II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 536

Entitled the ‘‘Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation System

Improvement Act of 1999’’.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 4, 1999

Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation

System Improvement Act of 1999’’.

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 SECTIONS.

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

5 ‘‘Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation System

6 Improvement Act of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of sections.

Sec. 2. Amendments to title 49, United States Code.
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TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS

Sec. 101. Federal Aviation Administration operations.

Sec. 102. Air navigation facilities and equipment.

Sec. 103. Airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning

and programs.

Sec. 104. Reprogramming notification requirement.

Sec. 105. Airport security program.

Sec. 106. Contract tower programs

Sec. 107. Automated surface observation system stations.

TITLE II—AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS

Sec. 201. Removal of the cap on discretionary fund.

Sec. 202. Innovative use of airport grant funds.

Sec. 203. Matching share.

Sec. 204. Increase in apportionment for noise compatibility planning and programs.

Sec. 205. Technical amendments.

Sec. 206. Repeal of period of applicability.

Sec. 207. Report on efforts to implement capacity enhancements.

Sec. 208. Prioritization of discretionary projects.

Sec. 209. Public notice before grant assurance requirement waived.

Sec. 210. Definition of public aircraft.

Sec. 211. Terminal development costs.

Sec. 212. Airfield pavement conditions.

Sec. 213. Discretionary grants.

TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO AVIATION LAW

Sec. 301. Severable services contracts for periods crossing fiscal years.

Sec. 302. Foreign carriers eligible for waiver under Airport Noise and Capacity

Act.

Sec. 303. Government and industry consortia.

Sec. 304. Implementation of Article 83 Bis of the Chicago Convention.

Sec. 305. Foreign aviation services authority.

Sec. 306. Flexibility to perform criminal history record checks; technical

amendments to Pilot Records Improvement Act.

Sec. 307. Aviation insurance program amendments.

Sec. 308. Technical corrections to civil penalty provisions.

Sec. 309. Criminal penalty for pilots operating in air transportation without an

airman’s certificate.

Sec. 310. Nondiscriminatory interline interconnection requirements.

TITLE IV—TITLE 49 TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

Sec. 401. Restatement of 49 U.S.C. 106(g).

Sec. 402. Restatement of 49 U.S.C. 44909.

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 501. Oversight of FAA response to year 2000 problem.

Sec. 502. Cargo collision avoidance systems deadline.

Sec. 503. Runway safety areas; precision approach path indicators.

Sec. 504. Airplane emergency locators.

Sec. 505. Counterfeit aircraft parts.

Sec. 506. FAA may fine unruly passengers.
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Sec. 507. Higher standards for handicapped access.

Sec. 508. Conveyances of United States Government land.

Sec. 509. Flight operations quality assurance rules.

Sec. 510. Wide area augmentation system.

Sec. 511. Regulation of Alaska air guides.

Sec. 512. Application of FAA regulations.

Sec. 513. Human factors program.

Sec. 514. Independent validation of FAA costs and allocations.

Sec. 515. Whistleblower protection for FAA employees.

Sec. 516. Report on modernization of oceanic ATC system.

Sec. 517. Report on air transportation oversight system.

Sec. 518. Recycling of EIS.

Sec. 519. Protection of employees providing air safety information.

Sec. 520. Improvements to air navigation facilities.

Sec. 521. Denial of airport access to certain air carriers.

Sec. 522. Tourism.

Sec. 523. Equivalency of FAA and EU safety standards.

Sec. 524. Sense of the Senate on property taxes on public-use airports.

Sec. 525. Federal Aviation Administration Personnel Management System.

Sec. 526. Aircraft and aviation component repair and maintenance advisory

panel.

Sec. 527. Report on enhanced domestic airline competition.

Sec. 528. Aircraft situational display data.

Sec. 529. To express the sense of the Senate concerning a bilateral agreement

between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding

Charlotte-London route.

Sec. 530. To express the sense of the Senate concerning a bilateral agreement

between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding

Cleveland-London route.

Sec. 531. Allocation of Trust Fund funding.

Sec. 532. Taos Pueblo and Blue Lakes Wilderness Area demonstration project.

Sec. 533. Airline marketing disclosure.

Sec. 534. Certain air traffice control towers.

Sec. 535. Compensation under the Death on the High Seas Act.

TITLE VI—AVIATION COMPETITION PROMOTION

Sec. 601. Purpose.

Sec. 602. Establishment of small community aviation development program.

Sec. 603. Community-carrier air service program.

Sec. 604. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 605. Marketing practices.

Sec. 606. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet service.

Sec. 607. Exemptions to perimeter rule at Ronald Reagan Washington National

Airport.

Sec. 608. Additional slot exemptions at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Sec. 609. Consumer notification of e-ticket expiration dates.

Sec. 610. Joint venture agreements.

Sec. 611. Regional air service incentive options.

Sec. 612. GAO study of air transportation needs.

TITLE VII—NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHTS

Sec. 701. Findings.

Sec. 702. Air tour management plans for national parks.

Sec. 703. Advisory group.
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Sec. 704. Overflight fee report.

Sec. 705. Prohibition of commercial air tours over the Rocky Mountain National Park.

TITLE VIII—CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT COMMEMORATION

Sec. 801. Short title.

Sec. 802. Findings.

Sec. 803. Establishment.

Sec. 804. Membership.

Sec. 805. Duties.

Sec. 806. Powers.

Sec. 807. Staff and support services.

Sec. 808. Contributions.

Sec. 809. Exclusive right to name, logos, emblems, seals, and marks.

Sec. 810. Reports.

Sec. 811. Audit of financial transactions.

Sec. 812. Advisory board.

Sec. 813. Definitions.

Sec. 814. Termination.

Sec. 815. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IX—EXTENSION OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND

EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY

Sec. 901. Extension of expenditure authority.

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

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

4 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other

5 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to

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

7 Code.

8 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS

9 SEC. 101. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OPER10 ATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106(k) is amended to

12 read as follows:

13 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR OP14 ERATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

2 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for

3 operations of the Administration $5,631,000,000 for

4 fiscal year 1999 and $5,784,000,000 for fiscal year

5 2000. Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated

6 for fiscal year 1999, not more than $9,100,000 shall

7 be used to support air safety efforts through pay8 ment of United States membership obligations, to be

9 paid as soon as practicable.

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

11 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1)

12 $450,000 may be used for wildlife hazard mitigation

13 measures and management of the wildlife strike

14 database of the Federal Aviation Administration.

15 ‘‘(3) UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM.—There are au16 thorized to be appropriated not more than

17 $9,100,000 for the 3 fiscal year period beginning

18 with fiscal year 1999 to support a university consor19 tium established to provide an air safety and secu20 rity management certificate program, working coop21 eratively with the Federal Aviation Administration

22 and United States air carriers. Funds authorized

23 under this paragraph—

24 ‘‘(A) may not be used for the construction

25 of a building or other facility; and
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1 ‘‘(B) shall be awarded on the basis of open

2 competition.’’.

3 (b) COORDINATION.—The authority granted the Sec4 retary under section 41717 of title 49, United States

5 Code, does not affect the Secretary’s authority under any

6 other provision of law.

7 SEC. 102. AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 48101(a) is amended by

9 striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 1999—

12 ‘‘(A) $222,800,000 for engineering, devel13 opment, test, and evaluation: en route pro14 grams;

15 ‘‘(B) $74,700,000 for engineering, develop16 ment, test, and evaluation: terminal programs;

17 ‘‘(C) $108,000,000 for engineering, devel18 opment, test, and evaluation: landing and navi19 gational aids;

20 ‘‘(D) $17,790,000 for engineering, develop21 ment, test, and evaluation: research, test, and

22 evaluation equipment and facilities programs;

23 ‘‘(E) $391,358,300 for air traffic control

24 facilities and equipment: en route programs;
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1 ‘‘(F) $492,315,500 for air traffic control

2 facilities and equipment: terminal programs;

3 ‘‘(G) $38,764,400 for air traffic control fa4 cilities and equipment: flight services programs;

5 ‘‘(H) $50,500,000 for air traffic control fa6 cilities and equipment: other ATC facilities pro7 grams;

8 ‘‘(I) $162,400,000 for non-ATC facilities

9 and equipment programs;

10 ‘‘(J) $14,500,000 for training and equip11 ment facilities programs;

12 ‘‘(K) $280,800,000 for mission support

13 programs;

14 ‘‘(L) $235,210,000 for personnel and re15 lated expenses; and

16 ‘‘(2) $2,189,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.

17 (b) CONTINUATION OF ILS INVENTORY PROGRAM.—

18 Section 44502(a)(4)(B) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 1995 and 1996’’

20 and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 1999 and 2000’’; and

21 (2) by striking ‘‘acquisition,’’ and inserting ‘‘ac22 quisition under new or existing contracts,’’.

23 (c) LIFE-CYCLE COST ESTIMATES.—The Adminis24 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab25 lish life-cycle cost estimates for any air traffic control
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1 modernization project the total life-cycle costs of which

2 equal or exceed $50,000,000.

3 SEC. 103. AIRPORT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND

4 NOISE COMPATIBILITY PLANNING AND PRO5 GRAMS.

6 (a) EXTENSION AND AUTHORIZATION.—Section

7 48103 is amended by—

8 (1) striking ‘‘September 30, 1996,’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘September 30, 1998,’’; and

10 (2) striking ‘‘$2,280,000,000 for fiscal years

11 ending before October 1, 1997, and $4,627,000,000

12 for fiscal years ending before October 1, 1998.’’ and

13 inserting ‘‘$2,410,000,000 for fiscal years ending be14 fore October 1, 1999 and $4,885,000,000 for fiscal

15 years ending before October 1, 2000.’’.

16 (b) PROJECT GRANT AUTHORITY.—Section 47104(c)

17 is amended by striking ‘‘1998,’’ and inserting ‘‘2002,’’.

18 SEC. 104. REPROGRAMMING NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

19 Before reprogramming any amounts appropriated

20 under section 106(k), 48101(a), or 48103 of title 49,

21 United States Code, for which notification of the Commit22 tees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of

23 Representatives is required, the Secretary of Transpor24 tation shall submit a written explanation of the proposed

25 reprogramming to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
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1 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep3 resentatives.

4 SEC. 105. AIRPORT SECURITY PROGRAM.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 471 (as amended by sec6 tion 202(a) of this Act) is amended by adding at the end

7 thereof the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 47136. Airport security program

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

10 public airports in the United States, the Secretary of

11 Transportation shall carry out not less than 1 project to

12 test and evaluate innovative airport security systems and

13 related technology.

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

15 Secretary shall give the highest priority to a request from

16 an eligible sponsor for a grant to undertake a project

17 that—

18 ‘‘(1) evaluates and tests the benefits of innova19 tive airport security systems or related technology,

20 including explosives detection systems, for the pur21 pose of improving airport and aircraft physical secu22 rity and access control; and

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

24 security systems and technology in an operational,

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

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

3 project costs for a project under this section is 100 per4 cent.

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

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

8 section, including terms and conditions relating to the

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

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

12 the term ‘eligible sponsor’ means a nonprofit corporation

13 composed of a consortium of public and private persons,

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

16 conduct the testing and evaluation of airport and aircraft

17 related security systems.

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

19 amounts made available to the Secretary under section

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

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

22 this section.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy24 sis for such chapter (as amended by section 202(b) of this
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1 Act) is amended by inserting after the item relating to

2 section 47135 the following:

‘‘47136. Airport security program.’’.

3 SEC. 106. CONTRACT TOWER PROGRAM.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary of Transportation such sums as may be necessary

6 to carry out the Federal Contract Tower Program under

7 title 49, United States Code.

8 SEC. 107. AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVATION SYSTEM

9 STATIONS.

10 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis11 tration shall not terminate human weather observers for

12 Automated Surface Observation System stations until—

13 (1) the Secretary of Transportation determines

14 that the System provides consistent reporting of

15 changing meteorological conditions and notifies the

16 Congress in writing of that determination; and

17 (2) 60 days have passed since the report was

18 submitted to the Congress.

19 TITLE II—AIRPORT IMPROVE20 MENT PROGRAM AMEND21 MENTS

22 SEC. 201. REMOVAL OF THE CAP ON DISCRETIONARY FUND.

23 Section 47115(g) is amended by striking paragraph

24 (4).
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1 SEC. 202. INNOVATIVE USE OF AIRPORT GRANT FUNDS.

2 (a) CODIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF 1996 PRO3 GRAM.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is amended by add4 ing at the end thereof the following:

5 ‘‘§ 47135. 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 this

9 subchapter for not more than 20 projects for which grants

10 received under the subchapter may be used to implement

11 innovative financing techniques.

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the demonstration

13 program shall be to provide information on the use of in14 novative financing techniques for airport development

15 projects.

16 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION—In no case shall the implementa17 tion of an innovative financing technique under this sec18 tion be used in a manner giving rise to a direct or indirect

19 guarantee of any airport debt instrument by the United

20 States Government.

21 ‘‘(d) INNOVATIVE FINANCING TECHNIQUE DE22 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘innovative financing

23 technique’ includes methods of financing projects that the

24 Secretary determines may be beneficial to airport develop25 ment, including—

26 ‘‘(1) payment of interest;
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1 ‘‘(2) commercial bond insurance and other cred2 it enhancement associated with airport bonds for eli3 gible airport development; and

4 ‘‘(3) flexible non-Federal matching require5 ments.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy7 sis for chapter 471 is amended by inserting after the item

8 relating to section 47134 the following:

‘‘47135. Innovative financing techniques.’’.

