment to enhance and ensure the

7 safety and security of passengers and other persons in8 volved in air travel.

9 (b) COVERED FUNDS.—The following funds may be

10 used under subsection (a):

11 (1) Project grants made under subchapter 1 of

12 chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code.

13 (2) Passenger facility fees collected under sec14 tion 40117 of title 49, United States Code.

15 SEC. 309. DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION SECURITY LIAISON

16 AGREEMENT.

17 The Secretary of Transportation and the Attorney

18 General, acting through the Administrator of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration and the Director of the Federal

20 Bureau of Investigation, shall enter into an interagency

21 agreement providing for the establishment of an aviation

22 security liaison at existing appropriate Federal agencies’

23 field offices in or near cities served by a designated high24 risk airport.
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1 SEC. 310. REGULAR JOINT THREAT ASSESSMENTS.

2 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis3 tration and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Inves4 tigation shall carry out joint threat and vulnerability as5 sessments on security every 3 years, or more frequently,

6 as necessary, at each airport determined to be high risk.

7 SEC. 311. BAGGAGE MATCH REPORT.

8 (a) REPORT.—If a bag match pilot program is car9 ried out as recommended by the White House Conference

10 on Aviation Safety and Security, not later than the 30th

11 day following the date of completion of the pilot program,

12 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

13 shall submit to Congress a report on the safety, effective14 ness, and operational effectiveness of the pilot program.

15 The report shall also assess the extent to which implemen16 tation of baggage match requirements (coupled with the

17 best available technologies and methodologies, such as

18 passenger profiling) enhance domestic aviation security.

19 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

20 Senate that the Administrator should work with airports

21 and air carriers to develop, to the extent feasible, effective

22 domestic bag matching proposals.

23 SEC. 312. ENHANCED SECURITY PROGRAMS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 449 is amended by add25 ing at the end of subchapter I the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 44916. Assessments and evaluations

2 ‘‘(a) PERIODIC ASSESSMENTS.—The Administrator

3 shall require each air carrier and airport (including the

4 airport owner or operator in cooperation with the air car5 riers and vendors serving each airport) that provides for

6 intrastate, interstate, or foreign air transportation to con7 duct periodic vulnerability assessments of the security sys8 tems of that air carrier or airport, respectively. The Ad9 ministration shall perform periodic audits of such assess10 ments.

11 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Administrator shall con12 duct periodic and unannounced inspections of security sys13 tems of airports and air carriers to determine the effec14 tiveness and vulnerabilities of such systems. To the extent

15 allowable by law, the Administrator may provide for anon16 ymous tests of those security systems.’’.

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

18 for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item

19 relating to section 44915 the following:

‘‘44916. Assessments and evaluations.’’.

20 SEC. 313. REPORT ON AIR CARGO.

21 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor23 tation shall transmit to Congress a report on any changes

24 recommended and implemented as a result of the White

25 House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security to en-
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1 hance and supplement screening and inspection of cargo,

2 mail, and company-shipped materials transported in air

3 commerce.

4 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include—

5 (1) an assessment of the effectiveness of the

6 changes referred to in subsection (a);

7 (2) an assessment of the oversight by the Fed8 eral Aviation Administration of inspections of ship9 ments of mail and cargo by domestic and foreign air

10 carriers;

11 (3) an assessment of the need for additional se12 curity measures with respect to such inspections;

13 (4) an assessment of the adequacy of inspection

14 and screening of cargo on passenger air carriers;

15 and

16 (5) any additional recommendations, and if nec17 essary any legislative proposals, necessary to carry

18 out additional changes.

19 (c) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

20 Senate that the inspection of cargo, mail, and company21 shipped materials can be enhanced.

22 SEC. 314. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING ACTS OF

23 INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—
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1 (1) there has been an intensification in the op2 pression and disregard for human life among nations

3 that are willing to export terrorism;

4 (2) there has been an increase in attempts by

5 criminal terrorists to murder airline passengers

6 through the destruction of civilian airliners and the

7 deliberate fear and death inflicted through bombings

8 of buildings and the kidnapping of tourists and

9 Americans residing abroad; and

10 (3) information widely available demonstrates

11 that a significant portion of international terrorist

12 activity is state-sponsored, -organized, -condoned, or

13 -directed.

14 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

15 Senate that if evidence establishes beyond a clear and rea16 sonable doubt that any act of hostility towards any United

17 States citizen was an act of international terrorism spon18 sored, organized, condoned, or directed by any nation, a

19 state of war should be considered to exist or to have ex20 isted between the United States and that nation, begin21 ning as of the moment that the act of aggression occurs.

22 TITLE IV—AVIATION SAFETY

23 SEC. 401. ELIMINATION OF DUAL MANDATE.

24 (a) SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS IN PUBLIC INTER25 EST.—
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1 (1) SAFETY AS HIGHEST PRIORITY.—Section

2 40101(d) is amended—

3 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

4 through (6) as paragraphs (2) through (7), re5 spectively; and

6 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as

7 so redesignated, the following:

8 ‘‘(1) assigning, maintaining, and enhancing

9 safety and security as the highest priorities in air

10 commerce.’’.

11 (2) ELIMINATION OF PROMOTION.—Section

12 40101(d) is further amended—

13 (A) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by

14 paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, by striking

15 ‘‘its development and’’; and

16 (B) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘promoting, encourag18 ing,’’ and inserting ‘‘encouraging’’; and

19 (ii) by inserting before the period at

20 the end ‘‘, including new aviation tech21 nology’’.

22 (b) FAA SAFETY MISSION.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 40104 is amended—

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘safety of’’ before ‘‘air

25 commerce’’ in the section heading;
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘SAFETY OF’’ before ‘‘AIR

2 COMMERCE’’ in the heading of subsection (a);

3 and

4 (C) by inserting ‘‘safety of’’ before ‘‘air

5 commerce’’ in subsection (a).

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for chapter 401 is amended by striking the

8 item relating to section 40104 and inserting the fol9 lowing:

‘‘40104. Promotion of civil aeronautics and safety of air commerce.’’.

10 SEC. 402. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED IN11 FORMATION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401, as amended by sec13 tion 253 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the

14 end the following:

15 ‘‘§ 40123. Protection of voluntarily submitted infor16 mation

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro18 vision of law, neither the Administrator of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration, nor any agency receiving infor20 mation from the Administrator, shall disclose voluntarily21 provided safety or security related information if the Ad22 ministrator finds that—

23 ‘‘(1) the disclosure of the information would in24 hibit the voluntary provision of that type of informa25 tion and that the receipt of that type of information
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1 aids in fulfilling the Administrator’s safety and secu2 rity responsibilities; and

3 ‘‘(2) withholding such information from disclo4 sure would be consistent with the Administrator’s

5 safety and security responsibilities.

6 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue

7 regulations to carry out this section.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec9 tions for such chapter is amended by adding at the end

10 the following:

‘‘40123. Protection of voluntarily submitted information.’’.

11 SEC. 403. SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATES.

12 Section 44704 is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

14 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATES.—

18 ‘‘(1) ISSUANCE.—The Administrator may issue

19 a type certificate designated as a supplemental type

20 certificate for a change to an aircraft, aircraft en21 gine, propeller, or appliance.

22 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A supplemental type certifi23 cate issued under paragraph (1) shall consist of the

24 change to the aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, or

25 appliance with respect to the previously issued type
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1 certificate for the aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller,

2 or appliance.

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—If the holder of a supple4 mental type certificate agrees to permit another per5 son to use the certificate to modify an aircraft, air6 craft engine, propeller, or appliance, the holder shall

7 provide the other person with written evidence, in a

8 form acceptable to the Administrator, of that agree9 ment. A person may change an aircraft, aircraft en10 gine, propeller, or appliance based on a supplemental

11 type certificate only if the person requesting the

12 change is the holder of the supplemental type certifi13 cate or has permission from the holder to make the

14 change.’’.

15 SEC. 404. CERTIFICATION OF SMALL AIRPORTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44706(a) is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para18 graph (3);

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(2) that is not located in the State of Alaska

22 and serves any scheduled passenger operation of an

23 air carrier operating aircraft designed for more than

24 9 passenger seats but less than 31 passenger seats;

25 and’’;
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (3), as redesignated by paragraph (1) of this sub3 section;

4 (4) by striking ‘‘(3) when’’ and inserting ‘‘if’’;

5 and

6 (5) by moving the matter following paragraph

7 (3), as redesignated by paragraph (1) of this sub8 section, to the left flush full measure.

9 (b) COMMUTER AIRPORTS.—Section 44706 is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(d) COMMUTER AIRPORTS.—In developing the

12 terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered by

13 subsection (a)(2), the Administrator shall identify and

14 consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives

15 and select from such alternatives the least costly, most

16 cost-effective or the least burdensome alternative that will

17 provide comparable safety at airports described in sub18 sections (a)(1) and (a)(2).’’.

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 44706 is further

20 amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Any regulation establishing

22 the terms required by subsection (b) for airports covered

23 by subsection (a)(2) shall not take effect until such regula24 tion, and a report on the economic impact of the regula25 tion on air service to the airports covered by the rule, has
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1 been submitted to Congress and 120 days have elapsed

2 following the date of such submission.’’.

3 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

4 Section 44706 is further amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

7 Nothing in this title may be construed as requiring a per8 son to obtain an airport operating certificate if such per9 son does not desire to operate an airport described in sub10 section (a).’’.

11 SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR

12 STATE-SPECIFIC SAFETY MEASURES.

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed14 eral Aviation Administration not more than $10,000,000

15 for fiscal year 1997 for the purpose of addressing State16 specific aviation safety problems identified by the National

17 Transportation Safety Board.

18 SEC. 406. AIRCRAFT ENGINE STANDARDS.

19 (a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—Subsection

20 (a)(1) of section 44715 is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—(1)(A) To re22 lieve and protect the public health and welfare from air23 craft noise and sonic boom, the Administrator of the Fed24 eral Aviation Administration, as he deems necessary, shall

25 prescribe—
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1 ‘‘(i) standards to measure aircraft noise and

2 sonic boom; and

3 ‘‘(ii) regulations to control and abate aircraft

4 noise and sonic boom.