9 SEC. 203. MATCHING SHARE.

10 Section 47109(a)(2) is amended by inserting ‘‘not

11 more than’’ before ‘‘90 percent’’.

12 SEC. 204. INCREASE IN APPORTIONMENT FOR NOISE COM13 PATIBILITY PLANNING AND PROGRAMS.

14 Section 47117(e)(1)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘31’’

15 each time it appears and substituting ‘‘35’’.

16 SEC. 205. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) USE OF APPORTIONMENTS FOR ALASKA, PUERTO

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

19 read as follows:

20 ‘‘(3) An amount apportioned under paragraph

21 (2) of this subsection for airports in Alaska, Hawaii,

22 or Puerto Rico may be made available by the Sec23 retary for any public airport in those respective ju24 risdictions.’’.
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1 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL APPORTIONMENT FOR ALAS2 KA.—Section 47114(e) is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘ALTERNATIVE’’ in the sub4 section caption and inserting ‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL’’;

5 (2) in paragraph (1) by—

6 (A) striking ‘‘Instead of apportioning

7 amounts for airports in Alaska under’’ and in8 serting ‘‘Notwithstanding’’; and

9 (B) striking ‘‘those airports’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘airports in Alaska’’; and

11 (3) striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(3) An amount apportioned under this sub14 section may be used for any public airport in Alas15 ka.’’.

16 (c) REPEAL OF APPORTIONMENT LIMITATION ON

17 COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORTS IN ALASKA.—Section

18 47117 is amended by striking subsection (f) and redesig19 nating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g),

20 respectively.

21 (d) DISCRETIONARY FUND DEFINITION.—

22 (1) Section 47115 is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘25’’ in subsection (a) and

24 inserting ‘‘12.5’’; and
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1 (B) by striking the second sentence in sub2 section (b).

3 (2) Section 47116 is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘75’’ in subsection (a) and

5 inserting ‘‘87.5’’;

6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and

7 (2) in subsection (b) as subparagraphs (A) and

8 (B), respectively, and inserting before subpara9 graph (A), as so redesignated, the following:

10 ‘‘(1) one-seventh for grants for projects at small

11 hub airports (as defined in section 41731 of this

12 title); and

13 ‘‘(2) the remaining amounts based on the fol14 lowing:’’.

15 (e) CONTINUATION OF PROJECT FUNDING.—Section

16 47108 is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow17 ing:

18 ‘‘(e) CHANGE IN AIRPORT STATUS.—If the status of

19 a primary airport changes to a nonprimary airport at a

20 time when a development project under a multiyear agree21 ment under subsection (a) is not yet completed, the project

22 shall remain eligible for funding from discretionary funds

23 under section 47115 of this title at the funding level and

24 under the terms provided by the agreement, subject to the

25 availability of funds.’’.
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1 (f) GRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR PRIVATE RELIEVER

2 AIRPORTS.—Section 47102(17)(B) is amended by—

3 (1) striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i) and

4 redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and

5 (2) inserting after clause (i) the following:

6 ‘‘(ii) a privately-owned airport that, as

7 a reliever airport, received Federal aid for

8 airport development prior to October 9,

9 1996, but only if the Administrator issues

10 revised administrative guidance after July

11 1, 1998, for the designation of reliever air12 ports; or’’.

13 (g) RELIEVER AIRPORTS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR LET14 TERS OF INTENT.—Section 47110(e)(1) is amended by

15 striking ‘‘or reliever’’.

16 (h) PASSENGER FACILITY FEE WAIVER FOR CER17 TAIN CLASS OF CARRIERS.—Section 40117(e)(2) is

18 amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

20 subparagraph (B);

21 (2) by striking ‘‘payment.’’ in subparagraph (C)

22 and inserting ‘‘payment; and’’; and

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

24 ‘‘(D) in Alaska aboard an aircraft having

25 a seating capacity of less than 20 passengers.’’.
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1 (i) PASSENGER FACILITY FEE WAIVER FOR CERTAIN

2 CLASS OF CARRIERS OR FOR SERVICE TO AIRPORTS IN

3 ISOLATED COMMUNITIES.—Section 40117(i) is

4 amended—

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

6 (1);

7 (2) by striking ‘‘transportation.’’ in paragraph

8 (2)(D) and inserting ‘‘transportation; and’’; and

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

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

11 collection of a passenger facility fee be waived for—

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

13 air carrier or foreign air carrier if the number

14 of passengers enplaned by the carriers in the

15 class constitutes not more than one percent of

16 the total number of passengers enplaned annu17 ally at the airport at which the fee is imposed;

18 or

19 ‘‘(B) passengers enplaned on a flight to an

20 airport—

21 ‘‘(i) that has fewer than 2,500 pas22 senger boardings each year and receives

23 scheduled passenger service; or

24 ‘‘(ii) in a community which has a pop25 ulation of less than 10,000 and is not con-
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1 nected by a land highway or vehicular way

2 to the land-connected National Highway

3 System within a State.’’.

4 (j) USE OF THE WORD ‘‘GIFT’’ AND PRIORITY FOR

5 AIRPORTS IN SURPLUS PROPERTY DISPOSAL.—

6 (1) Section 47151 is amended—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘give’’ in subsection (a)

8 and inserting ‘‘convey to’’;

9 (B) by striking ‘‘gift’’ in subsection (a)(2)

10 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

11 (C) by striking ‘‘giving’’ in subsection (b)

12 and inserting ‘‘conveying’’;

13 (D) by striking ‘‘gift’’ in subsection (b)

14 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’; and

15 (E) by adding at the end thereof the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY FOR PUBLIC AIRPORTS.—Except for

18 requests from another Federal agency, a department,

19 agency, or instrumentality of the Executive Branch of the

20 United States Government shall give priority to a request

21 by a public agency (as defined in section 47102 of this

22 title) for surplus property described in subsection (a) of

23 this section for use at a public airport.’’.

24 (2) Section 47152 is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘gifts’’ in the section cap2 tion and inserting ‘‘conveyances’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘gift’’ in the first sentence

4 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’.

5 (3) The chapter analysis for chapter 471 is

6 amended by striking the item relating to section

7 47152 and inserting the following:

‘‘47152. Terms of conveyances.’’.

8 (4) Section 47153(a) is amended—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘gift’’ in paragraph (1)

10 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

11 (B) by striking ‘‘given’’ in paragraph

12 (1)(A) and inserting ‘‘conveyed’’; and

13 (C) by striking ‘‘gift’’ in paragraph (1)(B)

14 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’.

15 (k) APPORTIONMENT FOR CARGO ONLY AIRPORTS.—

16 Section 47114(c)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘2.5 per17 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘3 percent’’.

18 (l) FLEXIBILITY IN PAVEMENT DESIGN STAND19 ARDS.—Section 47114(d) is amended by adding at the end

20 thereof the following:

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may permit the use of State

22 highway specifications for airfield pavement con23 struction using funds made available under this sub24 section at nonprimary airports with runways of

25 5,000 feet or shorter serving aircraft that do not ex-
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1 ceed 60,000 pounds gross weight, if the Secretary

2 determines that—

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

4 and

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

6 shorter than it would be if constructed using

7 Administration standards.

8 An airport may not seek funds under this sub9 chapter for runway rehabilitation or reconstruction

10 of any such airfield pavement constructed using

11 State highway specifications for a period of 10 years

12 after construction is completed.’’.

13 SEC. 206. REPEAL OF PERIOD OF APPLICABILITY.

14 Section 125 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization

15 Act of 1996 (49 U.S.C. 47114 note) is repealed.

16 SEC. 207. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAPACITY

17 ENHANCEMENTS.

18 Within 9 months after the date of enactment of this

19 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the

20 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

21 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In22 frastructure of the House of Representatives on efforts by

23 the Federal Aviation Administration to implement capac24 ity enhancements and improvements, such as precision
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1 runway monitoring systems, and the time frame for imple2 mentation of such enhancements and improvements.

3 SEC. 208. PRIORITIZATION OF DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS.

4 Section 47120 is amended by—

5 (1) inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

6 ‘‘In’’; and

7 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

8 ‘‘(b) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING TO BE USED FOR

9 HIGHER PRIORITY PROJECTS.—The Administrator of the

10 Federal Aviation Administration shall discourage airport

11 sponsors and airports from using entitlement funds for

12 lower priority projects by giving lower priority to discre13 tionary projects submitted by airport sponsors and air14 ports that have used entitlement funds for projects that

15 have a lower priority than the projects for which discre16 tionary funds are being requested.’’.

17 SEC. 209. PUBLIC NOTICE BEFORE GRANT ASSURANCE RE18 QUIREMENT WAIVED.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law to the contrary, the Secretary of Transpor21 tation may not waive any assurance required under section

22 47107 of title 49, United States Code, that requires prop23 erty to be used for aeronautical purposes unless the Sec24 retary provides notice to the public not less than 30 days

25 before issuing any such waiver. Nothing in this section
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1 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to issue a

2 waiver of any assurance required under that section.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies to any

4 request filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

5 SEC. 210. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.

6 Section 40102(a)(37)(B)(ii) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I);

8 (2) by striking the ‘‘States.’’ in subclause (II)

9 and inserting ‘‘States; or’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(III) transporting persons

12 aboard the aircraft if the aircraft is

13 operated for the purpose of prisoner

14 transport.’’.

15 SEC. 211. TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS.

16 Section 40117 is amended by adding at the end

17 thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(j) SHELL OF TERMINAL BUILDING.—In order to

19 enable additional air service by an air carrier with less

20 than 50 percent of the scheduled passenger traffic at an

21 airport, the Secretary may consider the shell of a terminal

22 building (including heating, ventilation, and air condi23 tioning) and aircraft fueling facilities adjacent to an air24 port terminal building to be an eligible airport-related

25 project under subsection (a)(3)(E).’’.
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1 SEC. 212. AIRFIELD PAVEMENT CONDITIONS.

2 (a) EVALUATION OF OPTIONS.—The Administrator

3 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall evaluate op4 tions for improving the quality of information available to

5 the Administration on airfield pavement conditions for air6 ports that are part of the national air transportation sys7 tem, including—

8 (1) improving the existing runway condition in9 formation contained in the Airport Safety Data Pro10 gram by reviewing and revising rating criteria and

11 providing increased training for inspectors;

12 (2) requiring such airports to submit pavement

13 condition index information as part of their airport

14 master plan or as support in applications for airport

15 improvement grants; and

16 (3) requiring all such airports to submit pave17 ment condition index information on a regular basis

18 and using this information to create a pavement

19 condition database that could be used in evaluating

20 the cost-effectiveness of project applications and

21 forecasting anticipated pavement needs.

22 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator shall

23 transmit a report, containing an evaluation of such op24 tions, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,

25 and Transportation and the House of Representatives
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1 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure not later

2 than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

3 SEC. 213. DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.

4 Notwithstanding any limitation on the amount of

5 funds that may be expended for grants for noise abate6 ment, if any funds made available under section 48103

7 of title 49, United States Code, remain available at the

8 end of the fiscal year for which those funds were made

9 available, and are not allocated under section 47115 of

10 that title, or under any other provision relating to the

11 awarding of discretionary grants from unobligated funds

12 made available under section 48103 of that title, the Sec13 retary of Transportation may use those funds to make dis14 cretionary grants for noise abatement activities.

15 TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO

16 AVIATION LAW

17 SEC. 301. SEVERABLE SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR PERIODS

18 CROSSING FISCAL YEARS.

19 (a) Chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end

20 thereof the following:

21 ‘‘§ 40125. Severable services contracts for periods

22 crossing fiscal years

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed24 eral Aviation Administration may enter into a contract for

25 procurement of severable services for a period that begins
25

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1 in one fiscal year and ends in the next fiscal year if (with2 out regard to any option to extend the period of the con3 tract) the contract period does not exceed one year.

4 ‘‘(b) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.—Funds made available

5 for a fiscal year may be obligated for the total amount

6 of a contract entered into under the authority of sub7 section (a) of this section.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy9 sis for chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end there10 of the following:

‘‘40125. Severable services contracts for periods crossing fiscal years.’’.

11 SEC. 302. FOREIGN CARRIERS ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVER

12 UNDER AIRPORT NOISE AND CAPACITY ACT.

13 The first sentence of section 47528(b)(1) is amended

14 by inserting ‘‘or foreign air carrier’’ after ‘‘air carrier’’

15 the first place it appears and after ‘‘carrier’’ the first place

16 it appears.