5 ‘‘(B) The Administrator, as the Administrator deems

6 appropriate, shall provide for the participation of a rep7 resentative of the Environmental Protection Agency on

8 such advisory committees or associated working groups

9 that advise the Administrator on matters related to the

10 environmental effects of aircraft and aircraft engines.’’.

11 (b) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—Section

12 231(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7571(a)(2))

13 is amended—

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The Adminis15 trator’’; and

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

17 ‘‘(B)(i) The Administrator shall consult with the Ad18 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration on air19 craft engine emission standards.

20 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator shall not change the aircraft

21 engine emission standards if such change would signifi22 cantly increase noise and adversely affect safety.’’.
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1 SEC. 407. ACCIDENT AND SAFETY DATA CLASSIFICATION;

2 REPORT ON EFFECTS OF PUBLICATION AND

3 AUTOMATED SURVEILLANCE TARGETING

4 SYSTEMS.

5 (a) ACCIDENT AND SAFETY DATA CLASSIFICA6 TION.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11

8 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add9 ing at the end the following:

10 ‘‘§ 1119. Accident and safety data classification and

11 publication

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the

13 date of the enactment of this section, the National Trans14 portation Safety Board shall, in consultation and coordi15 nation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad16 ministration, develop a system for classifying air carrier

17 accident data maintained by the Board.

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CLASSIFICATION SYS19 TEM.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The system developed

21 under this section shall provide for the classification

22 of accident and safety data in a manner that, in

23 comparison to the system in effect on the date of the

24 enactment of this section, provides for safety-related

25 categories that provide clearer descriptions of acci26 dents associated with air transportation, including a
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1 more refined classification of accidents which involve

2 fatalities, injuries, or substantial damage and which

3 are only related to the operation of an aircraft.

4 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In developing a sys5 tem of classification under paragraph (1), the Board

6 shall provide adequate opportunity for public review

7 and comment.

8 ‘‘(3) FINAL CLASSIFICATION.—After providing

9 for public review and comment, and after consulting

10 with the Administrator, the Board shall issue final

11 classifications. The Board shall ensure that air trav12 el accident covered under this section is classified in

13 accordance with the final classifications issued under

14 this section for data for calendar year 1997, and for

15 each subsequent calendar year.

16 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—The Board shall publish

17 on a periodic basis accident and safety data in ac18 cordance with the final classifications issued under

19 paragraph (3).

20 ‘‘(5) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ADMINIS21 TRATOR.—The Administrator may, from time to

22 time, request the Board to consider revisions (in23 cluding additions to the classification system devel24 oped under this section). The Board shall respond to

25 any request made by the Administrator under this
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1 section not later than 90 days after receiving that

2 request.’’.

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

4 sections for subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 49,

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

‘‘1119. Accident and safety data classification and publication.’’.

7 (b) AUTOMATED SURVEILLANCE TARGETING SYS8 TEMS.—Section 44713 is amended by adding at the end

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(e) AUTOMATED SURVEILLANCE TARGETING SYS11 TEMS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

13 give high priority to developing and deploying a fully

14 enhanced safety performance analysis system that

15 includes automated surveillance to assist the Admin16 istrator in prioritizing and targeting surveillance and

17 inspection activities of the Federal Aviation Admin18 istration.

19 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR DEPLOYMENT.—

20 ‘‘(A) INITIAL PHASE.—The initial phase of

21 the operational deployment of the system devel22 oped under this subsection shall begin not later

23 than December 31, 1997.
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1 ‘‘(B) FINAL PHASE.—The final phase of

2 field deployment of the system developed under

3 this subsection shall begin not later than De4 cember 31, 1999. By that date, all principal op5 erations and maintenance inspectors of the Ad6 ministration, and appropriate supervisors and

7 analysts of the Administration shall have been

8 provided access to the necessary information

9 and resources to carry out the system.

10 ‘‘(3) INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION.—In de11 veloping the system under this section, the Adminis12 tration shall consider the near-term integration of

13 accident and incident data into the safety perform14 ance analysis system under this subsection.’’.

15 TITLE V—PILOT RECORD

16 SHARING

17 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Pilot Records Im19 provement Act of 1996’’.

20 SEC. 502. EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS OF PILOT APPLI21 CANTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44936 is amended by

23 adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(f) RECORDS OF EMPLOYMENT OF PILOT APPLI25 CANTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before hiring an individual

2 as a pilot, an air carrier shall request and receive

3 the following information:

4 ‘‘(A) FAA RECORDS.—From the Adminis5 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration,

6 records pertaining to the individual that are

7 maintained by the Administrator concerning—

8 ‘‘(i) current airman certificates (in9 cluding airman medical certificates) and

10 associated type ratings, including any limi11 tations to those certificates and ratings;

12 and

13 ‘‘(ii) summaries of legal enforcement

14 actions resulting in a finding by the Ad15 ministrator of a violation of this title or a

16 regulation prescribed or order issued under

17 this title that was not subsequently over18 turned.

19 ‘‘(B) AIR CARRIER AND OTHER

20 RECORDS.—From any air carrier or other per21 son that has employed the individual at any

22 time during the 5-year period preceding the

23 date of the employment application of the indi24 vidual, or from the trustee in bankruptcy for

25 such air carrier or person—
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1 ‘‘(i) records pertaining to the individ2 ual that are maintained by an air carrier

3 (other than records relating to flight time,

4 duty time, or rest time) under regulations

5 set forth in—

6 ‘‘(I) section 121.683 of title 14,

7 Code of Federal Regulations;

8 ‘‘(II) paragraph (A) of section

9 VI, appendix I, part 121 of such title;

10 ‘‘(III) paragraph (A) of section

11 IV, appendix J, part 121 of such title;

12 ‘‘(IV) section 125.401 of such

13 title; and

14 ‘‘(V) section 135.63(a)(4) of such

15 title; and

16 ‘‘(ii) other records pertaining to the

17 individual that are maintained by the air

18 carrier or person concerning—

19 ‘‘(I) the training, qualifications,

20 proficiency, or professional com21 petence of the individual, including

22 comments and evaluations made by a

23 check airman designated in accord24 ance with section 121.411, 125.295,

25 or 135.337 of such title;
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1 ‘‘(II) any disciplinary action

2 taken with respect to the individual

3 that was not subsequently overturned;

4 and

5 ‘‘(III) any release from employ6 ment or resignation, termination, or

7 disqualification with respect to em8 ployment.

9 ‘‘(C) NATIONAL DRIVER REGISTER

10 RECORDS.—In accordance with section

11 30305(b)(7), from the chief driver licensing of12 ficial of a State, information concerning the

13 motor vehicle driving record of the individual.

14 ‘‘(2) WRITTEN CONSENT; RELEASE FROM LI15 ABILITY.—An air carrier making a request for

16 records under paragraph (1)—

17 ‘‘(A) shall be required to obtain written

18 consent to the release of those records from the

19 individual that is the subject of the records re20 quested; and

21 ‘‘(B) may, notwithstanding any other pro22 vision of law or agreement to the contrary, re23 quire the individual who is the subject of the

24 records to request to execute a release from li25 ability for any claim arising from the furnishing
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1 of such records to or the use of such records by

2 such air carrier (other than a claim arising

3 from furnishing information known to be false

4 and maintained in violation of a criminal stat5 ute).

6 ‘‘(3) 5-YEAR REPORTING PERIOD.—A person

7 shall not furnish a record in response to a request

8 made under paragraph (1) if the record was entered

9 more than 5 years before the date of the request,

10 unless the information concerns a revocation or sus11 pension of an airman certificate or motor vehicle li12 cense that is in effect on the date of the request.

13 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN RECORDS.—

14 The Administrator shall maintain pilot records de15 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) for a period of at least

16 5 years.

17 ‘‘(5) RECEIPT OF CONSENT; PROVISION OF IN18 FORMATION.—A person shall not furnish a record in

19 response to a request made under paragraph (1)

20 without first obtaining a copy of the written consent

21 of the individual who is the subject of the records re22 quested. A person who receives a request for records

23 under this paragraph shall furnish a copy of all of

24 such requested records maintained by the person not

25 later than 30 days after receiving the request.
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1 ‘‘(6) RIGHT TO RECEIVE NOTICE AND COPY OF

2 ANY RECORD FURNISHED.—A person who receives a

3 request for records under paragraph (1) shall pro4 vide to the individual who is the subject of the

5 records—

6 ‘‘(A) on or before the 20th day following

7 the date of receipt of the request, written notice

8 of the request and of the individual’s right to

9 receive a copy of such records; and

10 ‘‘(B) in accordance with paragraph (10), a

11 copy of such records, if requested by the indi12 vidual.

13 ‘‘(7) REASONABLE CHARGES FOR PROCESSING

14 REQUESTS AND FURNISHING COPIES.—A person who

15 receives a request under paragraph (1) or (6) may

16 establish a reasonable charge for the cost of process17 ing the request and furnishing copies of the re18 quested records.

19 ‘‘(8) STANDARD FORMS.—The Administrator

20 shall promulgate—

21 ‘‘(A) standard forms that may be used by

22 an air carrier to request records under para23 graph (1); and

24 ‘‘(B) standard forms that may be used by

25 an air carrier to—
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1 ‘‘(i) obtain the written consent of the

2 individual who is the subject of a request

3 under paragraph (1); and

4 ‘‘(ii) inform the individual of—

5 ‘‘(I) the request; and

6 ‘‘(II) the individual right of that

7 individual to receive a copy of any

8 records furnished in response to the

9 request.

10 ‘‘(9) RIGHT TO CORRECT INACCURACIES.—An

11 air carrier that maintains or requests and receives

12 the records of an individual under paragraph (1)

13 shall provide the individual with a reasonable oppor14 tunity to submit written comments to correct any in15 accuracies contained in the records before making a

16 final hiring decision with respect to the individual.

17 ‘‘(10) RIGHT OF PILOT TO REVIEW CERTAIN

18 RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

19 law or agreement, an air carrier shall, upon written

20 request from a pilot employed by such carrier, make

21 available, within a reasonable time of the request, to

22 the pilot for review, any and all employment records

23 referred to in paragraph (1)(B) (i) or (ii) pertaining

24 to the employment of the pilot.
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1 ‘‘(11) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—An air carrier

2 that receives the records of an individual under

3 paragraph (1) may use such records only to assess

4 the qualifications of the individual in deciding

5 whether or not to hire the individual as a pilot. The

6 air carrier shall take such actions as may be nec7 essary to protect the privacy of the pilot and the

8 confidentiality of the records, including ensuring

9 that information contained in the records is not di10 vulged to any individual that is not directly involved

11 in the hiring decision.