17 SEC. 303. GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.

18 Section 44903 is amended by adding at the end

19 thereof the following:

20 ‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.—

21 The Administrator may establish at airports such consor22 tia of government and aviation industry representatives as

23 the Administrator may designate to provide advice on mat24 ters related to aviation security and safety. Such consortia

25 shall not be considered federal advisory committees for
26

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1 purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

2 U.S.C. App.).’’.

3 SEC. 304. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 83 BIS OF THE

4 CHICAGO CONVENTION.

5 Section 44701 is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub7 section (f); and

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(e) BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVER11 SIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES.—

12 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this

13 chapter, and pursuant to Article 83 bis of the Con14 vention on International Civil Aviation, the Adminis15 trator may, by a bilateral agreement with the aero16 nautical authorities of another country, exchange

17 with that country all or part of their respective func18 tions and duties with respect to aircraft described in

19 subparagraphs (A) and (B), under the following ar20 ticles of the Convention:

21 ‘‘(A) Article 12 (Rules of the Air).

22 ‘‘(B) Article 31 (Certificates of Airworthi23 ness).

24 ‘‘(C) Article 32a (Licenses of Personnel).
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1 ‘‘(2) The agreement under paragraph (1) may apply

2 to—

3 ‘‘(A) aircraft registered in the United

4 States operated pursuant to an agreement for

5 the lease, charter, or interchange of the aircraft

6 or any similar arrangement by an operator that

7 has its principal place of business, or, if it has

8 no such place of business, its permanent resi9 dence, in another country; or

10 ‘‘(B) aircraft registered in a foreign coun11 try operated under an agreement for the lease,

12 charter, or interchange of the aircraft or any

13 similar arrangement by an operator that has its

14 principal place of business, or, if it has no such

15 place of business, its permanent residence, in

16 the United States.

17 ‘‘(3) The Administrator relinquishes responsibil18 ity with respect to the functions and duties trans19 ferred by the Administrator as specified in the bilat20 eral agreement, under the Articles listed in para21 graph (1) of this subsection for United States-reg22 istered aircraft transferred abroad as described in

23 subparagraph (A) of that paragraph, and accepts re24 sponsibility with respect to the functions and duties

25 under those Articles for aircraft registered abroad
28

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1 that are transferred to the United States as de2 scribed in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph.

3 ‘‘(4) The Administrator may, in the agreement

4 under paragraph (1), predicate the transfer of these

5 functions and duties on any conditions the Adminis6 trator deems necessary and prudent.’’.

7 SEC. 305. FOREIGN AVIATION SERVICES AUTHORITY.

8 Section 45301 is amended by striking ‘‘government.’’

9 in subsection (a)(2) and inserting ‘‘government or to any

10 entity obtaining services outside the United States.’’.

11 SEC. 306. FLEXIBILITY TO PERFORM CRIMINAL HISTORY

12 RECORD CHECKS; TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

13 TO PILOT RECORDS IMPROVEMENT ACT.

14 Section 44936 is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C))’’ in sub16 section (a)(1)(B) and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C),

17 or in the case of passenger, baggage, or property

18 screening at airports, the Administrator decides it is

19 necessary to ensure air transportation security)’’;

20 (2) by striking ‘‘individual’’ in subsection

21 (f)(1)(B)(ii) and inserting ‘‘individual’s performance

22 as a pilot’’; and

23 (3) by inserting ‘‘or from a foreign government

24 or entity that employed the individual,’’ in sub25 section (f)(14)(B) after ‘‘exists,’’.
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1 SEC. 307. AVIATION INSURANCE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.

2 (a) REIMBURSEMENT OF INSURED PARTY’S

3 SUBROGEE.—Subsection (a) of 44309 is amended—

4 (1) by striking the subsection caption and the

5 first sentence, and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(a) LOSSES.—

7 ‘‘(1) A person may bring a civil action in a dis8 trict court of the United States or in the United

9 States Court of Federal Claims against the United

10 States Government when—

11 ‘‘(A) a loss insured under this chapter is in

12 dispute; or

13 ‘‘(B)(i) the person is subrogated to the

14 rights against the United States Government of

15 a party insured under this chapter (other than

16 under subsection 44305(b) of this title), under

17 a contract between the person and such insured

18 party; and

19 ‘‘(ii) the person has paid to such insured

20 party, with the approval of the Secretary of

21 Transportation, an amount for a physical dam22 age loss that the Secretary of Transportation

23 has determined is a loss covered under insur24 ance issued under this chapter (other than in25 surance issued under subsection 44305(b) of

26 this title).’’; and
30

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1 (2) by resetting the remainder of the subsection

2 as a new paragraph and inserting ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘A

3 civil action’’.

4 (b) EXTENSION OF AVIATION INSURANCE PRO5 GRAM.—Section 44310 is amended by striking ‘‘1998.’’

6 and inserting ‘‘2003.’’.

7 SEC. 308. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO CIVIL PENALTY

8 PROVISIONS.

9 Section 46301 is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘46302, 46303, or’’ in sub11 section (a)(1)(A);

12 (2) by striking ‘‘individual’’ the first time it ap13 pears in subsection (d)(7)(A) and inserting ‘‘per14 son’’; and

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘or the Administrator’’ in sub16 section (g) after ‘‘Secretary’’.

17 SEC. 309. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR PILOTS OPERATING IN

18 AIR TRANSPORTATION WITHOUT AN AIR19 MAN’S CERTIFICATE.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 463 of title 49, United

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow22 ing:
31

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1 ‘‘§ 46317. Criminal penalty for pilots operating in air

2 transportation without an airman’s cer3 tificate

4 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—This section applies only to air5 craft used to provide air transportation.

6 ‘‘(b) GENERAL CRIMINAL PENALTY.—An individual

7 shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than

8 3 years, or both, if that individual—

9 ‘‘(1) knowingly and willfully serves or attempts

10 to serve in any capacity as an airman without an

11 airman’s certificate authorizing the individual to

12 serve in that capacity; or

13 ‘‘(2) knowingly and willfully employs for service

14 or uses in any capacity as an airman an individual

15 who does not have an airman’s certificate authoriz16 ing the individual to serve in that capacity.

17 ‘‘(c) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE CRIMINAL PEN18 ALTY.—(1) In this subsection, the term ‘controlled sub19 stance’ has the same meaning given that term in section

20 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and

21 Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802).

22 ‘‘(2) An individual violating subsection (b) shall be

23 fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years,

24 or both, if the violation is related to transporting a con25 trolled substance by aircraft or aiding or facilitating a con-
32

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1 trolled substance violation and that transporting, aiding,

2 or facilitating—

3 ‘‘(A) is punishable by death or imprisonment of

4 more than 1 year under a Federal or State law; or

5 ‘‘(B) is related to an act punishable by death or

6 imprisonment for more than 1 year under a Federal

7 or State law related to a controlled substance (ex8 cept a law related to simple possession (as that term

9 is used in section 46306(c)) of a controlled sub10 stance).

11 ‘‘(3) A term of imprisonment imposed under para12 graph (2) shall be served in addition to, and not concur13 rently with, any other term of imprisonment imposed on

14 the individual subject to the imprisonment.’’.

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

16 at the beginning of chapter 463 of title 49, United States

17 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘46317. Criminal penalty for pilots operating in air transportation without an

airman’s certificate.’’.

18 SEC. 310. NONDISCRIMINATORY INTERLINE INTERCONNEC19 TION REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of

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

22 end thereof the following:
33

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1 ‘‘§ 41716. Interline agreements for domestic transpor2 tation

3 ‘‘(a) NONDISCRIMINATORY REQUIREMENTS.—If a

4 major air carrier that provides air service to an essential

5 airport facility has any agreement involving ticketing, bag6 gage and ground handling, and terminal and gate access

7 with another carrier, it shall provide the same services to

8 any requesting air carrier that offers service to a commu9 nity selected for participation in the program under sec10 tion 41743 under similar terms and conditions and on a

11 nondiscriminatory basis within 30 days after receiving the

12 request, as long as the requesting air carrier meets such

13 safety, service, financial, and maintenance requirements,

14 if any, as the Secretary may by regulation establish con15 sistent with public convenience and necessity. The Sec16 retary must review any proposed agreement to determine

17 if the requesting carrier meets operational requirements

18 consistent with the rules, procedures, and policies of the

19 major carrier. This agreement may be terminated by ei20 ther party in the event of failure to meet the standards

21 and conditions outlined in the agreement.’’.

22 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the term ‘essen23 tial airport facility’ means a large hub airport (as defined

24 in section 41731(a)(3)) in the contiguous 48 States in

25 which one carrier has more than 50 percent of such air26 port’s total annual enplanements.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis

2 for chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amend3 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 41715

4 the following:

‘‘41716. Interline agreements for domestic transportation.’’.

5 TITLE IV—TITLE 49 TECHNICAL

6 CORRECTIONS

7 SEC. 401. RESTATEMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 106(g).

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106(g) is amended by

9 striking ‘‘40113(a), (c), and (d), 40114(a), 40119,

10 44501(a) and (c), 44502(a)(1), (b) and (c), 44504, 44505,

11 44507, 44508, 44511–44513, 44701–44716, 44718(c),

12 44721(a), 44901, 44902, 44903(a)–(c) and (e), 44906,

13 44912, 44935–44937, and 44938(a) and (b), chapter 451,

14 sections 45302–45304,’’ and inserting ‘‘40113(a), (c)–(e),

15 40114(a), and 40119, and chapter 445 (except sections

16 44501(b), 44502(a)(2)–(4), 44503, 44506, 44509, 44510,

17 44514, and 44515), chapter 447 (except sections 44717,

18 44718(a) and (b), 44719, 44720, 44721(b), 44722, and

19 44723), chapter 449 (except sections 44903(d), 44904,

20 44905, 44907–44911, 44913, 44915, and 44931–44934),

21 chapter 451, chapter 453, sections’’.

22 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—The amendment

23 made by this section may not be construed as making a

24 substantive change in the language replaced.
35

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1 SEC. 402. RESTATEMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 44909.

2 Section 44909(a)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘shall’’

3 and inserting ‘‘should’’.

4 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

5 SEC. 501. OVERSIGHT OF FAA RESPONSE TO YEAR 2000

6 PROBLEM.

7 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis8 tration shall report to the Senate Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House Com10 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure every 3

11 months, in oral or written form, on electronic data proc12 essing problems associated with the year 2000 within the

13 Administration.

14 SEC. 502. CARGO COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS DEAD15 LINE.

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

17 Aviation Administration shall require by regulation that,

18 not later than December 31, 2002, collision avoidance

19 equipment be installed on each cargo aircraft with a pay20 load capacity of 15,000 kilograms or more.

21 (b) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may extend the

22 deadline imposed by subsection (a) for not more than 2

23 years if the Administrator finds that the extension is need24 ed to promote—
36

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1 (1) a safe and orderly transition to the oper2 ation of a fleet of cargo aircraft equipped with colli3 sion avoidance equipment; or

4 (2) other safety or public interest objectives.

5 (c) COLLISION AVOIDANCE EQUIPMENT.—For pur6 poses of this section, the term ‘‘collision avoidance equip7 ment’’ means TCAS II equipment (as defined by the Ad8 ministrator), or any other similar system approved by the

9 Administration for collision avoidance purposes.

10 SEC. 503. RUNWAY SAFETY AREAS; PRECISION APPROACH

11 PATH INDICATORS.

12 Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this

13 Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis14 tration shall solicit comments on the need for—

15 (1) the improvement of runway safety areas;

16 and

17 (2) the installation of precision approach path

18 indicators.

19 SEC. 504. AIRPLANE EMERGENCY LOCATORS.

20 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 44712(b) is amended to

21 read as follows:

22 ‘‘(b) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (a) does not

23 apply to aircraft when used in—
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1 ‘‘(1) scheduled flights by scheduled air carriers

2 holding certificates issued by the Secretary of Trans3 portation under subpart II of this part;

4 ‘‘(2) training operations conducted entirely

5 within a 50-mile radius of the airport from which

6 the training operations begin;

7 ‘‘(3) flight operations related to the design and

8 testing, manufacture, preparation, and delivery of

9 aircraft;

10 ‘‘(4) showing compliance with regulations, exhi11 bition, or air racing; or

12 ‘‘(5) the aerial application of a substance for an

13 agricultural purpose.’’.

14 (b) COMPLIANCE.—Section 44712 is amended by re15 designating subsection (c) as subsection (d), and by insert16 ing after subsection (b) the following:

17 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE.—An aircraft is deemed to meet

18 the requirement of subsection (a) if it is equipped with

19 an emergency locator transmitter that transmits on the

20 121.5/243 megahertz frequency or the 406 megahertz fre21 quency, or with other equipment approved by the Sec22 retary for meeting the requirement of subsection (a).’’.

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS.—

24 (1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Trans25 portation shall promulgate regulations under section
38

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1 44712(b) of title 49, United States Code, as amend2 ed by this section not later than January 1, 2002.

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

4 by this section shall take effect on January 1, 2002.

5 SEC. 505. COUNTERFEIT AIRCRAFT PARTS.

6 (a) DENIAL; REVOCATION; AMENDMENT OF CERTIFI7 CATE.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 is amended by

9 adding at the end thereof the following:

10 ‘‘§ 44725. Denial and revocation of certificate for

11 counterfeit parts violations

12 ‘‘(a) DENIAL OF CERTIFICATE.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2) of this subsection and subsection (e)(2) of

15 this section, the Administrator may not issue a cer16 tificate under this chapter to any person—

17 ‘‘(A) convicted of a violation of a law of

18 the United States or of a State relating to the

19 installation, production, repair, or sale of a

20 counterfeit or falsely-represented aviation part

21 or material; or

22 ‘‘(B) subject to a controlling or ownership

23 interest of an individual convicted of such a vio24 lation.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

2 (1), the Administrator may issue a certificate under

3 this chapter to a person described in paragraph (1)

4 if issuance of the certificate will facilitate law en5 forcement efforts.