12 ‘‘(12) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Not later than 18

13 months after the date of the enactment of the Pilot

14 Records Improvement Act of 1996, and at least once

15 every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall

16 transmit to Congress a statement that contains, tak17 ing into account recent developments in the aviation

18 industry—

19 ‘‘(A) recommendations by the Adminis20 trator concerning proposed changes to Federal

21 Aviation Administration records, air carrier

22 records, and other records required to be fur23 nished under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of

24 paragraph (1); or
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1 ‘‘(B) reasons why the Administrator does

2 not recommend any proposed changes to the

3 records referred to in subparagraph (A).

4 ‘‘(13) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator may

5 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary—

6 ‘‘(A) to protect—

7 ‘‘(i) the personal privacy of any indi8 vidual whose records are requested under

9 paragraph (1); and

10 ‘‘(ii) the confidentiality of those

11 records;

12 ‘‘(B) to preclude the further dissemination

13 of records received under paragraph (1) by the

14 person who requested those records; and

15 ‘‘(C) to ensure prompt compliance with

16 any request made under paragraph (1).

17 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY; PREEMPTION OF

18 STATE LAW.—

19 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—No action or

20 proceeding may be brought by or on behalf of an in21 dividual who has applied for or is seeking a position

22 with an air carrier as a pilot and who has signed a

23 release from liability, as provided for under para24 graph (2), against—
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1 ‘‘(A) the air carrier requesting the records

2 of that individual under subsection (f)(1);

3 ‘‘(B) a person who has complied with such

4 request;

5 ‘‘(C) a person who has entered information

6 contained in the individual’s records; or

7 ‘‘(D) an agent or employee of a person de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B);

9 in the nature of an action for defamation, invasion

10 of privacy, negligence, interference with contract, or

11 otherwise, or under any Federal or State law with

12 respect to the furnishing or use of such records in

13 accordance with subsection (f).

14 ‘‘(2) PREEMPTION.—No State or political sub15 division thereof may enact, prescribe, issue, continue

16 in effect, or enforce any law (including any regula17 tion, standard, or other provision having the force

18 and effect of law) that prohibits, penalizes, or im19 poses liability for furnishing or using records in ac20 cordance with subsection (f).

21 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF KNOWINGLY FALSE INFOR22 MATION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply

23 with respect to a person who furnishes information

24 in response to a request made under subsection

25 (f)(1), that—
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1 ‘‘(A) the person knows is false; and

2 ‘‘(B) was maintained in violation of a

3 criminal statute of the United States.

4 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

5 Nothing in subsection (f) shall be construed as precluding

6 the availability of the records of a pilot in an investigation

7 or other proceeding concerning an accident or incident

8 conducted by the Administrator, the National Transpor9 tation Safety Board, or a court.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 30305(b)

11 is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para13 graph (8); and

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the follow15 ing:

16 ‘‘(7) An individual who is seeking employment

17 by an air carrier as a pilot may request the chief

18 driver licensing official of a State to provide infor19 mation about the individual under paragraph (2) to

20 the prospective employer of the individual or to the

21 Secretary of Transportation. Information may not be

22 obtained from the National Driver Register under

23 this subsection if the information was entered in the

24 Register more than 5 years before the request unless
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1 the information is about a revocation or suspension

2 still in effect on the date of the request.’’.

3 (c) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 46301, as amended

4 by section 1220(b) of this Act, is further amended—

5 (1) in each of subsections (a)(1)(A), (d)(2), and

6 (f)(1)(A)(i) by inserting ‘‘44724,’’ after

7 ‘‘44718(d),’’; and

8 (2) in subsection (a)(2)(A) by inserting

9 ‘‘44724,’’ after ‘‘44716,’’.

10 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this

11 section shall apply to any air carrier hiring an individual

12 as a pilot whose application was first received by the car13 rier on or after the 120th day following the date of the

14 enactment of this Act.

15 SEC. 503. STUDIES OF MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PILOT

16 QUALIFICATIONS AND OF PAY FOR TRAINING.

17 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia18 tion Administration shall appoint a task force consisting

19 of appropriate representatives of the aviation industry to

20 conduct—

21 (1) a study directed toward the development

22 of—

23 (A) standards and criteria for

24 preemployment screening tests measuring the

25 psychomotor coordination, general intellectual
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1 capacity, instrument and mechanical com2 prehension, and physical and mental fitness of

3 an applicant for employment as a pilot by an

4 air carrier; and

5 (B) standards and criteria for pilot train6 ing facilities to be licensed by the Administrator

7 and which will assure that pilots trained at

8 such facilities meet the preemployment screen9 ing standards and criteria described in subpara10 graph (A); and

11 (2) a study to determine if the practice of some

12 air carriers to require employees or prospective em13 ployees to pay for the training or experience that is

14 needed to perform flight check duties for an air car15 rier is in the public interest.

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

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

19 conducted under subsection (a)(2).

20 SEC. 504. STUDY OF MINIMUM FLIGHT TIME.

21 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia22 tion Administration shall conduct a study to determine

23 whether current minimum flight time requirements appli24 cable to individuals seeking employment as a pilot with

25 an air carrier are sufficient to ensure public safety.
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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

3 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study.

4 TITLE VI—CHILD PILOT SAFETY

5 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Child Pilot Safety

7 Act’’.

8 SEC. 602. CHILD PILOT SAFETY.

9 (a) MANIPULATION OF FLIGHT CONTROLS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 is amended by

11 adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘§ 44724. Manipulation of flight controls

13 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No pilot in command of an air14 craft may allow an individual who does not hold—

15 ‘‘(1) a valid private pilots certificate issued by

16 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis17 tration under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal

18 Regulations; and

19 ‘‘(2) the appropriate medical certificate issued

20 by the Administrator under part 67 of such title,

21 to manipulate the controls of an aircraft if the pilot knows

22 or should have known that the individual is attempting

23 to set a record or engage in an aeronautical competition

24 or aeronautical feat, as defined by the Administrator.
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1 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF AIRMEN CERTIFICATES.—The

2 Administrator shall issue an order revoking a certificate

3 issued to an airman under section 44703 of this title if

4 the Administrator finds that while acting as a pilot in

5 command of an aircraft, the airman has permitted another

6 individual to manipulate the controls of the aircraft in vio7 lation of subsection (a).

8 ‘‘(c) PILOT IN COMMAND DEFINED.—In this section,

9 the term ‘pilot in command’ has the meaning given such

10 term by section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula11 tions.’’.

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

13 sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended

14 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘44724. Manipulation of flight controls.’’.

15 (b) CHILDREN FLYING AIRCRAFT.—

16 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal

17 Aviation Administration shall conduct a study of the

18 impacts of children flying aircraft.

19 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the

20 study, the Administrator shall consider the effects of

21 imposing any restrictions on children flying aircraft

22 on safety and on the future of general aviation in

23 the United States.
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1 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall issue a report containing the results of

4 the study, together with recommendations on—

5 (A) whether the restrictions established by

6 the amendment made by subsection (a)(1)

7 should be modified or repealed; and

8 (B) whether certain individuals or groups

9 should be exempt from any age, altitude, or

10 other restrictions that the Administrator may

11 impose by regulation.

12 (4) REGULATIONS.—As a result of the findings

13 of the study, the Administrator may issue regula14 tions imposing age, altitude, or other restrictions on

15 children flying aircraft.

16 TITLE VII—FAMILY ASSISTANCE

17 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Disaster

19 Family Assistance Act of 1996’’.

20 SEC. 702. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION

21 SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PAS22 SENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCI23 DENTS.

24 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter

2 11 is amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘§ 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved

4 in aircraft accidents

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after

6 being notified of an aircraft accident within the United

7 States involving an air carrier or foreign air carrier and

8 resulting in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the Na9 tional Transportation Safety Board shall—

10 ‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and

11 phone number of a director of family support serv12 ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall

13 be responsible for acting as a point of contact within

14 the Federal Government for the families of pas15 sengers involved in the accident and a liaison be16 tween the air carrier or foreign air carrier and the

17 families; and

18 ‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi19 zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma

20 communication with families, which shall have pri21 mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional

22 care and support of the families of passengers in23 volved in the accident.

24 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board

25 shall have primary Federal responsibility for facilitating
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1 the recovery and identification of fatally-injured pas2 sengers involved in an accident described in subsection (a).

3 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA4 TION.—The organization designated for an accident under

5 subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities

6 with respect to the families of passengers involved in the

7 accident:

8 ‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling

9 services, in coordination with the disaster response

10 team of the air carrier or foreign air carrier in11 volved.

12 ‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary

13 to provide an environment in which the families may

14 grieve in private.

15 ‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav16 eled to the location of the accident, to contact the

17 families unable to travel to such location, and to

18 contact all affected families periodically thereafter

19 until such time as the organization, in consultation

20 with the director of family support services des21 ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de22 termines that further assistance is no longer needed.

23 ‘‘(4) To communicate with the families as to

24 the roles of the organization, government agencies,

25 and the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved
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1 with respect to the accident and the post-accident

2 activities.

3 ‘‘(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in

4 consultation with the families.

5 ‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.—

7 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY

8 SUPPORT SERVICES.—It shall be the respon9 sibility of the director of family support services

10 designated for an accident under subsection

11 (a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from

12 the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in

13 the accident a list, which is based on the best

14 available information at the time of the request,

15 of the names of the passengers that were

16 aboard the aircraft involved in the accident.

17 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI18 ZATION.—The organization designated for an

19 accident under subsection (a)(2) may request

20 from the air carrier or foreign air carrier in21 volved in the accident a list described in sub22 paragraph (A).

23 ‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of

24 family support services and the organization may

25 not release to any person information on a list ob-
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1 tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor2 mation on the list about a passenger to the family

3 of the passenger to the extent that the director of

4 family support services or the organization considers

5 appropriate.

6 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

7 BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident

8 described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the maxi9 mum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas10 sengers involved in the accident—

11 ‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing,

12 about the accident, its causes, and any other find13 ings from the investigation; and

14 ‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to

15 attend any public hearings and meetings of the

16 Board about the accident.

17 ‘‘(f) USE OF AIR CARRIER RESOURCES.—To the ex18 tent practicable, the organization designated for an acci19 dent under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities

20 with the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the

21 accident so that the resources of the carrier can be used

22 to the greatest extent possible to carry out the organiza23 tion’s responsibilities under this section.

24 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No

2 person (including a State or political subdivision)

3 may impede the ability of the Board (including the

4 director of family support services designated for an

5 accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization

6 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2),

7 to carry out its responsibilities under this section or

8 the ability of the families of passengers involved in

9 the accident to have contact with one another.

10 ‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—In the

11 event of an accident involving an air carrier provid12 ing interstate or foreign air transportation, no unso13 licited communication concerning a potential action

14 for personal injury or wrongful death may be made

15 by an attorney or any potential party to the litiga16 tion to an individual injured in the accident, or to

17 a relative of an individual involved in the accident,

18 before the 30th day following the date of the acci19 dent.

20 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

21 definitions apply:

22 ‘‘(1) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT.—The term ‘aircraft

23 accident’ means any aviation disaster regardless of

24 its cause or suspected cause.
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1 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in2 cludes an employee of an air carrier aboard an air3 craft.’’.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

5 sections for such chapter is amended by inserting

6 after the item relating to section 1135 the following:

‘‘1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.’’.

7 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 1155(a)(1) of such title is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘or 1134(b) or (f)(1)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘, section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or

11 section 1136(g)’’; and

12 (2) by striking ‘‘either of’’ and inserting ‘‘any

13 of’’.

14 SEC. 703. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAM15 ILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIR16 CRAFT ACCIDENTS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 411 is amended by add18 ing at the end the following:

19 ‘‘§ 41113. Plans to address needs of families of pas20 sengers involved in aircraft accidents

21 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 6

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

23 each air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience

24 and necessity under section 41102 of this title shall sub-
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1 mit to the Secretary and the Chairman of the National

2 Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the

3 needs of the families of passengers involved in any aircraft

4 accident involving an aircraft of the air carrier and result5 ing in a major loss of life.

6 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted

7 by an air carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a

8 minimum, the following:

9 ‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free

10 telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle

11 calls from the families of the passengers.

12 ‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the

13 passengers, before providing any public notice of the

14 names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv15 ices of the organization designated for the accident

16 under section 1136(a)(2) of this title or the services

17 of other suitably trained individuals.

18 ‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in

19 paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a

20 passenger as soon as the air carrier has verified that

21 the passenger was aboard the aircraft (whether or

22 not the names of all of the passengers have been

23 verified) and, to the extent practicable, in person.

24 ‘‘(4) An assurance that the air carrier will pro25 vide to the director of family support services des-
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1 ignated for the accident under section 1136(a)(1) of

2 this title, and to the organization designated for the

3 accident under section 1136(a)(2) of this title, im4 mediately upon request, a list (which is based on the

5 best available information at the time of the request)

6 of the names of the passengers aboard the aircraft

7 (whether or not such names have been verified), and

8 will periodically update the list.

9 ‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas10 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all

11 remains and personal effects of the passenger within

12 the control of the air carrier.

13 ‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the fam14 ily of a passenger, any possession of the passenger

15 within the control of the air carrier (regardless of its

16 condition) will be returned to the family unless the

17 possession is needed for the accident investigation or

18 any criminal investigation.

19 ‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses20 sion of a passenger within the control of the air car21 rier will be retained by the air carrier for at least

22 18 months.

23 ‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas24 senger will be consulted about construction by the
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1 air carrier of any monument to the passengers, in2 cluding any inscription on the monument.

3 ‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the

4 families of nonrevenue passengers (and any other

5 victim of the accident) will be the same as the treat6 ment of the families of revenue passengers.

7 ‘‘(10) An assurance that the air carrier will

8 work with any organization designated under section

9 1136(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing basis to en10 sure that families of passengers receive an appro11 priate level of services and assistance following each

12 accident.

13 ‘‘(11) An assurance that the air carrier will

14 provide reasonable compensation to any organization

15 designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title for

16 services provided by the organization.

17 ‘‘(12) An assurance that the air carrier will as18 sist the family of a passenger in traveling to the lo19 cation of the accident and provide for the physical

20 care of the family while the family is staying at such

21 location.

22 ‘‘(13) An assurance that the air carrier will

23 commit sufficient resources to carry out the plan.

24 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENT.—After the date

25 that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this
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1 section, the Secretary may not approve an application for

2 a certificate of public convenience and necessity under sec3 tion 41102 of this title unless the applicant has included

4 as part of such application a plan that meets the require5 ments of subsection (b).

6 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—An air carrier shall

7 not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Fed8 eral or State court arising out of the performance of the

9 air carrier in preparing or providing a passenger list pur10 suant to a plan submitted by the air carrier under sub11 section (b), unless such liability was caused by conduct

12 of the air carrier which was grossly negligent or which con13 stituted intentional misconduct.

14 ‘‘(e) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT AND PASSENGER DE15 FINED.—In this section, the terms ‘aircraft accident’ and

16 ‘passenger’ have the meanings such terms have in section

17 1136 of this title.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec19 tions for such chapter is amended by adding at the end

20 the following:

‘‘41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.’’.

21 SEC. 704. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor23 tation, in cooperation with the National Transportation

24 Safety Board, the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
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1 cy, the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families

2 which have been involved in aircraft accidents shall estab3 lish a task force consisting of representatives of such enti4 ties and families, representatives of air carrier employees,

5 and representatives of such other entities as the Secretary

6 considers appropriate.

7 (b) GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The

8 task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de9 velop—

10 (1) guidelines to assist air carriers in respond11 ing to aircraft accidents;

12 (2) recommendations on methods to ensure that

13 attorneys and representatives of media organizations

14 do not intrude on the privacy of families of pas15 sengers involved in an aircraft accident;

16 (3) recommendations on methods to ensure that

17 the families of passengers involved in an aircraft ac18 cident who are not citizens of the United States re19 ceive appropriate assistance;

20 (4) recommendations on methods to ensure that

21 State mental health licensing laws do not act to pre22 vent out-of-state mental health workers from work23 ing at the site of an aircraft accident or other relat24 ed sites;
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1 (5) recommendations on the extent to which

2 military experts and facilities can be used to aid in

3 the identification of the remains of passengers in4 volved in an aircraft accident; and

5 (6) recommendations on methods to improve

6 the timeliness of the notification provided by air car7 riers to the families of passengers involved in an air8 craft accident, including—

9 (A) an analysis of the steps that air car10 riers would have to take to ensure that an accu11 rate list of passengers on board the aircraft

12 would be available within 1 hour of the accident

13 and an analysis of such steps to ensure that

14 such list would be available within 3 hours of

15 the accident;

16 (B) an analysis of the added costs to air

17 carriers and travel agents that would result if

18 air carriers were required to take the steps de19 scribed in subparagraph (A);

20 (C) an analysis of any inconvenience to

21 passengers, including flight delays, that would

22 result if air carriers were required to take the

23 steps described in subparagraph (A); and

24 (D) an analysis of the implications for per25 sonal privacy that would result if air carriers
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1 were required to take the steps described in

2 subparagraph (A).

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

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit

5 to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec6 ommendations developed by the task force under sub7 section (b).

8 SEC. 705. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

9 Nothing in this title or any amendment made by this

10 title may be construed as limiting the actions that an air

11 carrier may take, or the obligations that an air carrier

12 may have, in providing assistance to the families of pas13 sengers involved in an aircraft accident.

14 TITLE VIII—AIRPORT REVENUE

15 PROTECTION

16 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Airport Revenue Pro18 tection Act of 1996’’.

19 SEC. 802. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress finds that—

21 (1) section 47107 of title 49, United States

22 Code, prohibits the diversion of certain revenue gen23 erated by a public airport as a condition of receiving

24 a project grant;
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1 (2) a grant recipient that uses airport revenue

2 for purposes that are not airport related in a man3 ner inconsistent with chapter 471 of title 49, United

4 States Code, illegally diverts airport revenues;

5 (3) any diversion of airport revenues in viola6 tion of the condition referred to in paragraph (1)

7 undermines the interest of the United States in pro8 moting a strong national air transportation system

9 that is responsive to the needs of airport users;

10 (4) the Secretary and the Administrator have

11 not enforced airport revenue diversion rules ade12 quately and must have additional regulatory tools to

13 increase enforcement efforts; and

14 (5) sponsors who have been found to have ille15 gally diverted airport revenues—

16 (A) have not reimbursed or made restitu17 tion to airports in a timely manner; and

18 (B) must be encouraged to do so.

19 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to ensure

20 that airport users are not burdened with hidden taxation

21 for unrelated municipal services and activities by—

22 (1) eliminating the ability of any State or politi23 cal subdivision thereof that is a recipient of a project

24 grant to divert airport revenues for purposes that
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1 are not related to an airport, in violation of section

2 47107 of title 49, United States Code;

3 (2) imposing financial reporting requirements

4 that are designed to identify instances of illegal di5 versions referred to in paragraph (1);

6 (3) establishing a statute of limitations for air7 port revenue diversion actions;

8 (4) clarifying limitations on revenue diversion

9 that are permitted under chapter 471 of title 49,

10 United States Code; and

11 (5) establishing clear penalties and enforcement

12 mechanisms for identifying and prosecuting airport

13 revenue diversion.

14 SEC. 803. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this title, the following definitions

16 apply:

17 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis18 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration.

20 (2) AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘airport’’ has the

21 meaning provided that term in section 47102(2) of

22 title 49, United States Code.

23 (3) PROJECT GRANT.—The term ‘‘project

24 grant’’ has the meaning provided that term in sec25 tion 47102(14) of title 49, United States Code.
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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Transportation.

3 (5) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ has the

4 meaning provided that term in section 47102(19) of

5 title 49, United States Code.