6 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub8 sections (f) and (g) of this section, the Adminis9 trator shall issue an order revoking a certificate

10 issued under this chapter if the Administrator finds

11 that the holder of the certificate, or an individual

12 who has a controlling or ownership interest in the

13 holder—

14 ‘‘(A) was convicted of a violation of a law

15 of the United States or of a State relating to

16 the installation, production, repair, or sale of a

17 counterfeit or falsely-represented aviation part

18 or material; or

19 ‘‘(B) knowingly carried out or facilitated

20 an activity punishable under such a law.

21 ‘‘(2) NO AUTHORITY TO REVIEW VIOLATION.—

22 In carrying out paragraph (1) of this subsection, the

23 Administrator may not review whether a person vio24 lated such a law.
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1 ‘‘(c) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—Before the Adminis2 trator revokes a certificate under subsection (b), the Ad3 ministrator shall—

4 ‘‘(1) advise the holder of the certificate of the

5 reason for the revocation; and

6 ‘‘(2) provide the holder of the certificate an op7 portunity to be heard on why the certificate should

8 not be revoked.

9 ‘‘(d) APPEAL.—The provisions of section 44710(d)

10 apply to the appeal of a revocation order under subsection

11 (b). For the purpose of applying that section to such an

12 appeal, ‘person’ shall be substituted for ‘individual’ each

13 place it appears.

14 ‘‘(e) AQUITTAL OR REVERSAL.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not

16 revoke, and the Board may not affirm a revocation

17 of, a certificate under subsection (b)(1)(B) of this

18 section if the holder of the certificate, or the individ19 ual, is acquitted of all charges related to the viola20 tion.

21 ‘‘(2) REISSUANCE.—The Administrator may re22 issue a certificate revoked under subsection (b) of

23 this section to the former holder if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the former holder otherwise satisfies

2 the requirements of this chapter for the certifi3 cate;

4 ‘‘(B) the former holder, or individual, is

5 acquitted of all charges related to the violation

6 on which the revocation was based; or

7 ‘‘(C) the conviction of the former holder,

8 or individual, of the violation on which the rev9 ocation was based is reversed.

10 ‘‘(f) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive revoca11 tion of a certificate under subsection (b) of this section

12 if—

13 ‘‘(1) a law enforcement official of the United

14 States Government, or of a State (with respect to

15 violations of State law), requests a waiver; or

16 ‘‘(2) the waiver will facilitate law enforcement

17 efforts.

18 ‘‘(g) AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE.—If the holder

19 of a certificate issued under this chapter is other than an

20 individual and the Administrator finds that—

21 ‘‘(1) an individual who had a controlling or

22 ownership interest in the holder committed a viola23 tion of a law for the violation of which a certificate

24 may be revoked under this section, or knowingly car-
42

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1 ried out or facilitated an activity punishable under

2 such a law; and

3 ‘‘(2) the holder satisfies the requirements for

4 the certificate without regard to that individual,

5 then the Administrator may amend the certificate to im6 pose a limitation that the certificate will not be valid if

7 that individual has a controlling or ownership interest in

8 the holder. A decision by the Administrator under this

9 subsection is not reviewable by the Board.’’.

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter

11 analysis for chapter 447 is amended by adding at

12 the end thereof the following:

‘‘44725. Denial and revocation of certificate for counterfeit parts violations’’.

13 (b) PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT.—Section 44711

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

15 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON EMPLOYMENT OF CONVICTED

16 COUNTERFEIT PART DEALERS.—No person subject to

17 this chapter may employ anyone to perform a function re18 lated to the procurement, sale, production, or repair of a

19 part or material, or the installation of a part into a civil

20 aircraft, who has been convicted of a violation of any Fed21 eral or State law relating to the installation, production,

22 repair, or sale of a counterfeit or falsely-represented avia23 tion part or material.’’.
43

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1 SEC. 506. FAA MAY FINE UNRULY PASSENGERS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 463 is amended by redes3 ignating section 46316 as section 46317, and by inserting

4 after section 46315 the following:

5 ‘‘§ 46316. Interference with cabin or flight crew

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual who interferes

7 with the duties or responsibilities of the flight crew or

8 cabin crew of a civil aircraft, or who poses an imminent

9 threat to the safety of the aircraft or other individuals on

10 the aircraft, is liable to the United States Government for

11 a civil penalty of not more than $10,000, which shall be

12 paid to the Federal Aviation Administration and deposited

13 in the account established by section 45303(c).

14 ‘‘(b) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.—

15 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation or the

16 Administrator may compromise the amount of a civil

17 penalty imposed under subsection (a).

18 ‘‘(2) The Government may deduct the amount

19 of a civil penalty imposed or compromised under this

20 section from amounts it owes the individual liable

21 for the penalty.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING CHANGE.—The chapter analysis

23 for chapter 463 is amended by striking the item relating

24 to section 46316 and inserting after the item relating to

25 section 46315 the following:
44

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‘‘46316. Interference with cabin or flight crew.

‘‘46317. General criminal penalty when specific penalty not provided.’’.

1 SEC. 507. HIGHER STANDARDS FOR HANDICAPPED ACCESS.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF HIGHER INTERNATIONAL

3 STANDARDS.—The Secretary of Transportation shall work

4 with appropriate international organizations and the avia5 tion authorities of other nations to bring about their estab6 lishment of higher standards for accommodating handi7 capped passengers in air transportation, particularly with

8 respect to foreign air carriers that code-share with domes9 tic air carriers.

10 (b) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section

11 46301(a) is amended by—

12 (1) inserting ‘‘41705,’’ after ‘‘41704,’’ in para13 graph (1)(A); and

14 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

15 ‘‘(7) Unless an air carrier that violates section

16 41705 with respect to an individual provides that in17 dividual a credit or voucher for the purchase of a

18 ticket on that air carrier or any affiliated air carrier

19 in an amount (determined by the Secretary) of—

20 ‘‘(A) not less than $500 and not more

21 than $2,500 for the first violation; or

22 ‘‘(B) not less than $2,500 and not more

23 than $5,000 for any subsequent violation, then

24 that air carrier is liable to the United States
45

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1 Government for a civil penalty, determined by

2 the Secretary, of not more than 100 percent of

3 the amount of the credit or voucher so deter4 mined. For purposes of this paragraph, each

5 act of discrimination prohibited by section

6 41705 constitutes a separate violation of that

7 section.’’.

8 SEC. 508. CONVEYANCES OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

9 LAND.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47125(a) is amended to

11 read as follows:

12 ‘‘(a) CONVEYANCES TO PUBLIC AGENCIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) REQUEST FOR CONVEYANCE.—Except as

14 provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Sec15 retary of Transportation—

16 ‘‘(A) shall request the head of the depart17 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United

18 States Government owning or controlling land

19 or airspace to convey a property interest in the

20 land or airspace to the public agency sponsoring

21 the project or owning or controlling the airport

22 when necessary to carry out a project under

23 this subchapter at a public airport, to operate

24 a public airport, or for the future development
46

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1 of an airport under the national plan of inte2 grated airport systems; and

3 ‘‘(B) may request the head of such a de4 partment, agency, or instrumentality to convey

5 a property interest in the land or airspace to

6 such a public agency for a use that will com7 plement, facilitate, or augment airport develop8 ment, including the development of additional

9 revenue from both aviation and nonaviation

10 sources.

11 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR CERTAIN

12 CONVEYANCES.—Within 4 months after receiving a

13 request from the Secretary under paragraph (1), the

14 head of the department, agency, or instrumentality

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(A) decide whether the requested convey17 ance is consistent with the needs of the depart18 ment, agency, or instrumentality;

19 ‘‘(B) notify the Secretary of the decision;

20 and

21 ‘‘(C) make the requested conveyance if—

22 ‘‘(i) the requested conveyance is con23 sistent with the needs of the department,

24 agency, or instrumentality;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the Attorney General approves

2 the conveyance; and

3 ‘‘(iii) the conveyance can be made

4 without cost to the United States Govern5 ment.

6 ‘‘(3) REVERSION.—Except as provided in sub7 section (b), a conveyance under this subsection may

8 only be made on the condition that the property in9 terest conveyed reverts to the Government, at the

10 option of the Secretary, to the extent it is not devel11 oped for an airport purpose or used consistently with

12 the conveyance.’’.

13 (b) RELEASE OF CERTAIN CONDITIONS.—Section

14 47125 is amended—

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub16 section (c); and

17 (2) by inserting the following after subsection

18 (a):

19 ‘‘(b) RELEASE OF CERTAIN CONDITIONS.—The Sec20 retary may grant a release from any term, condition, res21 ervation, or restriction contained in any conveyance exe22 cuted under this section, section 16 of the Federal Airport

23 Act, section 23 of the Airport and Airway Development

24 Act of 1970, or section 516 of the Airport and Airway

25 Improvement Act of 1982, to facilitate the development
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1 of additional revenue from aeronautical and nonaeronauti2 cal sources if the Secretary—

3 ‘‘(1) determines that the property is no longer

4 needed for aeronautical purposes;

5 ‘‘(2) determines that the property will be used

6 solely to generate revenue for the public airport;

7 ‘‘(3) provides preliminary notice to the head of

8 the department, agency, or instrumentality that con9 veyed the property interest at least 30 days before

10 executing the release;

11 ‘‘(4) provides notice to the public of the re12 quested release;

13 ‘‘(5) includes in the release a written justifica14 tion for the release of the property; and

15 ‘‘(6) determines that release of the property will

16 advance civil aviation in the United States.’’.

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 47125(b) of title 49,

18 United States Code, as added by subsection (b) of this

19 section, applies to property interests conveyed before, on,

20 or after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (d) IDITAROD AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT.—Notwith22 standing any other provision of law (including section

23 47125 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by this

24 section), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad25 ministration, or the Administrator of the General Services
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1 Administration, may convey to the Iditarod Area School

2 District without reimbursement all right, title, and inter3 est in 12 acres of property at Lake Minchumina, Alaska,

4 identified by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation

5 Administration, including the structures known as housing

6 units 100 through 105 and as utility building 301.

7 SEC. 509. FLIGHT OPERATIONS QUALITY ASSURANCE

8 RULES.

9 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment

10 of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a notice of pro11 posed rulemaking to develop procedures to protect air car12 riers and their employees from civil enforcement action

13 under the program known as Flight Operations Quality

14 Assurance. Not later than 1 year after the last day of the

15 period for public comment provided for in the notice of

16 proposed rulemaking, the Administrator shall issue a final

17 rule establishing those procedures.

18 SEC. 510. WIDE AREA AUGMENTATION SYSTEM.

19 (a) PLAN.—The Administrator shall identify or de20 velop a plan to implement WAAS to provide navigation

21 and landing approach capabilities for civilian use and

22 make a determination as to whether a backup system is

23 necessary. Until the Administrator determines that WAAS

24 is the sole means of navigation, the Administration shall

25 continue to develop and maintain a backup system.
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1 (b) REPORT.—Within 6 months after the date of en2 actment of this Act, the Administrator shall—

3 (1) report to the Senate Committee on Com4 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House

5 of Representatives Committee on Transportation

6 and Infrastructure, on the plan developed under sub7 section (a);

8 (2) submit a timetable for implementing

9 WAAS; and

10 (3) make a determination as to whether WAAS

11 will ultimately become a primary or sole means of

12 navigation and landing approach capabilities.

13 (c) WAAS DEFINED.—For purposes of this section,

14 the term ‘‘WAAS’’ means wide area augmentation system.

15 (d) FUNDING AUTHORIZATION.—There are author16 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation

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

18 SEC. 511. REGULATION OF ALASKA AIR GUIDES.

19 The Administrator shall reissue the notice to opera20 tors originally published in the Federal Register on Janu21 ary 2, 1998, which advised Alaska guide pilots of the ap22 plicability of part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula23 tions, to guide pilot operations. In reissuing the notice,

24 the Administrator shall provide for not less than 60 days

25 of public comment on the Federal Aviation Administration
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1 action. If, notwithstanding the public comments, the Ad2 ministrator decides to proceed with the action, the Admin3 istrator shall publish in the Federal Register a notice jus4 tifying the Administrator’s decision and providing at least

5 90 days for compliance.

6 SEC. 512. APPLICATION OF FAA REGULATIONS.

7 Section 40113 is amended by adding at the end

8 thereof the following:

9 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS TO

10 ALASKA.—In amending title 14, Code of Federal Regula11 tions, in a manner affecting intrastate aviation in Alaska,

12 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

13 shall consider the extent to which Alaska is not served by

14 transportation modes other than aviation, and shall estab15 lish such regulatory distinctions as the Administrator con16 siders appropriate.’’.