6 SEC. 804. RESTRICTION ON USE OF AIRPORT REVENUES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 471, as

8 amended by section 142 of this Act, is further amended

9 by adding after section 47132 the following:

10 ‘‘§ 47133. Restriction on use of revenues

11 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Local taxes on aviation fuel (ex12 cept taxes in effect on December 30, 1987) or the revenues

13 generated by an airport that is the subject of Federal as14 sistance may not be expended for any purpose other than

15 the capital or operating costs of—

16 ‘‘(1) the airport;

17 ‘‘(2) the local airport system; or

18 ‘‘(3) any other local facility that is owned or op19 erated by the person or entity that owns or operates

20 the airport that is directly and substantially related

21 to the air transportation of passengers or property.

22 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply if

23 a provision enacted not later than September 2, 1982, in

24 a law controlling financing by the airport owner or opera25 tor, or a covenant or assurance in a debt obligation issued
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1 not later than September 2, 1982, by the owner or opera2 tor, provides that the revenues, including local taxes on

3 aviation fuel at public airports, from any of the facilities

4 of the owner or operator, including the airport, be used

5 to support not only the airport but also the general debt

6 obligations or other facilities of the owner or operator.

7 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec8 tion may be construed to prevent the use of a State tax

9 on aviation fuel to support a State aviation program or

10 the use of airport revenue on or off the airport for a noise

11 mitigation purpose.’’.

12 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 46301(a)(5) is amended to

13 read as follows:

14 ‘‘(5) PENALTY FOR DIVERSION OF AVIATION

15 REVENUES.—The amount of a civil penalty assessed

16 under this section for a violation of section 47107(b)

17 of this title (or any assurance made under such sec18 tion) or section 47133 of this title may be increased

19 above the otherwise applicable maximum amount

20 under this section to an amount not to exceed 3

21 times the amount of revenues that are used in viola22 tion of such section.’’.

23 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions for such subchapter is amended by inserting after
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1 the item relating to section 47132, as added by section

2 142 of this Act, the following:

‘‘47133. Restriction on use of revenues.’’.

3 SEC. 805. REGULATIONS; AUDITS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47107 is amended by

5 adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(m) AUDIT CERTIFICATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor8 tation, acting through the Administrator of the Fed9 eral Aviation Administration, shall promulgate regu10 lations that require a recipient of a project grant (or

11 any other recipient of Federal financial assistance

12 that is provided for an airport) to include as part of

13 an annual audit conducted under sections 7501

14 through 7505 of title 31, a review and opinion of the

15 review concerning the funding activities with respect

16 to an airport that is the subject of the project grant

17 (or other Federal financial assistance) and the spon18 sors, owners, or operators (or other recipients) in19 volved.

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—A review con21 ducted under paragraph (1) shall provide reasonable

22 assurances that funds paid or transferred to spon23 sors are paid or transferred in a manner consistent

24 with the applicable requirements of this chapter and

25 any other applicable provision of law (including reg-
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1 ulations promulgated by the Secretary or the Admin2 istrator).

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR AUDIT REPORT.—

4 The report submitted to the Secretary under this

5 subsection shall include a specific determination and

6 opinion regarding the appropriateness of the disposi7 tion of airport funds paid or transferred to a spon8 sor.

9 ‘‘(n) RECOVERY OF ILLEGALLY DIVERTED FUNDS.—

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

11 after the issuance of an audit or any other report

12 that identifies an illegal diversion of airport revenues

13 (as determined under subsections (b) and (l) and

14 section 47133), the Secretary, acting through the

15 Administrator, shall—

16 ‘‘(A) review the audit or report;

17 ‘‘(B) perform appropriate factfinding; and

18 ‘‘(C) conduct a hearing and render a final

19 determination concerning whether the illegal di20 version of airport revenues asserted in the audit

21 or report occurred.

22 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon making such a

23 finding, the Secretary, acting through the Adminis24 trator, shall provide written notification to the spon25 sor and the airport of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the finding; and

2 ‘‘(B) the obligations of the sponsor to re3 imburse the airport involved under this para4 graph.

5 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary

6 may withhold any amount from funds that would

7 otherwise be made available to the sponsor, includ8 ing funds that would otherwise be made available to

9 a State, municipality, or political subdivision thereof

10 (including any multimodal transportation agency or

11 transit authority of which the sponsor is a member

12 entity) as part of an apportionment or grant made

13 available pursuant to this title, if the sponsor—

14 ‘‘(A) receives notification that the sponsor

15 is required to reimburse an airport; and

16 ‘‘(B) has had an opportunity to reimburse

17 the airport, but has failed to do so.

18 ‘‘(4) CIVIL ACTION.—If a sponsor fails to pay

19 an amount specified under paragraph (3) during the

20 180-day period beginning on the date of notification

21 and the Secretary is unable to withhold a sufficient

22 amount under paragraph (3), the Secretary, acting

23 through the Administrator, may initiate a civil ac24 tion under which the sponsor shall be liable for civil

25 penalty in an amount equal to the illegal diversion
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1 in question plus interest (as determined under sub2 section (o)).

3 ‘‘(5) DISPOSITION OF PENALTIES.—

4 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS WITHHELD.—The Sec5 retary or the Administrator shall transfer any

6 amounts withheld under paragraph (3) to the

7 Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

8 ‘‘(B) CIVIL PENALTIES.—With respect to

9 any amount collected by a court in a civil action

10 under paragraph (4), the court shall cause to be

11 transferred to the Airport and Airway Trust

12 Fund any amount collected as a civil penalty

13 under paragraph (4).

14 ‘‘(6) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary, acting

15 through the Administrator, shall, as soon as prac16 ticable after any amount is collected from a sponsor

17 under paragraph (4), cause to be transferred from

18 the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to an airport af19 fected by a diversion that is the subject of a civil ac20 tion under paragraph (4), reimbursement in an

21 amount equal to the amount that has been collected

22 from the sponsor under paragraph (4) (including

23 any amount of interest calculated under subsection

24 (o)).
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1 ‘‘(7) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—No person

2 may bring an action for the recovery of funds ille3 gally diverted in violation of this section (as deter4 mined under subsections (b) and (l)) or section

5 47133 after the date that is 6 years after the date

6 on which the diversion occurred.

7 ‘‘(o) INTEREST.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the Secretary, acting through the Admin10 istrator, shall charge a minimum annual rate of in11 terest on the amount of any illegal diversion of reve12 nues referred to in subsection (n) in an amount

13 equal to the average investment interest rate for tax

14 and loan accounts of the Department of the Treas15 ury (as determined by the Secretary of the Treas16 ury) for the applicable calendar year, rounded to the

17 nearest whole percentage point.

18 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF INTEREST RATES.—If,

19 with respect to a calendar quarter, the average in20 vestment interest rate for tax and loan accounts of

21 the Department of the Treasury exceeds the average

22 investment interest rate for the immediately preced23 ing calendar quarter, rounded to the nearest whole

24 percentage point, the Secretary of the Treasury may
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1 adjust the interest rate charged under this sub2 section in a manner that reflects that change.

3 ‘‘(3) ACCRUAL.—Interest assessed under sub4 section (n) shall accrue from the date of the actual

5 illegal diversion of revenues referred to in subsection

6 (n).

7 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF APPLICABLE RATE.—

8 The applicable rate of interest charged under para9 graph (1) shall—

10 ‘‘(A) be the rate in effect on the date on

11 which interest begins to accrue under para12 graph (3); and

13 ‘‘(B) remain at a rate fixed under subpara14 graph (A) during the duration of the indebted15 ness.

16 ‘‘(p) PAYMENT BY AIRPORT TO SPONSOR.—If, in the

17 course of an audit or other review conducted under this

18 section, the Secretary or the Administrator determines

19 that an airport owes a sponsor funds as a result of activi20 ties conducted by the sponsor or expenditures by the spon21 sor for the benefit of the airport, interest on that amount

22 shall be determined in the same manner as provided in

23 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (o), except that

24 the amount of any interest assessed under this subsection
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1 shall be determined from the date on which the Secretary

2 or the Administrator makes that determination.’’.

3 (b) REVISION OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES;

4 DEADLINES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary,

7 acting through the Administrator, shall revise the

8 policies and procedures established under section

9 47107(l) of title 49, United States Code, to take

10 into account the amendments made to that section

11 by this title.

12 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Section

13 47107(l) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(5) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—In addition to

16 the statute of limitations specified in subsection

17 (n)(7), with respect to project grants made under

18 this chapter—

19 ‘‘(A) any request by a sponsor to any air20 port for additional payments for services con21 ducted off of the airport or for reimbursement

22 for capital contributions or operating expenses

23 shall be filed not later than 6 years after the

24 date on which the expense is incurred; and
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1 ‘‘(B) any amount of airport funds that are

2 used to make a payment or reimbursement as

3 described in subparagraph (A) after the date

4 specified in that subparagraph shall be consid5 ered to be an illegal diversion of airport reve6 nues that is subject to subsection (n).’’.

7 SEC. 806. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL

8 REVENUE CODE OF 1986.

9 Section 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

10 is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subsection

12 (b)(3);

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub14 section (b)(4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’;

15 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(5) amounts determined by the Secretary of

18 the Treasury to be equivalent to the amounts of civil

19 penalties collected under section 47107(n) of title

20 49, United States Code.’’; and

21 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the

22 following:

23 ‘‘(5) TRANSFERS FROM THE AIRPORT AND AIR24 WAY TRUST FUND ON ACCOUNT OF CERTAIN AIR25 PORTS.—The Secretary of the Treasury may trans-
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1 fer from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to the

2 Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator of

3 the Federal Aviation Administration an amount to

4 make a payment to an airport affected by a diver5 sion that is the subject of an administrative action

6 under paragraph (3) or a civil action under para7 graph (4) of section 47107(n) of title 49, United

8 States Code.’’.

9 TITLE IX—METROPOLITAN

10 WASHINGTON AIRPORTS

11 SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE.

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Metropolitan Wash13 ington Airports Amendments Act of 1996’’.

14 SEC. 902. USE OF LEASED PROPERTY.

15 Section 6005(c)(2) of the Metropolitan Washington

16 Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2454(c)(2)) is

17 amended by inserting before the period at the end of the

18 second sentence the following: ‘‘which are not inconsistent

19 with the needs of aviation’’.

20 SEC. 903. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

21 (a) APPOINTMENT OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—Sec22 tion 6007(e)(1) of the Metropolitan Washington Airports

23 Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456(e)(1)) is amended—

24 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)

25 by striking ‘‘11’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’; and
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1 (2) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘one mem2 ber’’ and inserting ‘‘three members’’.

3 (b) RESTRICTIONS.—Section 6007(e)(2) of the Met4 ropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C.

5 App. 2456(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘except that’’

6 and all that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘ex7 cept that the members appointed by the President shall

8 be registered voters of States other than Maryland, Vir9 ginia, or the District of Columbia.’’.

10 (c) TERMS.—Section 6007(e)(3) of the Metropolitan

11 Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App.

12 2456(e)(3)) is amended—

13 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at

14 the end;

15 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period

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

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

18 ‘‘(D) by the President after the date of the

19 enactment of this subparagraph, 1 shall be ap20 pointed for 4 years.

21 A member may serve after the expiration of that

22 member’s term until a successor has taken office.’’.

23 (d) VACANCIES.—Section 6007(e) of the Metropoli24 tan Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App.

25 2456(e)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (4) and
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1 (5) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively, and by insert2 ing after paragraph (3) the following:

3 ‘‘(4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the board of

4 directors shall be filled in the manner in which the

5 original appointment was made. Any member ap6 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira7 tion of the term for which the member’s predecessor

8 was appointed shall be appointed only for the re9 mainder of such term.’’.

10 (e) POLITICAL PARTIES OF PRESIDENTIAL AP11 POINTEES.—Section 6007(e) of the Metropolitan Wash12 ington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456(e)) is

13 amended by inserting after paragraph (4), as inserted by

14 subsection (d) of this section, the following:

15 ‘‘(5) POLITICAL PARTIES OF PRESIDENTIAL AP16 POINTEES.—Not more than 2 of the members of the

17 board appointed by the President may be of the

18 same political party.’’.

19 (f) DUTIES OF PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Sec20 tion 6007(e) of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act

21 of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456(e)) is amended by inserting

22 after paragraph (5), as inserted by subsection (e) of this

23 section, the following:

24 ‘‘(6) DUTIES OF PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—

25 In carrying out their duties on the board, members
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1 of the board appointed by the President shall ensure

2 that adequate consideration is given to the national

3 interest.’’.

4 (g) DEADLINE FOR PRESIDENTIAL APPOINT5 MENTS.—Section 6007(e) of the Metropolitan Washington

6 Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456(e)) is amend7 ed by inserting after paragraph (6), as inserted by sub8 section (f) of this section, the following:

9 ‘‘(7) DEADLINE FOR PRESIDENTIAL APPOINT10 MENTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE.—The members to be ap12 pointed to the board by the President under

13 section 6007(e)(1)(D) shall be appointed on or

14 before September 30, 1997.

15 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS.—If

16 the deadline of subparagraph (A) is not met,

17 the Secretary and the Airports Authority shall

18 be subject to the limitations described in sub19 section (i) for the period beginning on October

20 1, 1997, and ending on the first day on which

21 all of the members referred to in subparagraph

22 (A) have been appointed.’’.

23 (h) REQUIRED NUMBER OF VOTES.—Section

24 6007(e)(9) of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act

25 of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456(e)(9)), as redesignated by
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1 subsection (d) of this section, is amended by striking

2 ‘‘Seven’’ and inserting ‘‘Eight’’.

3 SEC. 904. TERMINATION OF BOARD OF REVIEW.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6007 of the Metropolitan

5 Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456)

6 is amended by striking subsections (f) and (h) and redes7 ignating subsections (g) and (i) as subsections (f) and (g),

8 respectively.

9 (b) STAFF.—Section 6007 of the Metropolitan Wash10 ington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456) is

11 amended—

12 (1) by inserting paragraph (8) of subsection (f),

13 as in effect before the amendment made by sub14 section (a) of this section, after subsection (g), as

15 redesignated by such subsection (a);

16 (2) by moving such paragraph 2 ems to the left

17 and redesignating such paragraph as subsection (h);

18 and

19 (3) in subsection (h), as so redesignated—

20 (A) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘The

21 Board of Review’’ and inserting ‘‘To assist the

22 Secretary in carrying out this Act, the Sec23 retary’’; and

24 (B) in the second sentence by striking

25 ‘‘Board’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Metropolitan

2 Washington Airports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2451

3 et seq.) is amended—

4 (1) in section 6009(b) by striking ‘‘or by rea5 son’’ and all that follows before the period; and

6 (2) in section 6011 by striking ‘‘Except as pro7 vided in section 6007(h), if’’ and inserting ‘‘If’’.

8 (d) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN ACTIONS.—Actions

9 taken by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

10 and required to be submitted to the Board of Review pur11 suant to section 6007(f)(4) of the Metropolitan Washing12 ton Airports Act of 1986 before the date of the enactment

13 of this Act shall remain in effect and shall not be set aside

14 solely by reason of a judicial order invalidating certain

15 functions of the Board of Review.

16 SEC. 905. LIMITATIONS.

17 Section 6007 of the Metropolitan Washington Air18 ports Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2456) is further

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(i) LIMITATIONS.—After October 1, 2001—

21 ‘‘(1) the Secretary may not approve an applica22 tion of the Airports Authority for an airport develop23 ment project grant under subchapter I of chapter

24 471 of title 49, United States Code; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary may not approve an applica2 tion of the Airports Authority to impose a passenger

3 facility fee under section 40117 of such title.’’.

4 SEC. 906. USE OF DULLES AIRPORT ACCESS HIGHWAY.

5 The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986

6 (49 U.S.C. App. 2451 et seq.) is further amended by add7 ing at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 6013. USE OF DULLES AIRPORT ACCESS HIGHWAY.

9 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS.—Except as provided by sub10 section (b), the Airports Authority shall continue in effect

11 and enforce paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 4.2 of the

12 Metropolitan Washington Airports Regulations, as in ef13 fect on February 1, 1995.

14 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The district courts of the

15 United States shall have jurisdiction to compel the Air16 ports Authority and its officers and employees to comply

17 with the requirements of this section. An action may be

18 brought on behalf of the United States by the Attorney

19 General or by any aggrieved party.’’.

20 SEC. 907. EFFECT OF JUDICIAL ORDER.

21 The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986

22 (49 U.S.C. App. 2451 et seq.) is further amended by add23 ing at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 6014. EFFECT OF JUDICIAL ORDER.

2 ‘‘If any provision of the Metropolitan Washington

3 Airports Amendments Act of 1996 or the amendments

4 made by such Act (or the application of that provision to

5 any person, circumstance, or venue) is held invalid by a

6 judicial order, on the day after the date of the issuance

7 of such order, and thereafter, the Secretary of Transpor8 tation and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Author9 ity shall be subject to the limitations described in section

10 6007(i) of this Act.’’.

11 SEC. 908. AMENDMENT OF LEASE.

12 The Secretary of Transportation shall amend the

13 lease entered into with the Metropolitan Washington Air14 ports Authority under section 6005(a) of the Metropolitan

15 Washington Airports Authority Act of 1986 to secure the

16 Airports Authority’s consent to the amendments made to

17 such Act by this title.

18 SEC. 909. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

19 It is the sense of the Senate that the Metropolitan

20 Washington Airports Authority—

21 (1) should not provide any reserved parking

22 areas free of charge to Members of Congress, other

23 Government officials, or diplomats at Washington

24 National Airport or Washington Dulles International

25 Airport; and
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1 (2) should establish a parking policy for such

2 airports that provides equal access to the public, and

3 does not provide preferential parking privileges to

4 Members of Congress, other Government officials, or

5 diplomats.

6 TITLE X—EXTENSION OF AIR7 PORT AND AIRWAY TRUST

8 FUND EXPENDITURES

9 SEC. 1001. EXTENSION OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST

10 FUND EXPENDITURES.

11 (a) EXTENSION OF EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.—

12 Paragraph (1) of section 9502(d) of the Internal Revenue

13 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 1996’’

14 and inserting ‘‘October 1, 1998’’.

15 (b) EXTENSION OF TRUST FUND PURPOSES.—Sub16 paragraph (A) of section 9502(d)(1) of such Code is

17 amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end ‘‘or

18 the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996’’.

19 TITLE XI—FAA RESEARCH, ENGI20 NEERING, AND DEVELOP21 MENT

22 SEC. 1101. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘FAA Research, Engi24 neering, and Development Management Reform Act of

25 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 1102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 48102(a) is amended—

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

4 (1)(J);

5 (2) by striking the period at the end of para6 graph (2)(J) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;

7 and

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

9 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 1997—

10 ‘‘(A) $13,660,000 for system development

11 and infrastructure projects and activities;

12 ‘‘(B) $34,889,000 for capacity and air

13 traffic management technology projects and ac14 tivities;

15 ‘‘(C) $19,000,000 for communications,

16 navigation, and surveillance projects and activi17 ties;

18 ‘‘(D) $13,000,000 for weather projects and

19 activities;

20 ‘‘(E) $5,200,000 for airport technology

21 projects and activities;

22 ‘‘(F) $36,504,000 for aircraft safety tech23 nology projects and activities;

24 ‘‘(G) $57,055,000 for system security tech25 nology projects and activities;
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1 ‘‘(H) $23,504,000 for human factors and

2 aviation medicine projects and activities;

3 ‘‘(I) $3,600,000 for environment and en4 ergy projects and activities; and

5 ‘‘(J) $2,000,000 for innovative/cooperative

6 research projects and activities.’’.

7 SEC. 1103. RESEARCH PRIORITIES.

8 Section 48102(b) is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para10 graph (3); and

11 (2) by striking ‘‘AVAILABILITY FOR RE12 SEARCH.—(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘RE13 SEARCH PRIORITIES.—(1) The Administrator shall

14 consider the advice and recommendations of the re15 search advisory committee established by section

16 44508 of this title in establishing priorities among

17 major categories of research and development activi18 ties carried out by the Federal Aviation Administra19 tion.

20 ‘‘(2)’’.

21 SEC. 1104. RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

22 Section 44508(a)(1) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara24 graph (B);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (C) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;

3 and

4 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘(D) annually review the allocation made by the

7 Administrator of the amounts authorized by section

8 48102(a) of this title among the major categories of

9 research and development activities carried out by

10 the Administration and provide advice and rec11 ommendations to the Administrator on whether such

12 allocation is appropriate to meet the needs and ob13 jectives identified under subparagraph (A).’’.