17 SEC. 513. HUMAN FACTORS PROGRAM.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 445 is amended by add19 ing at the end thereof the following:

20 ‘‘§ 44516. Human factors program

21 ‘‘(a) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.—The Administrator

22 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish an

23 advanced qualification program oversight committee to ad24 vise the Administrator on the development and execution

25 of Advanced Qualification Programs for air carriers under
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1 this section, and to encourage their adoption and imple2 mentation.

3 ‘‘(b) HUMAN FACTORS TRAINING.—

4 ‘‘(1) AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS.—The Admin5 istrator shall—

6 ‘‘(A) address the problems and concerns

7 raised by the National Research Council in its

8 report ‘The Future of Air Traffic Control’ on

9 air traffic control automation; and

10 ‘‘(B) respond to the recommendations

11 made by the National Research Council.

12 ‘‘(2) PILOTS AND FLIGHT CREWS.—The Admin13 istrator shall work with the aviation industry to de14 velop specific training curricula, within 12 months

15 after the date of enactment of the Wendell H. Ford

16 National Air Transportation System Improvement

17 Act of 1998, to address critical safety problems, in18 cluding problems of pilots—

19 ‘‘(A) in recovering from loss of control of

20 the aircraft, including handling unusual atti21 tudes and mechanical malfunctions;

22 ‘‘(B) in deviating from standard operating

23 procedures, including inappropriate responses to

24 emergencies and hazardous weather;
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1 ‘‘(C) in awareness of altitude and location

2 relative to terrain to prevent controlled flight

3 into terrain; and

4 ‘‘(D) in landing and approaches, including

5 nonprecision approaches and go-around proce6 dures.

7 ‘‘(c) ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS.—The Adminis8 trator, working with the National Transportation Safety

9 Board and representatives of the aviation industry, shall

10 establish a process to assess human factors training as

11 part of accident and incident investigations.

12 ‘‘(d) TEST PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall es13 tablish a test program in cooperation with United States

14 air carriers to use model Jeppesen approach plates or

15 other similar tools to improve nonprecision landing ap16 proaches for aircraft.

17 ‘‘(e) ADVANCED QUALIFICATION PROGRAM DE18 FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘advanced

19 qualification program’ means an alternative method for

20 qualifying, training, certifying, and ensuring the com21 petency of flight crews and other commercial aviation op22 erations personnel subject to the training and evaluation

23 requirements of Parts 121 and 135 of title 14, Code of

24 Federal Regulations.’’.
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1 (b) AUTOMATION AND ASSOCIATED TRAINING.—The

2 Administrator shall complete the Administration’s updat3 ing of training practices for automation and associated

4 training requirements within 12 months after the date of

5 enactment of this Act.

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy7 sis for chapter 445 is amended by adding at the end there8 of the following:

‘‘44516. Human factors program.’’.

9 SEC. 514. INDEPENDENT VALIDATION OF FAA COSTS AND

10 ALLOCATIONS.

11 (a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—

12 (1) INITIATION.—Not later than 90 days after

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector

14 General of the Department of Transportation shall

15 initiate the analyses described in paragraph (2). In

16 conducting the analyses, the Inspector General shall

17 ensure that the analyses are carried out by 1 or

18 more entities that are independent of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration. The Inspector General may

20 use the staff and resources of the Inspector General

21 or may contract with independent entities to conduct

22 the analyses.

23 (2) ASSESSMENT OF ADEQUACY AND ACCURACY

24 OF FAA COST DATA AND ATTRIBUTIONS.—To ensure

25 that the method for capturing and distributing the
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1 overall costs of the Federal Aviation Administration

2 is appropriate and reasonable, the Inspector General

3 shall conduct an assessment that includes the follow4 ing:

5 (A)(i) Validation of Federal Aviation Ad6 ministration cost input data, including an audit

7 of the reliability of Federal Aviation Adminis8 tration source documents and the integrity and

9 reliability of the Federal Aviation Administra10 tion’s data collection process.

11 (ii) An assessment of the reliability of the

12 Federal Aviation Administration’s system for

13 tracking assets.

14 (iii) An assessment of the reasonableness

15 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s bases

16 for establishing asset values and depreciation

17 rates.

18 (iv) An assessment of the Federal Aviation

19 Administration’s system of internal controls for

20 ensuring the consistency and reliability of re21 ported data to begin immediately after full

22 operational capability of the cost accounting

23 system.

24 (B) A review and validation of the Federal

25 Aviation Administration’s definition of the serv-
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1 ices to which the Federal Aviation Administra2 tion ultimately attributes its costs, and the

3 methods used to identify direct costs associated

4 with the services.

5 (C) An assessment and validation of the

6 general cost pools used by the Federal Aviation

7 Administration, including the rationale for and

8 reliability of the bases on which the Federal

9 Aviation Administration proposes to allocate

10 costs of services to users and the integrity of

11 the cost pools as well as any other factors con12 sidered important by the Inspector General. Ap13 propriate statistical tests shall be performed to

14 assess relationships between costs in the various

15 cost pools and activities and services to which

16 the costs are attributed by the Federal Aviation

17 Administration.

18 (b) DEADLINE.—The independent analyses described

19 in this section shall be completed no later than 270 days

20 after the contracts are awarded to the outside independent

21 contractors. The Inspector General shall submit a final re22 port combining the analyses done by its staff with those

23 of the outside independent contractors to the Secretary of

24 Transportation, the Administrator, the Committee on

25 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate,
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1 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

2 of the House of Representatives. The final report shall be

3 submitted by the Inspector General not later than 300

4 days after the award of contracts.

5 (c) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated such sums as may be necessary for the cost of

7 the contracted audit services authorized by this section.

8 SEC. 515. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION FOR FAA EM9 PLOYEES.

10 Section 347(b)(1) of Public Law 104–50 (49 U.S.C.

11 106, note) is amended by striking ‘‘protection;’’ and in12 serting ‘‘protection, including the provisions for investiga13 tions and enforcement as provided in chapter 12 of title

14 5, United States Code;’’.

15 SEC. 516. REPORT ON MODERNIZATION OF OCEANIC ATC

16 SYSTEM.

17 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis18 tration shall report to the Congress on plans to modernize

19 the oceanic air traffic control system, including a budget

20 for the program, a determination of the requirements for

21 modernization, and, if necessary, a proposal to fund the

22 program.
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1 SEC. 517. REPORT ON AIR TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT

2 SYSTEM.

3 Beginning in 1999, the Administrator of the Federal

4 Aviation Administration shall report biannually to the

5 Congress on the air transportation oversight system pro6 gram announced by the Administration on May 13, 1998,

7 in detail on the training of inspectors, the number of in8 spectors using the system, air carriers subject to the sys9 tem, and the budget for the system.

10 SEC. 518. RECYCLING OF EIS.

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the

12 contrary, the Secretary of Transportation may authorize

13 the use, in whole or in part, of a completed environmental

14 assessment or environmental impact study for a new air15 port construction project on the air operations area, that

16 is substantially similar in nature to one previously con17 structed pursuant to the completed environmental assess18 ment or environmental impact study in order to avoid un19 necessary duplication of expense and effort, and any such

20 authorized use shall meet all requirements of Federal law

21 for the completion of such an assessment or study.

22 SEC. 519. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES PROVIDING AIR

23 SAFETY INFORMATION.

24 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Chapter 421 of title 49,

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

26 following new subchapter:
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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—WHISTLEBLOWER

2 PROTECTION PROGRAM

3 ‘‘§ 42121. Protection of employees providing air safe4 ty information

5 ‘‘(a) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AIRLINE EMPLOY6 EES.—No air carrier or contractor or subcontractor of an

7 air carrier may discharge an employee of the air carrier

8 or the contractor or subcontractor of an air carrier or oth9 erwise discriminate against any such employee with re10 spect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

11 employment because the employee (or any person acting

12 pursuant to a request of the employee)—

13 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is

14 about to provide or cause to be provided to the Fed15 eral Government information relating to any viola16 tion or alleged violation of any order, regulation, or

17 standard of the Federal Aviation Administration or

18 any other provision of Federal law relating to air

19 carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of

20 the United States;

21 ‘‘(2) has filed, caused to be filed, or is about to

22 file or cause to be filed a proceeding relating to any

23 violation or alleged violation of any order, regulation,

24 or standard of the Federal Aviation Administration

25 or any other provision of Federal law relating to air
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1 carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of

2 the United States;

3 ‘‘(3) testified or will testify in such a proceed4 ing; or

5 ‘‘(4) assisted or participated or is about to as6 sist or participate in such a proceeding.

7 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COMPLAINT PROCE8 DURE.—

9 ‘‘(1) FILING AND NOTIFICATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with

11 this paragraph, a person may file (or have a

12 person file on behalf of that person) a com13 plaint with the Secretary of Labor if that per14 son believes that an air carrier or contractor or

15 subcontractor of an air carrier discharged or

16 otherwise discriminated against that person in

17 violation of subsection (a).

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING COM19 PLAINTS.—A complaint referred to in subpara20 graph (A) may be filed not later than 90 days

21 after an alleged violation occurs. The complaint

22 shall state the alleged violation.

23 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of a

24 complaint submitted under subparagraph (A),

25 the Secretary of Labor shall notify the air car-
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1 rier, contractor, or subcontractor named in the

2 complaint and the Administrator of the Federal

3 Aviation Administration of the—

4 ‘‘(i) filing of the complaint;

5 ‘‘(ii) allegations contained in the com6 plaint;

7 ‘‘(iii) substance of evidence supporting

8 the complaint; and

9 ‘‘(iv) opportunities that are afforded

10 to the air carrier, contractor, or sub11 contractor under paragraph (2).

12 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION; PRELIMINARY ORDER.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

14 ‘‘(i) INVESTIGATION.—Not later than

15 60 days after receipt of a complaint filed

16 under paragraph (1) and after affording

17 the person named in the complaint an op18 portunity to submit to the Secretary of

19 Labor a written response to the complaint

20 and an opportunity to meet with a rep21 resentative of the Secretary to present

22 statements from witnesses, the Secretary

23 of Labor shall conduct an investigation

24 and determine whether there is reasonable

25 cause to believe that the complaint has
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1 merit and notify in writing the complain2 ant and the person alleged to have commit3 ted a violation of subsection (a) of the Sec4 retary’s findings.

5 ‘‘(ii) ORDER.—Except as provided in

6 subparagraph (B), if the Secretary of

7 Labor concludes that there is reasonable

8 cause to believe that a violation of sub9 section (a) has occurred, the Secretary

10 shall accompany the findings referred to in

11 clause (i) with a preliminary order provid12 ing the relief prescribed under paragraph

13 (3)(B).

14 ‘‘(iii) OBJECTIONS.—Not later than

15 30 days after the date of notification of

16 findings under this paragraph, the person

17 alleged to have committed the violation or

18 the complainant may file objections to the

19 findings or preliminary order and request a

20 hearing on the record.

21 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT OF FILING.—The filing

22 of objections under clause (iii) shall not op23 erate to stay any reinstatement remedy

24 contained in the preliminary order.
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1 ‘‘(v) HEARINGS.—Hearings conducted

2 pursuant to a request made under clause

3 (iii) shall be conducted expeditiously. If a

4 hearing is not requested during the 30-day

5 period prescribed in clause (iii), the pre6 liminary order shall be deemed a final

7 order that is not subject to judicial review.

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED SHOWING BY COM10 PLAINANT.—The Secretary of Labor shall

11 dismiss a complaint filed under this sub12 section and shall not conduct an investiga13 tion otherwise required under subpara14 graph (A) unless the complainant makes a

15 prima facie showing that any behavior de16 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of

17 subsection (a) was a contributing factor in

18 the unfavorable personnel action alleged in

19 the complaint.

20 ‘‘(ii) SHOWING BY EMPLOYER.—Not21 withstanding a finding by the Secretary

22 that the complainant has made the show23 ing required under clause (i), no investiga24 tion otherwise required under subpara25 graph (A) shall be conducted if the em-
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1 ployer demonstrates, by clear and convinc2 ing evidence, that the employer would have

3 taken the same unfavorable personnel ac4 tion in the absence of that behavior.

5 ‘‘(iii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

6 BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary may de7 termine that a violation of subsection (a)

8 has occurred only if the complainant dem9 onstrates that any behavior described in

10 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection

11 (a) was a contributing factor in the unfa12 vorable personnel action alleged in the

13 complaint.

14 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION.—Relief may not

15 be ordered under subparagraph (A) if the

16 employer demonstrates by clear and con17 vincing evidence that the employer would

18 have taken the same unfavorable personnel

19 action in the absence of that behavior.

20 ‘‘(3) FINAL ORDER.—

21 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE; SETTLE22 MENT AGREEMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than

24 120 days after conclusion of a hearing
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1 under paragraph (2), the Secretary of

2 Labor shall issue a final order that—

3 ‘‘(I) provides relief in accordance

4 with this paragraph; or

5 ‘‘(II) denies the complaint.

6 ‘‘(ii) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—At

7 any time before issuance of a final order

8 under this paragraph, a proceeding under

9 this subsection may be terminated on the

10 basis of a settlement agreement entered

11 into by the Secretary of Labor, the com12 plainant, and the air carrier, contractor, or

13 subcontractor alleged to have committed

14 the violation.