14 SEC. 1105. NATIONAL AVIATION RESEARCH PLAN.

15 Section 44501(c) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘15-year’’

17 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘5-year’’;

18 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as

19 follows:

20 ‘‘(B) The plan shall—

21 ‘‘(i) provide estimates by year of the schedule,

22 cost, and work force levels for each active and

23 planned major research and development project

24 under sections 40119, 44504, 44505, 44507, 44509,

25 44511–44513, and 44912 of this title, including ac-
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1 tivities carried out under cooperative agreements

2 with other Federal departments and agencies;

3 ‘‘(ii) specify the goals and the priorities for allo4 cation of resources among the major categories of

5 research and development activities, including the

6 rationale for the priorities identified;

7 ‘‘(iii) identify the allocation of resources among

8 long-term research, near-term research, and develop9 ment activities; and

10 ‘‘(iv) highlight the research and development

11 activities that address specific recommendations of

12 the research advisory committee established under

13 section 44508 of this title, and document the rec14 ommendations of the committee that are not accept15 ed, specifying the reasons for nonacceptance.’’; and

16 (3) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘, including

17 a description of the dissemination to the private sec18 tor of research results and a description of any new

19 technologies developed’’ after ‘‘during the prior fiscal

20 year’’.

21 TITLE XII—MISCELLANEOUS

22 PROVISIONS

23 SEC. 1201. PURCHASE OF HOUSING UNITS.

24 Section 40110 is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub2 section (c); and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘(b) PURCHASE OF HOUSING UNITS.—

6 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out this part,

7 the Administrator may purchase a housing unit (in8 cluding a condominium or a housing unit in a build9 ing owned by a cooperative) that is located outside

10 the contiguous United States if the cost of the unit

11 is $300,000 or less.

12 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS FOR INFLATION.—For fis13 cal years beginning after September 30, 1997, the

14 Administrator may adjust the dollar amount speci15 fied in paragraph (1) to take into account increases

16 in local housing costs.

17 ‘‘(3) CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS.—Notwith18 standing section 1341 of title 31, the Administrator

19 may purchase a housing unit under paragraph (1)

20 even if there is an obligation thereafter to pay nec21 essary and reasonable fees duly assessed upon such

22 unit, including fees related to operation, mainte23 nance, taxes, and insurance.

24 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The Ad25 ministrator may purchase a housing unit under
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1 paragraph (1) only if, at least 30 days before com2 pleting the purchase, the Administrator transmits to

3 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

4 of the House of Representatives and the Committee

5 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

6 Senate a report containing—

7 ‘‘(A) a description of the housing unit and

8 its price;

9 ‘‘(B) a certification that the price does not

10 exceed the median price of housing units in the

11 area; and

12 ‘‘(C) a certification that purchasing the

13 housing unit is the most cost-beneficial means

14 of providing necessary accommodations in car15 rying out this part.

16 ‘‘(5) PAYMENT OF FEES.—The Administrator

17 may pay, when due, fees resulting from the purchase

18 of a housing unit under this subsection from any

19 amounts made available to the Administrator.’’.

20 SEC. 1202. CLARIFICATION OF PASSENGER FACILITY REVE21 NUES AS CONSTITUTING TRUST FUNDS.

22 Section 40117(g) is amended by adding at the end

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(4) Passenger facility revenues that are held by an

25 air carrier or an agent of the carrier after collection of
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1 a passenger facility fee constitute a trust fund that is held

2 by the air carrier or agent for the beneficial interest of

3 the eligible agency imposing the fee. Such carrier or agent

4 holds neither legal nor equitable interest in the passenger

5 facility revenues except for any handling fee or retention

6 of interest collected on unremitted proceeds as may be al7 lowed by the Secretary.’’.

8 SEC. 1203. AUTHORITY TO CLOSE AIRPORT LOCATED NEAR

9 CLOSED OR REALIGNED MILITARY BASE.

10 Notwithstanding any other provision of a law, rule,

11 or grant assurance, an airport that is not a commercial

12 service airport may be closed by its sponsor without any

13 obligation to repay grants made under chapter 471 of title

14 49, United States Code, the Airport and Airway Improve15 ment Act of 1982, or any other law if the airport is located

16 within 2 miles of a United States Army depot which has

17 been closed or realigned; except that in the case of disposal

18 of the land associated with the airport, the part of the

19 proceeds from the disposal that is proportional to the Gov20 ernment’s share of the cost of acquiring the land shall be

21 paid to the Secretary of Transportation for deposit in the

22 Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under section

23 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.

24 9502).
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1 SEC. 1204. GADSDEN AIR DEPOT, ALABAMA.

2 (a) AUTHORITY TO GRANT WAIVERS.—Notwith3 standing section 16 of the Federal Airport Act (as in ef4 fect on May 4, 1949), the Secretary is authorized, subject

5 to the provisions of section 47153 of title 49, United

6 States Code, and the provisions of subsection (b) of this

7 section, to waive any of the terms contained in the deed

8 of conveyance dated May 4, 1949, under which the United

9 States conveyed certain property to the city of Gadsden,

10 Alabama, for airport purposes.

11 (b) CONDITIONS.—Any waiver granted under sub12 section (a) shall be subject to the following conditions:

13 (1) The city of Gadsden, Alabama, shall agree

14 that, in conveying any interest in the property which

15 the United States conveyed to the city by a deed de16 scribed in subsection (a), the city will receive an

17 amount for such interest which is equal to the fair

18 market value of such interest (as determined pursu19 ant to regulations issued by the Secretary).

20 (2) Any such amount so received by the city

21 shall be used by the city for the development, im22 provement, operation, or maintenance of a public

23 airport, lands (including any improvements thereto)

24 which produce revenues that are used for airport de25 velopment purposes, or both.
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1 SEC. 1205. REGULATIONS AFFECTING INTRASTATE AVIA2 TION IN ALASKA.

3 In modifying regulations contained in title 14, Code

4 of Federal Regulations, in a manner affecting intrastate

5 aviation in Alaska, the Administrator of the Federal Avia6 tion Administration shall consider the extent to which

7 Alaska is not served by transportation modes other than

8 aviation, and shall establish such regulatory distinctions

9 as the Administrator considers appropriate.

10 SEC. 1206. WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT, NEW YORK.

11 Notwithstanding sections 47107(b) and 47133 of

12 title 49, United States Code, and any other law, regula13 tion, or grant assurance, all fees received by Westchester

14 County Airport in the State of New York may be paid

15 into the treasury of Westchester County pursuant to sec16 tion 119.31 of the Westchester County Charter if the Sec17 retary finds that the expenditures from such treasury for

18 the capital and operating costs of the Airport after Decem19 ber 31, 1990, have been and will be equal to or greater

20 than the fees that such treasury receives from the Airport.

21 SEC. 1207. BEDFORD AIRPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

22 If the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin23 istration decommissions an instrument landing system in

24 Pennsylvania, the Administrator may transfer and install

25 the system at Bedford Airport, Pennsylvania.
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1 SEC. 1208. WORCESTER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, MASSACHU2 SETTS.

3 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis4 tration shall take such actions as may be necessary to im5 prove the safety of aircraft landing at Worcester Municipal

6 Airport, Massachusetts, including, if appropriate, provid7 ing air traffic radar service to such airport from the Provi8 dence Approach Radar Control in Coventry, Rhode Island.

9 SEC. 1209. CENTRAL FLORIDA AIRPORT, SANFORD, FLOR10 IDA.

11 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis12 tration shall take such actions as may be necessary to im13 prove the safety of aircraft landing at Central Florida Air14 port, Sanford, Florida, including, if appropriate, providing

15 a new instrument landing system on Runway 27R.

16 SEC. 1210. AIRCRAFT NOISE OMBUDSMAN.

17 Section 106, as amended by section 230 of this Act,

18 is further amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(q) AIRCRAFT NOISE OMBUDSMAN.—

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be in the

21 Administration an Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.

22 ‘‘(2) GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBIL23 ITIES.—The Ombudsman shall—

24 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Administrator;

25 ‘‘(B) serve as a liaison with the public on

26 issues regarding aircraft noise; and
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1 ‘‘(C) be consulted when the Administration

2 proposes changes in aircraft routes so as to

3 minimize any increases in aircraft noise over

4 populated areas.

5 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EM6 PLOYEES.—The appointment of an Ombudsman

7 under this subsection shall not result in an increase

8 in the number of full-time equivalent employees in

9 the Administration.’’.

10 SEC. 1211. SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATELY OWNED RE11 LIEVER AIRPORTS.

12 Section 47109 is amended by adding at the end the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR PRIVATELY OWNED RE15 LIEVER AIRPORTS.—If a privately owned reliever airport

16 contributes any lands, easements, or rights-of-way to carry

17 out a project under this subchapter, the current fair mar18 ket value of such lands, easements, or rights-of-way shall

19 be credited toward the non-Federal share of allowable

20 project costs.’’.

21 SEC. 1212. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE FUND22 ING OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINIS23 TRATION.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—
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1 (1) Congress is responsible for ensuring that

2 the financial needs of the Federal Aviation Adminis3 tration, the agency that performs the critical func4 tion of overseeing the Nation’s air traffic control

5 system and ensuring the safety of air travelers in

6 the United States, are met;

7 (2) aviation excise taxes that constitute the Air8 port and Airway Trust Fund, which provides most

9 of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administra10 tion, have expired;

11 (3) the surplus in the Airport and Airway Trust

12 Fund will be spent by the Federal Aviation Adminis13 tration by December 1996;

14 (4) the existing system of funding the Federal

15 Aviation Administration will not provide the agency

16 with sufficient short-term or long-term funding;

17 (5) this Act creates a sound process to review

18 Federal Aviation Administration funding and de19 velop a funding system to meet the Federal Aviation

20 Administration’s long-term funding needs; and

21 (6) without immediate action by Congress to

22 ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration’s fi23 nancial needs are met, air travelers’ confidence in

24 the system could be undermined.
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1 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

2 Senate that there should be an immediate enactment of

3 an 18-month reinstatement of the aviation excise taxes to

4 provide short-term funding for the Federal Aviation Ad5 ministration.

6 SEC. 1213. RURAL AIR FARE STUDY.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a

8 study to—

9 (1) compare air fares paid (calculated as both

10 actual and adjusted air fares) for air transportation

11 on flights conducted by commercial air carriers—

12 (A) between—

13 (i) nonhub airports located in small

14 communities; and

15 (ii) large hub airports; and

16 (B) between large hub airports;

17 (2) analyze—

18 (A) the extent to which passenger service

19 that is provided from nonhub airports is pro20 vided on—

21 (i) regional commuter commercial air

22 carriers; or

23 (ii) major air carriers;
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1 (B) the type of aircraft employed in pro2 viding passenger service at nonhub airports;

3 and

4 (C) whether there is competition among

5 commercial air carriers with respect to the pro6 vision of air service to passengers from nonhub

7 airports.

8 (b) FINDINGS.—The Secretary shall include in the re9 port of the study conducted under subsection (a) findings

10 concerning—

11 (1) whether passengers who use commercial air

12 carriers to and from rural areas (as defined by the

13 Secretary) pay a disproportionately greater price for

14 that transportation than passengers who use com15 mercial air carriers between urban areas (as defined

16 by the Secretary);

17 (2) the nature of competition, if any, in rural

18 markets (as defined by the Secretary) for commer19 cial air carriers;

20 (3) whether a relationship exists between higher

21 air fares and competition among commercial air car22 riers for passengers traveling on jet aircraft from

23 small communities (as defined by the Secretary)

24 and, if such a relation exists, the nature of that rela25 tionship;
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1 (4) the number of small communities that have

2 lost air service as a result of the deregulation of

3 commercial air carriers with respect to air fares;

4 (5) the number of small communities served by

5 airports with respect to which, after commercial air

6 carrier fares were deregulated, jet aircraft service

7 was replaced by turboprop aircraft service; and

8 (6) where such replacement occurred, any cor9 responding decreases in available seat capacity for

10 consumers at the airports referred to in that sub11 paragraph.

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit

14 a final report on the study carried out under subsection

15 (a) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans16 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor17 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

19 following definitions apply:

20 (1) ADJUSTED AIR FARE.—The term ‘‘adjusted

21 air fare’’ means an actual air fare that is adjusted

22 for distance traveled by a passenger.

23 (2) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ is

24 defined in section 40102(a)(2) of title 49, United

25 States Code.
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1 (3) AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘airport’’ is defined in

2 section 40102(9) of such title.

3 (4) COMMERCIAL AIR CARRIER.—The term

4 ‘‘commercial air carrier’’ means an air carrier that

5 provides air transportation for commercial purposes

6 (as determined by the Secretary).

7 (5) HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘hub airport’’ is

8 defined in section 41731(a)(2) of such title.

9 (6) LARGE HUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘large

10 hub airport’’ shall be defined by the Secretary but

11 the definition may not include a small hub airport,

12 as that term is defined in section 41731(a)(5) of

13 such title.

14 (7) MAJOR AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘major air

15 carrier’’ shall be defined by the Secretary.

16 (8) NONHUB AIRPORT.—The term ‘‘nonhub air17 port’’ is defined in section 41731(a)(4) of such title.

18 (9) REGIONAL COMMUTER AIR CARRIER.—The

19 term ‘‘regional commuter air carrier’’ shall be de20 fined by the Secretary.

21 SEC. 1214. CARRIAGE OF CANDIDATES IN STATE AND

22 LOCAL ELECTIONS.

23 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis24 tration shall revise section 91.321 of the Administration’s

25 regulations (14 C.F.R. 91.321), relating to the carriage
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1 of candidates in Federal elections, to make the same or

2 similar rules applicable to the carriage of candidates for

3 election to public office in State and local government elec4 tions.

5 SEC. 1215. SPECIAL FLIGHT RULES IN THE VICINITY OF

6 GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK.

7 The Secretary of Transportation, acting through the

8 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,

9 shall take such action as may be necessary to provide 45

10 additional days for comment by interested persons on the

11 special flight rules in the vicinity of Grand Canyon Na12 tional Park and the Draft Environmental Assessment de13 scribed in the notice of proposed rulemaking issued on

14 July 31, 1996, at 61 Fed. Reg. 40120 et seq.

15 SEC. 1216. TRANSFER OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER;

16 CLOSING OF FLIGHT SERVICE STATIONS.

17 (a) HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA TOWER.—

18 (1) TRANSFER.—The Administrator of the Fed19 eral Aviation Administration may transfer any title,

20 right, or interest the United States has in the air

21 traffic control tower located at the Hickory Regional

22 Airport to the City of Hickory, North Carolina, for

23 the purpose of enabling the city to provide air traffic

24 control services to operators of aircraft.
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1 (2) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a

2 study to determine whether the number of oper3 ations at Hickory Regional Airport meet the criteria

4 for contract towers and shall certify in writing to the

5 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor6 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Com7 merce and Infrastructure of the House of Represent8 atives whether that airport meets those criteria.

9 (b) NEW BERN-CRAVEN COUNTY STATION.—The

10 Administrator shall not close the New Bern-Craven Coun11 ty flight services station or the Hickory Regional Airport

12 flight service station unless the Administrator certifies in

13 writing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

14 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives that such closure will not result in a degrada17 tion of air safety and that it will reduce costs to taxpayers.

18 (c) PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA STATION.—The Admin19 istrator shall not close the Pierre, South Dakota Regional

20 Airport flight service station unless following the 180th

21 day after the date of the enactment of this Act the Admin22 istrator certifies in writing to the Committee on Com23 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the

24 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the

25 House of Representatives that such closure will not result
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1 in a degradation of air safety, air service, or the loss of

2 meteorological services or data that cannot otherwise be

3 obtained in a more cost-effective manner, and that it will

4 reduce costs to taxpayers.

5 SEC. 1217. LOCATION OF DOPPLER RADAR STATIONS, NEW

6 YORK.

7 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia8 tion Administration shall conduct a study of the feasibility

9 of constructing 2 offshore platforms to serve as sites for

10 the location of Doppler radar stations for John F. Ken11 nedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New

12 York City, New York.

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall

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

16 conducted under subsection (a), including proposed loca17 tions for the offshore platforms. Such locations shall be

18 as far as possible from populated areas while providing

19 appropriate safety measures for John F. Kennedy Inter20 national Airport and LaGuardia Airport.

21 SEC. 1218. TRAIN WHISTLE REQUIREMENTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20153 is amended by

23 adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—In issuing regulations under

25 this section, the Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(1) shall take into account the interest of com2 munities that—

3 ‘‘(A) have in effect restrictions on the

4 sounding of a locomotive horn at highway-rail

5 grade crossings; or

6 ‘‘(B) have not been subject to the routine

7 (as defined by the Secretary) sounding of a lo8 comotive horn at highway-rail grade crossings;

9 ‘‘(2) shall work in partnership with affected

10 communities to provide technical assistance and

11 shall provide a reasonable amount of time for local

12 communities to install supplementary safety meas13 ures, taking into account local safety initiatives

14 (such as public awareness initiatives and highway15 rail grade crossing traffic law enforcement pro16 grams) subject to such terms and condition as the

17 Secretary deems necessary, to protect public safety;

18 and

19 ‘‘(3) may waive (in whole or in part) any re20 quirement of this section (other than a requirement

21 of this subsection or subsection (j)) that the Sec22 retary determines is not likely to contribute signifi23 cantly to public safety.

24 ‘‘(j) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—Any reg25 ulations under this section shall not take effect before the
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1 365th day following the date of publication of the final

2 rule.’’.

3 SEC. 1219. INCREASED FEES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, the Surface Transportation Board shall not

6 increase fees for services to be collected from small ship7 pers in connection with rail maximum rate complaints pur8 suant to part 1002 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula9 tions, Ex Parte No. 542.

10 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall no longer

11 be effective after September 30, 1998.

12 SEC. 1220. STRUCTURES INTERFERING WITH AIR COM13 MERCE.

14 (a) LANDFILLS.—Section 44718 is amended by add15 ing at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(d) LANDFILLS.—For the purposes of enhancing

17 aviation safety, in a case in which 2 landfills have been

18 proposed to be constructed or established within 6 miles

19 of a commercial service airport with fewer than 50,000

20 enplanements per year, no person shall construct or estab21 lish either landfill if an official of the Federal Aviation

22 Administration has stated in writing within the 3-year pe23 riod ending on the date of the enactment of this subsection

24 that 1 of the landfills would be incompatible with aircraft

25 operations at the airport, unless the landfill is already ac-
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1 tive on such date of enactment or the airport operator

2 agrees to the construction or establishment of the land3 fill.’’.

4 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 46301 is amended by

5 inserting ‘‘44718(d),’’ after ‘‘44716,’’ in each of sub6 sections (a)(1)(A), (d)(2), and (f)(1)(A)(i).

7 SEC. 1221. HAWAII CARGO.

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and for

9 a period that shall not extend beyond September 30, 1998,

10 an air carrier which commenced all-cargo turnaround serv11 ice during November 1995 with Stage 2 aircraft with a

12 maximum weight of more than 75,000 pounds may oper13 ate no more than one Stage 2 aircraft in all-cargo turn14 around service and may also maintain a second such air15 craft in reserve. The reserve aircraft may only be used

16 as a replacement aircraft when the first aircraft is not air17 worthy or is unavailable due to closure of an airport at

18 which the first aircraft is located in the State of Hawaii.

19 SEC. 1222. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF STATES TO REG20 ULATE GAMBLING DEVICES ON VESSELS.

21 Subsection (b)(2) of section 5 of the Act of January

22 2, 1951 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Johnson Act’’) (64

23 Stat. 1135, chapter 1194; 15 U.S.C. 1175), is amended

24 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN VOYAGES

2 AND SEGMENTS.—Except for a voyage or seg3 ment of a voyage that occurs within the bound4 aries of the State of Hawaii, a voyage or seg5 ment of a voyage is not described in subpara6 graph (B) if such voyage or segment includes or

7 consists of a segment—

8 ‘‘(i) that begins that ends in the same

9 State;

10 ‘‘(ii) that is part of a voyage to an11 other State or to a foreign country; and

12 ‘‘(iii) in which the vessel reaches the

13 other State or foreign country within 3

14 days after leaving the State in which such

15 segment begins.’’.