15 ‘‘(B) REMEDY.—If, in response to a com16 plaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary

17 of Labor determines that a violation of sub18 section (a) has occurred, the Secretary of Labor

19 shall order the air carrier, contractor, or sub20 contractor that the Secretary of Labor deter21 mines to have committed the violation to—

22 ‘‘(i) take action to abate the violation;

23 ‘‘(ii) reinstate the complainant to the

24 former position of the complainant and en25 sure the payment of compensation (includ-
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1 ing back pay) and the restoration of terms,

2 conditions, and privileges associated with

3 the employment; and

4 ‘‘(iii) provide compensatory damages

5 to the complainant.

6 ‘‘(C) COSTS OF COMPLAINT.—If the Sec7 retary of Labor issues a final order that pro8 vides for relief in accordance with this para9 graph, the Secretary of Labor, at the request of

10 the complainant, shall assess against the air

11 carrier, contractor, or subcontractor named in

12 the order an amount equal to the aggregate

13 amount of all costs and expenses (including at14 torney and expert witness fees) reasonably in15 curred by the complainant (as determined by

16 the Secretary of Labor) for, or in connection

17 with, the bringing of the complaint that re18 sulted in the issuance of the order.

19 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—

20 ‘‘(A) APPEAL TO COURT OF APPEALS.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60

22 days after a final order is issued under

23 paragraph (3), a person adversely affected

24 or aggrieved by that order may obtain re25 view of the order in the United States
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1 court of appeals for the circuit in which

2 the violation allegedly occurred or the cir3 cuit in which the complainant resided on

4 the date of that violation.

5 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR JUDICIAL

6 REVIEW.—A review conducted under this

7 paragraph shall be conducted in accord8 ance with chapter 7 of title 5. The com9 mencement of proceedings under this sub10 paragraph shall not, unless ordered by the

11 court, operate as a stay of the order that

12 is the subject of the review.

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT14 TACK.—An order referred to in subparagraph

15 (A) shall not be subject to judicial review in any

16 criminal or other civil proceeding.

17 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY SECRETARY

18 OF LABOR.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an air carrier, con20 tractor, or subcontractor named in an order

21 issued under paragraph (3) fails to comply with

22 the order, the Secretary of Labor may file a

23 civil action in the United States district court

24 for the district in which the violation occurred

25 to enforce that order.
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1 ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—In any action brought

2 under this paragraph, the district court shall

3 have jurisdiction to grant any appropriate form

4 of relief, including injunctive relief and compen5 satory damages.

6 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY PARTIES.—

7 ‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A per8 son on whose behalf an order is issued under

9 paragraph (3) may commence a civil action

10 against the air carrier, contractor, or sub11 contractor named in the order to require com12 pliance with the order. The appropriate United

13 States district court shall have jurisdiction,

14 without regard to the amount in controversy or

15 the citizenship of the parties, to enforce the

16 order.

17 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEY FEES.—In issuing any

18 final order under this paragraph, the court may

19 award costs of litigation (including reasonable

20 attorney and expert witness fees) to any party

21 if the court determines that the awarding of

22 those costs is appropriate.

23 ‘‘(c) MANDAMUS.—Any nondiscretionary duty im24 posed by this section shall be enforceable in a mandamus

25 proceeding brought under section 1361 of title 28.
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1 ‘‘(d) NONAPPLICABILITY TO DELIBERATE VIOLA2 TIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an

3 employee of an air carrier, or contractor or subcontractor

4 of an air carrier who, acting without direction from the

5 air carrier (or an agent, contractor, or subcontractor of

6 the air carrier), deliberately causes a violation of any re7 quirement relating to air carrier safety under this subtitle

8 or any other law of the United States.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy10 sis for chapter 421 of title 49, United States Code, is

11 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM

‘‘42121. Protection of employees providing air safety information.’’.

12 (c) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 46301(a)(1)(A) of title

13 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sub14 chapter II of chapter 421,’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter II

15 or III of chapter 421,’’.

16 SEC. 520. IMPROVEMENTS TO AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES.

17 Section 44502(a) is amended by adding at the end

18 thereof the following:

19 ‘‘(5) The Administrator may improve real prop20 erty leased for air navigation facilities without re21 gard to the costs of the improvements in relation to

22 the cost of the lease if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the improvements primarily benefit

2 the government;

3 ‘‘(B) are essential for mission accomplish4 ment; and

5 ‘‘(C) the government’s interest in the im6 provements is protected.’’.

7 SEC. 521. DENIAL OF AIRPORT ACCESS TO CERTAIN AIR

8 CARRIERS.

9 Section 47107 is amended by adding at the end

10 thereof the following:

11 ‘‘(q) DENIAL OF ACCESS.—

12 ‘‘(1) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—If an owner or oper13 ator of an airport described in paragraph (2) denies

14 access to an air carrier described in paragraph (3),

15 that denial shall not be considered to be unreason16 able or unjust discrimination or a violation of this

17 section.

18 ‘‘(2) AIRPORTS TO WHICH SUBSECTION AP19 PLIES.—An airport is described in this paragraph if

20 it—

21 ‘‘(A) is designated as a reliever airport by

22 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad23 ministration;

24 ‘‘(B) does not have an operating certificate

25 issued under part 139 of title 14, Code of Fed-
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1 eral Regulations (or any subsequent similar reg2 ulations); and

3 ‘‘(C) is located within a 35-mile radius of

4 an airport that has—

5 ‘‘(i) at least 0.05 percent of the total

6 annual boardings in the United States; and

7 ‘‘(ii) current gate capacity to handle

8 the demands of a public charter operation.

9 ‘‘(3) AIR CARRIERS DESCRIBED.—An air carrier

10 is described in this paragraph if it conducts oper11 ations as a public charter under part 380 of title 14,

12 Code of Federal Regulations (or any subsequent

13 similar regulations) with aircraft that is designed to

14 carry more than 9 passengers per flight.

15 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

16 ‘‘(A) AIR CARRIER; AIR TRANSPORTATION;

17 AIRCRAFT; AIRPORT.—The terms ‘air carrier’,

18 ‘air transportation’, ‘aircraft’, and ‘airport’

19 have the meanings given those terms in section

20 40102 of this title.

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC CHARTER.—The term ‘public

22 charter’ means charter air transportation for

23 which the general public is provided in advance

24 a schedule containing the departure location,
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1 departure time, and arrival location of the

2 flights.’’.

3 SEC. 522. TOURISM.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

5 (1) through an effective public-private partner6 ship, Federal, State, and local governments and the

7 travel and tourism industry can successfully market

8 the United States as the premiere international tour9 ist destination in the world;

10 (2) in 1997, the travel and tourism industry

11 made a substantial contribution to the health of the

12 Nation’s economy, as follows:

13 (A) The industry is one of the Nation’s

14 largest employers, directly employing 7,000,000

15 Americans, throughout every region of the

16 country, heavily concentrated among small busi17 nesses, and indirectly employing an additional

18 9,200,000 Americans, for a total of 16,200,000

19 jobs.

20 (B) The industry ranks as the first, sec21 ond, or third largest employer in 32 States and

22 the District of Columbia, generating a total

23 tourism-related annual payroll of

24 $127,900,000,000.
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1 (C) The industry has become the Nation’s

2 third-largest retail sales industry, generating a

3 total of $489,000,000,000 in total expenditures.

4 (D) The industry generated

5 $71,700,000,000 in tax revenues for Federal,

6 State, and local governments;

7 (3) the more than $98,000,000,000 spent by

8 foreign visitors in the United States in 1997 gen9 erated a trade services surplus of more than

10 $26,000,000,000;

11 (4) the private sector, States, and cities cur12 rently spend more than $1,000,000,000 annually to

13 promote particular destinations within the United

14 States to international visitors;

15 (5) because other nations are spending hun16 dreds of millions of dollars annually to promote the

17 visits of international tourists to their countries, the

18 United States will miss a major marketing oppor19 tunity if it fails to aggressively compete for an in20 creased share of international tourism expenditures

21 as they continue to increase over the next decade;

22 (6) a well-funded, well-coordinated international

23 marketing effort—combined with additional public

24 and private sector efforts—would help small and

25 large businesses, as well as State and local govern-
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1 ments, share in the anticipated phenomenal growth

2 of the international travel and tourism market in the

3 21st century;

4 (7) by making permanent the successful visa

5 waiver pilot program, Congress can facilitate the in6 creased flow of international visitors to the United

7 States;

8 (8) Congress can increase the opportunities for

9 attracting international visitors and enhancing their

10 stay in the United States by—

11 (A) improving international signage at air12 ports, seaports, land border crossings, high13 ways, and bus, train, and other public transit

14 stations in the United States;

15 (B) increasing the availability of multi16 lingual tourist information; and

17 (C) creating a toll-free, private-sector oper18 ated, telephone number, staffed by multilingual

19 operators, to provide assistance to international

20 tourists coping with an emergency;

21 (9) by establishing a satellite system of ac22 counting for travel and tourism, the Secretary of

23 Commerce could provide Congress and the President

24 with objective, thorough data that would help policy25 makers more accurately gauge the size and scope of
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1 the domestic travel and tourism industry and its sig2 nificant impact on the health of the Nation’s econ3 omy; and

4 (10) having established the United States Na5 tional Tourism Organization under the United

6 States National Tourism Organization Act of 1996

7 (22 U.S.C. 2141 et seq.) to increase the United

8 States share of the international tourism market by

9 developing a national travel and tourism strategy,

10 Congress should support a long-term marketing ef11 fort and other important regulatory reform initia12 tives to promote increased travel to the United

13 States for the benefit of every sector of the economy.

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are to

15 provide international visitor initiatives and an inter16 national marketing program to enable the United States

17 travel and tourism industry and every level of government

18 to benefit from a successful effort to make the United

19 States the premiere travel destination in the world.

20 (c) INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ASSISTANCE TASK

21 FORCE.—

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 9

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

24 Secretary of Commerce shall establish an Intergov25 ernmental Task Force for International Visitor As-
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1 sistance (hereafter in this subsection referred to as

2 the ‘‘Task Force’’).

3 (2) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall examine—

4 (A) signage at facilities in the United

5 States, including airports, seaports, land border

6 crossings, highways, and bus, train, and other

7 public transit stations, and shall identify exist8 ing inadequacies and suggest solutions for such

9 inadequacies, such as the adoption of uniform

10 standards on international signage for use

11 throughout the United States in order to facili12 tate international visitors’ travel in the United

13 States;

14 (B) the availability of multilingual travel

15 and tourism information and means of dissemi16 nating, at no or minimal cost to the Govern17 ment, of such information; and

18 (C) facilitating the establishment of a toll19 free, private-sector operated, telephone number,

20 staffed by multilingual operators, to provide as21 sistance to international tourists coping with an

22 emergency.

23 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be

24 composed of the following members:

25 (A) The Secretary of Commerce.
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1 (B) The Secretary of State.

2 (C) The Secretary of Transportation.

3 (D) The Chair of the Board of Directors

4 of the United States National Tourism Organi5 zation.

6 (E) Such other representatives of other

7 Federal agencies and private-sector entities as

8 may be determined to be appropriate to the

9 mission of the Task Force by the Chairman.

10 (4) CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary of Commerce

11 shall be Chairman of the Task Force. The Task

12 Force shall meet at least twice each year. Each

13 member of the Task Force shall furnish necessary

14 assistance to the Task Force.

15 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman

17 of the Task Force shall submit to the President and

18 to Congress a report on the results of the review, in19 cluding proposed amendments to existing laws or

20 regulations as may be appropriate to implement

21 such recommendations.

22 (d) TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY SATELLITE

23 SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTING.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce

25 shall complete, as soon as may be practicable, a sat-
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1 ellite system of accounting for the travel and tour2 ism industry.

3 (2) FUNDING.—To the extent any costs or ex4 penditures are incurred under this subsection, they

5 shall be covered to the extent funds are available to

6 the Department of Commerce for such purpose.

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to paragraph

9 (2), there are authorized to be appropriated such

10 sums as may be necessary for the purpose of fund11 ing international promotional activities by the

12 United States National Tourism Organization to

13 help brand, position, and promote the United States

14 as the premiere travel and tourism destination in the

15 world.

16 (2) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—None

17 of the funds appropriated under paragraph (1) may

18 be used for purposes other than marketing, research,

19 outreach, or any other activity designed to promote

20 the United States as the premiere travel and tour21 ism destination in the world, except that the general

22 and administrative expenses of operating the United

23 States National Tourism Organization shall be borne

24 by the private sector through such means as the
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1 Board of Directors of the Organization shall deter2 mine.

3 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than

4 March 30 of each year in which funds are made

5 available under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

6 submit to the Committee on Commerce of the House

7 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a detailed

9 report setting forth—

10 (A) the manner in which appropriated

11 funds were expended;

12 (B) changes in the United States market

13 share of international tourism in general and as

14 measured against specific countries and regions;

15 (C) an analysis of the impact of inter16 national tourism on the United States economy,

17 including, as specifically as practicable, an anal18 ysis of the impact of expenditures made pursu19 ant to this section;

20 (D) an analysis of the impact of inter21 national tourism on the United States trade

22 balance and, as specifically as practicable, an

23 analysis of the impact on the trade balance of

24 expenditures made pursuant to this section; and
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1 (E) an analysis of other relevant economic

2 impacts as a result of expenditures made pursu3 ant to this section.

4 SEC. 523. EQUIVALENCY OF FAA AND EU SAFETY STAND5 ARDS.

6 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis7 tration shall determine whether the Administration’s safe8 ty regulations are equivalent to the safety standards set

9 forth in European Union Directive 89/336EEC. If the Ad10 ministrator determines that the standards are equivalent,

11 the Administrator shall work with the Secretary of Com12 merce to gain acceptance of that determination pursuant

13 to the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the United

14 States and the European Union of May 18, 1998, in order

15 to ensure that aviation products approved by the Adminis16 tration are acceptable under that Directive.

17 SEC. 524. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PROPERTY TAXES ON

18 PUBLIC-USE AIRPORTS.

19 It is the sense of the Senate that—

20 (1) property taxes on public-use airports should

21 be assessed fairly and equitably, regardless of the lo22 cation of the owner of the airport; and

23 (2) the property tax recently assessed on the

24 City of The Dalles, Oregon, as the owner and opera25 tor of the Columbia Gorge Regional/The Dalles Mu-
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1 nicipal Airport, located in the State of Washington,

2 should be repealed.

3 SEC. 525. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PERSON4 NEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

5 (a) APPLICABILITY OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

6 BOARD PROVISIONS.—Section 347(b) of the Department

7 of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations

8 Act, 1996 (109 Stat. 460) is amended—

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

10 (6);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (7) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(8) sections 1204, 1211–1218, 1221, and

15 7701–7703, relating to the Merit Systems Protec16 tion Board.’’.

17 (b) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

18 BOARD.—Section 347(c) of the Department of Transpor19 tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is

20 amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(c) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

22 BOARD.—Under the new personnel management system

23 developed and implemented under subsection (a), an em24 ployee of the Federal Aviation Administration may submit

25 an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and may
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1 seek judicial review of any resulting final orders or deci2 sions of the Board from any action that was appealable

3 to the Board under any law, rule, or regulation as of

4 March 31, 1996.’’.

5 SEC 526. AIRCRAFT AND AVIATION COMPONENT REPAIR

6 AND MAINTENANCE ADVISORY PANEL.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL.—The Administrator

8 of the Federal Aviation Administration—

9 (1) shall establish an Aircraft Repair and Main10 tenance Advisory Panel to review issues related to

11 the use and oversight of aircraft and aviation com12 ponent repair and maintenance facilities located

13 within, or outside of, the United States; and

14 (2) may seek the advice of the panel on any

15 issue related to methods to improve the safety of do16 mestic or foreign contract aircraft and aviation com17 ponent repair facilities.

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel shall consist of—

19 (1) 8 members, appointed by the Administrator

20 as follows:

21 (A) 3 representatives of labor organiza22 tions representing aviation mechanics;

23 (B) 1 representative of cargo air carriers;

24 (C) 1 representative of passenger air car25 riers;
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1 (D) 1 representative of aircraft and avia2 tion component repair stations;

3 (E) 1 representative of aircraft manufac4 turers; and

5 (F) 1 representative of the aviation indus6 try not described in the preceding subpara7 graphs;

8 (2) 1 representative from the Department of

9 Transportation, designated by the Secretary of

10 Transportation;

11 (3) 1 representative from the Department of

12 State, designated by the Secretary of State; and

13 (4) 1 representative from the Federal Aviation

14 Administration, designated by the Administrator.

15 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The panel shall—

16 (1) determine how much aircraft and aviation

17 component repair work and what type of aircraft

18 and aviation component repair work is being per19 formed by aircraft and aviation component repair

20 stations located within, and outside of, the United

21 States to better understand and analyze methods to

22 improve the safety and oversight of such facilities;

23 and

24 (2) provide advice and counsel to the Adminis25 trator with respect to aircraft and aviation compo-
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1 nent repair work performed by those stations, staff2 ing needs, and any safety issues associated with that

3 work.

4 (d) FAA TO REQUEST INFORMATION FROM FOR5 EIGN AIRCRAFT REPAIR STATIONS.—

6 (1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Ad7 ministrator shall by regulation request aircraft and

8 aviation component repair stations located outside

9 the United States to submit such information as the

10 Administrator may require in order to assess safety

11 issues and enforcement actions with respect to the

12 work performed at those stations on aircraft used by

13 United States air carriers.

14 (2) DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING INFORMA15 TION.—Included in the information the Adminis16 trator requests under paragraph (1) shall be infor17 mation on the existence and administration of em18 ployee drug and alcohol testing programs in place at

19 such stations, if applicable.

20 (3) DESCRIPTION OF WORK DONE.—Included in

21 the information the Administrator requests under

22 paragraph (1) shall be information on the amount

23 and type of aircraft and aviation component repair

24 work performed at those stations on aircraft reg25 istered in the United States.
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1 (e) FAA TO REQUEST INFORMATION ABOUT DOMES2 TIC AIRCRAFT REPAIR STATIONS.—If the Administrator

3 determines that information on the volume of the use of

4 domestic aircraft and aviation component repair stations

5 is needed in order to better utilize Federal Aviation Ad6 ministration resources, the Administrator may—

7 (1) require United States air carriers to submit

8 the information described in subsection (d) with re9 spect to their use of contract and noncontract air10 craft and aviation component repair facilities located

11 in the United States; and

12 (2) obtain information from such stations about

13 work performed for foreign air carriers.

14 (f) FAA TO MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO

15 PUBLIC.—The Administrator shall make any information

16 received under subsection (d) or (e) available to the public.

17 (g) TERMINATION.—The panel established under

18 subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of—

19 (1) the date that is 2 years after the date of en20 actment of this Act; or

21 (2) December 31, 2000.

22 (h) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Adminis23 trator shall report annually to the Congress on the number

24 and location of air agency certificates that were revoked,

25 suspended, or not renewed during the preceding year.
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1 (i) DEFINITIONS.—Any term used in this section that

2 is defined in subtitle VII of title 49, United States Code,

3 has the meaning given that term in that subtitle.

4 SEC. 527. REPORT ON ENHANCED DOMESTIC AIRLINE COM5 PETITION.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following

7 findings:

8 (1) There has been a reduction in the level of

9 competition in the domestic airline business brought

10 about by mergers, consolidations, and proposed do11 mestic alliances.

12 (2) Foreign citizens and foreign air carriers

13 may be willing to invest in existing or start-up air14 lines if they are permitted to acquire a larger equity

15 share of a United States airline.

16 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation, after

17 consulting the appropriate Federal agencies, shall study

18 and report to the Congress not later than December 31,

19 1998, on the desirability and implications of—

20 (1) decreasing the foreign ownership provision

21 in section 40102(a)(15) of title 49, United States

22 Code, to 51 percent from 75 percent; and

23 (2) changing the definition of air carrier in sec24 tion 40102(a)(2) of such title by substituting ‘‘a
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1 company whose principal place of business is in the

2 United States’’ for ‘‘a citizen of the United States’’.

3 SEC. 528. AIRCRAFT SITUATIONAL DISPLAY DATA.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A memorandum of agreement be5 tween the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis6 tration and any person directly that obtains aircraft situa7 tional display data from the Administration shall require

8 that—

9 (1) the person demonstrate to the satisfaction

10 of the Administrator that such person is capable of

11 selectively blocking the display of any aircraft-situa12 tion-display-to-industry derived data related to any

13 identified aircraft registration number; and

14 (2) the person agree to block selectively the air15 craft registration numbers of any aircraft owner or

16 operator upon the Administration’s request.

17 (b) EXISTING MEMORANDA TO BE CONFORMED.—

18 The Administrator shall conform any memoranda of

19 agreement, in effect on the date of enactment of this Act,

20 between the Administration and a person under which that

21 person obtains such data to incorporate the requirements

22 of subsection (a) within 30 days after that date.
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1 SEC. 529. TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CON2 CERNING A BILATERAL AGREEMENT BE3 TWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE

4 UNITED KINGDOM REGARDING CHARLOTTE5 LONDON ROUTE.

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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

8 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of

9 title 49, United States Code.

10 (2) BERMUDA II AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Ber11 muda II Agreement’’ means the Agreement Between

12 the United States of America and United Kingdom

13 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Concerning

14 Air Services, signed at Bermuda on July 23, 1977

15 (TIAS 8641).

16 (3) CHARLOTTE-LONDON (GATWICK) ROUTE.—

17 The term ‘‘Charlotte-London (Gatwick) route’’

18 means the route between Charlotte, North Carolina,

19 and the Gatwick Airport in London, England.

20 (4) FOREIGN AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘foreign

21 air carrier’’ has the meaning given that term in sec22 tion 40102 of title 49, United States Code.

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

24 the Secretary of Transportation.

25 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) under the Bermuda II Agreement, the

2 United States has a right to designate an air carrier

3 of the United States to serve the Charlotte-London

4 (Gatwick) route;

5 (2) the Secretary awarded the Charlotte-Lon6 don (Gatwick) route to US Airways on September

7 12, 1997, and on May 7, 1998, US Airways an8 nounced plans to launch nonstop service in competi9 tion with the monopoly held by British Airways on

10 the route and to provide convenient single-carrier

11 one-stop service to the United Kingdom from dozens

12 of cities in North Carolina and South Carolina and

13 the surrounding region;

14 (3) US Airways was forced to cancel service for

15 the Charlotte-London (Gatwick) route for the sum16 mer of 1998 and the following winter because the

17 Government of the United Kingdom refused to pro18 vide commercially viable access to Gatwick Airport;

19 (4) British Airways continues to operate mo20 nopoly service on the Charlotte-London (Gatwick)

21 route and recently upgraded the aircraft for that

22 route to B–777 aircraft;

23 (5) British Airways had been awarded an addi24 tional monopoly route between London England and

25 Denver, Colorado, resulting in a total of 10 monop-
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1 oly routes operated by British Airways between the

2 United Kingdom and points in the United States;

3 (6) monopoly service results in higher fares to

4 passengers; and

5 (7) US Airways is prepared, and officials of the

6 air carrier are eager, to initiate competitive air serv7 ice on the Charlotte-London (Gatwick) route as soon

8 as the Government of the United Kingdom provides

9 commercially viable access to the Gatwick Airport.

10 (c) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

11 Senate that the Secretary should—

12 (1) act vigorously to ensure the enforcement of

13 the rights of the United States under the Bermuda

14 II Agreement;

15 (2) intensify efforts to obtain the necessary as16 surances from the Government of the United King17 dom to allow an air carrier of the United States to

18 operate commercially viable, competitive service for

19 the Charlotte-London (Gatwick) route; and

20 (3) ensure that the rights of the Government of

21 the United States and citizens and air carriers of

22 the United States are enforced under the Bermuda

23 II Agreement before seeking to renegotiate a broad24 er bilateral agreement to establish additional rights
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1 for air carriers of the United States and foreign air

2 carriers of the United Kingdom.

3 SEC. 530. TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CON4 CERNING A BILATERAL AGREEMENT BE5 TWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE

6 UNITED KINGDOM REGARDING CLEVELAND7 LONDON ROUTE.

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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

10 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of

11 title 49, United States Code.

12 (2) AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the

13 meaning given that term in section 40102 of title

14 49, United States Code.

15 (3) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘air

16 transportation’’ has the meaning given that term in

17 section 40102 of title 49, United States Code.

18 (4) BERMUDA II AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Ber19 muda II Agreement’’ means the Agreement Between

20 the United States of America and United Kingdom

21 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Concerning

22 Air Services, signed at Bermuda on July 23, 1977

23 (TIAS 8641).

24 (5) CLEVELAND-LONDON (GATWICK) ROUTE.—

25 The term ‘‘Cleveland-London (Gatwick) route’’
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1 means the route between Cleveland, Ohio, and the

2 Gatwick Airport in London, England.

3 (6) FOREIGN AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘foreign

4 air carrier’’ has the meaning given that term in sec5 tion 40102 of title 49, United States Code.

6 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

7 the Secretary of Transportation.

8 (8) SLOT.—The term ‘‘slot’’ means a reserva9 tion for an instrument flight rule takeoff or landing

10 by an air carrier of an aircraft in air transportation.

11 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

12 (1) under the Bermuda II Agreement, the

13 United States has a right to designate an air carrier

14 of the United States to serve the Cleveland-London

15 (Gatwick) route;

16 (2)(A) on December 3, 1996, the Secretary

17 awarded the Cleveland-London (Gatwick) route to

18 Continental Airlines;

19 (B) on June 15, 1998, Continental Airlines an20 nounced plans to launch nonstop service on that

21 route on February 19, 1999, and to provide single22 carrier one-stop service between London, England

23 (from Gatwick Airport) and dozens of cities in Ohio

24 and the surrounding region; and
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1 (C) on August 4, 1998, the Secretary ten2 tatively renewed the authority of Continental Air3 lines to carry out the nonstop service referred to in

4 subparagraph (B) and selected Cleveland, Ohio, as a

5 new gateway under the Bermuda II Agreement;

6 (3) unless the Government of the United King7 dom provides Continental Airlines commercially via8 ble access to Gatwick Airport, Continental Airlines

9 will not be able to initiate service on the Cleveland10 London (Gatwick) route; and

11 (4) Continental Airlines is prepared to initiate

12 competitive air service on the Cleveland-London

13 (Gatwick) route when the Government of the United

14 Kingdom provides commercially viable access to the

15 Gatwick Airport.

16 (c) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

17 Senate that the Secretary should—

18 (1) act vigorously to ensure the enforcement of

19 the rights of the United States under the Bermuda

20 II Agreement;

21 (2) intensify efforts to obtain the necessary as22 surances from the Government of the United King23 dom to allow an air carrier of the United States to

24 operate commercially viable, competitive service for

25 the Cleveland-London (Gatwick) route; and
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1 (3) ensure that the rights of the Government of

2 the United States and citizens and air carriers of

3 the United States are enforced under the Bermuda

4 II Agreement before seeking to renegotiate a broad5 er bilateral agreement to establish additional rights

6 for air carriers of the United States and foreign air

7 carriers of the United Kingdom, including the right

8 to commercially viable competitive slots at Gatwick

9 Airport and Heathrow Airport in London, England,

10 for air carriers of the United States.

11 SEC. 531. ALLOCATION OF TRUST FUND FUNDING.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

13 (1) AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND.—The

14 term ‘‘Airport and Airway Trust Fund’’ means the

15 trust fund established under section 9502 of the In16 ternal Revenue Code of 1986.

17 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

18 the Secretary of Transportation.

19 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

20 the States, the District of Columbia, and the Com21 monwealth of Puerto Rico.

22 (4) STATE DOLLAR CONTRIBUTION TO THE AIR23 PORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND.—The term ‘‘State

24 dollar contribution to the Airport and Airway Trust

25 Fund’’, with respect to a State and fiscal year,
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1 means the amount of funds equal to the amounts

2 transferred to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund

3 under section 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of

4 1986 that are equivalent to the taxes described in

5 section 9502(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of

6 1986 that are collected in that State.

7 (b) REPORTING.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after

9 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually

10 thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report

11 to the Secretary the amount equal to the amount of

12 taxes collected in each State during the preceding

13 fiscal year that were transferred to the Airport and

14 Airway Trust Fund.

15 (2) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Not later than

16 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and

17 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and

18 submit to Congress a report that provides, for each

19 State, for the preceding fiscal year—

20 (A) the State dollar contribution to the

21 Airport and Airway Trust Fund; and

22 (B) the amount of funds (from funds made

23 available under section 48103 of title 49,

24 United States Code) that were made available

25 to the State (including any political subdivision
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1 thereof) under chapter 471 of title 49, United

2 States Code.

3 SEC. 532. TAOS PUEBLO AND BLUE LAKES WILDERNESS

4 AREA DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

5 Within 18 months after the date of enactment of this

6 Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis7 tration shall work with the Taos Pueblo to study the fea8 sibility of conducting a demonstration project to require

9 all aircraft that fly over Taos Pueblo and the Blue Lake

10 Wilderness Area of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, to maintain

11 a mandatory minimum altitude of at least 5,000 feet above

12 ground level.

13 SEC. 533. AIRLINE MARKETING DISCLOSURE.

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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

16 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of

17 title 49, United States Code.

18 (2) AIR TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘air

19 transportation’’ has the meaning given that term in

20 section 40102 of title 49, United States Code.

21 (b) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

23 Transportation shall promulgate final regulations to pro24 vide for improved oral and written disclosure to each con25 sumer of air transportation concerning the corporate name
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1 of the air carrier that provides the air transportation pur2 chased by that consumer. In issuing the regulations issued

3 under this subsection, the Secretary shall take into ac4 count the proposed regulations issued by the Secretary on

5 January 17, 1995, published at page 3359, volume 60,

6 Federal Register.

7 SEC. 534. CERTAIN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWERS.

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regula9 tion, intergovernmental circular advisories or other proc10 ess, or any judicial proceeding or ruling to the contrary,

11 the Federal Aviation Administration shall use such funds

12 as necessary to contract for the operation of air traffic

13 control towers, located in Salisbury, Maryland; Bozeman,

14 Montana; and Boca Raton, Florida: Provided, That the

15 Federal Aviation Administration has made a prior deter16 mination of eligibility for such towers to be included in

17 the contract tower program.

18 SEC. 535. COMPENSATION UNDER THE DEATH ON THE

19 HIGH SEAS ACT.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Death on the

21 High Seas Act (46 U.S.C. App. 762) is amended by—

22 (1) inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘The

23 recovery’’; and

24 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

25 ‘‘(b) COMMERCIAL AVIATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the death was caused

2 during commercial aviation, additional compensation

3 for nonpecuniary damages for wrongful death of a

4 decedent is recoverable in a total amount, for all

5 beneficiaries of that decedent, that shall not exceed

6 the greater of the pecuniary loss sustained or a sum

7 total of $750,000 from all defendants for all claims.

8 Punitive damages are not recoverable.

9 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The $750,000

10 amount shall be adjusted, beginning in calendar year

11 2000 by the increase, if any, in the Consumer Price

12 Index for all urban consumers for the prior year

13 over the Consumer Price Index for all urban con14 sumers for the calendar year 1998.

15 ‘‘(3) NONPECUNIARY DAMAGES.—For purposes

16 of this subsection, the term ‘nonpecuniary damages’

17 means damages for loss of care, comfort, and com18 panionship.’’.

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

20 subsection (a) applies to any death caused during commer21 cial aviation occurring after July 16, 1996.
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1 TITLE VI—AVIATION

2 COMPETITION PROMOTION

3 SEC. 601. PURPOSE.

4 The purpose of this title is to facilitate, through a

5 4-year pilot program, incentives and projects that will help

6 up to 40 communities or consortia of communities to im7 prove their access to the essential airport facilities of the

8 national air transportation system through public-private

9 partnerships and to identify and establish ways to over10 come the unique policy, economic, geographic, and market11 place factors that may inhibit the availability of quality,

12 affordable air service to small communities.

13 SEC. 602. ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL COMMUNITY AVIA14 TION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

15 Section 102 is amended by adding at the end thereof

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(g) SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE DEVELOP18 MENT PROGRAM.—

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish a 4-year pilot aviation development program

21 to be administered by a program director designated

22 by the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The program director

24 shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) function as a facilitator between

2 small communities and air carriers;

3 ‘‘(B) carry out section 41743 of this title;

4 ‘‘(C) carry out the airline service restora5 tion program under sections 41744, 41745, and

6 41746 of this title;

7 ‘‘(D) ensure that the Bureau of Transpor8 tation Statistics collects data on passenger in9 formation to assess the service needs of small

10 communities;

11 ‘‘(E) work with and coordinate efforts with

12 other Federal, State, and local agencies to in13 crease the viability of service to small commu14 nities and the creation of aviation development

15 zones; and

16 ‘‘(F) provide policy recommendations to

17 the Secretary and the Congress that will ensure

18 that small communities have access to quality,

19 affordable air transportation services.

20 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—The program director shall

21 provide an annual report to the Secretary and the

22 Congress beginning in 1999 that—

23 ‘‘(A) analyzes the availability of air trans24 portation services in small communities, includ25 ing, but not limited to, an assessment of the air
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1 fares charged for air transportation services in

2 small communities compared to air fares

3 charged for air transportation services in larger

4 metropolitan areas and an assessment of the

5 levels of service, measured by types of aircraft

6 used, the availability of seats, and scheduling of

7 flights, provided to small communities;

8 ‘‘(B) identifies the policy, economic, geo9 graphic and marketplace factors that inhibit the

10 availability of quality, affordable air transpor11 tation services to small communities; and

12 ‘‘(C) provides policy recommendations to

13 address the policy, economic, geographic, and

14 marketplace factors inhibiting the availability of

15 quality, affordable air transportation services to

16 small communities.’’.

17 SEC. 603. COMMUNITY-CARRIER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 417 is

19 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

20 ‘‘§ 41743. Air service program for small communities

21 ‘‘(a) COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.—Under advisory

22 guidelines prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation,

23 a small community or a consortia of small communities

24 or a State may develop an assessment of its air service

25 requirements, in such form as the program director des-
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1 ignated by the Secretary under section 102(g) may re2 quire, and submit the assessment and service proposal to

3 the program director.

4 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.—In selecting

5 community programs for participation in the communities

6 program under subsection (a), the program director shall

7 apply criteria, including geographical diversity and the

8 presentation of unique circumstances, that will dem9 onstrate the feasibility of the program. For purposes of

10 this subsection, the application of geographical diversity

11 criteria means criteria that—

12 ‘‘(1) will promote the development of a national

13 air transportation system; and

14 ‘‘(2) will involve the participation of commu15 nities in all regions of the country.

16 ‘‘(c) CARRIERS PROGRAM.—The program director

17 shall invite part 121 air carriers and regional/commuter

18 carriers (as such terms are defined in section 41715(d)

19 of this title) to offer service proposals in response to, or

20 in conjunction with, community aircraft service assess21 ments submitted to the office under subsection (a). A serv22 ice proposal under this paragraph shall include—

23 ‘‘(1) an assessment of potential daily passenger

24 traffic, revenues, and costs necessary for the carrier

25 to offer the service;
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1 ‘‘(2) a forecast of the minimum percentage of

2 that traffic the carrier would require the community

3 to garner in order for the carrier to start up and

4 maintain the service; and

5 ‘‘(3) the costs and benefits of providing jet serv6 ice by regional or other jet aircraft.

7 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM SUPPORT FUNCTION.—The program

8 director shall work with small communities and air car9 riers, taking into account their proposals and needs, to

10 facilitate the initiation of service. The program director—

11 ‘‘(1) may work with communities to develop in12 novative means and incentives for the initiation of

13 service;

14 ‘‘(2) may obligate funds appropriated under

15 section 604 of the Wendell H. Ford National Air

16 Transportation System Improvement Act of 1998 to

17 carry out this section;

18 ‘‘(3) shall continue to work with both the car19 riers and the communities to develop a combination

20 of community incentives and carrier service levels

21 that—

22 ‘‘(A) are acceptable to communities and

23 carriers; and
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1 ‘‘(B) do not conflict with other Federal or

2 State programs to facilitate air transportation

3 to the communities;

4 ‘‘(4) designate an airport in the program as an

5 Air Service Development Zone and work with the

6 community on means to attract business to the area

7 surrounding the airport, to develop land use options

8 for the area, and provide data, working with the De9 partment of Commerce and other agencies;

10 ‘‘(5) take such other action under this chapter

11 as may be appropriate.

12 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY SUPPORT.—The program di14 rector may not provide financial assistance under

15 subsection (c)(2) to any community unless the pro16 gram director determines that—

17 ‘‘(A) a public-private partnership exists at

18 the community level to carry out the commu19 nity’s proposal;

20 ‘‘(B) the community will make a substan21 tial financial contribution that is appropriate

22 for that community’s resources, but of not less

23 than 25 percent of the cost of the project in

24 any event;
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1 ‘‘(C) the community has established an

2 open process for soliciting air service proposals;

3 and

4 ‘‘(D) the community will accord similar

5 benefits to air carriers that are similarly situ6 ated.

7 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The program director may not

8 obligate more than $30,000,000 of the amounts ap9 propriated under 604 of the Wendell H. Ford Na10 tional Air Transportation System Improvement Act

11 of 1998 over the 4 years of the program.

12 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.—The pro13 gram established under subsection (a) shall not in14 volve more than 40 communities or consortia of

15 communities.

16 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The program director shall report

17 through the Secretary to the Congress annually on the

18 progress made under this section during the preceding

19 year in expanding commercial aviation service to smaller

20 communities.

21 ‘‘§ 41744. Pilot program project authority

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The program director designated

23 by the Secretary of Transportation under section

24 102(g)(1) shall establish a 4-year pilot program—
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1 ‘‘(1) to assist communities and States with in2 adequate access to the national transportation sys3 tem to improve their access to that system; and

4 ‘‘(2) to facilitate better air service link-ups to

5 support the improved access.

6 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AUTHORITY.—Under the pilot pro7 gram established pursuant to subsection (a), the program

8 director may—

9 ‘‘(1) out of amounts appropriated under section

10 604 of the Wendell H. Ford National Air Transpor11 tation System Improvement Act of 1998, provide fi12 nancial assistance by way of grants to small commu13 nities or consortia of small communities under sec14 tion 41743 of up to $500,000 per year; and

15 ‘‘(2) take such other action as may be appro16 priate.

17 ‘‘(c) OTHER ACTION.—Under the pilot program es18 tablished pursuant to subsection (a), the program director

19 may facilitate service by—

20 ‘‘(1) working with airports and air carriers to

21 ensure that appropriate facilities are made available

22 at essential airports;

23 ‘‘(2) collecting data on air carrier service to

24 small communities; and
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1 ‘‘(3) providing policy recommendations to the

2 Secretary to stimulate air service and competition to

3 small communities.

4 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ACTION.—Under the pilot program

5 established pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall

6 work with air carriers providing service to participating

7 communities and major air carriers serving large hub air8 ports (as defined in section 41731(a)(3)) to facilitate joint

9 fare arrangements consistent with normal industry prac10 tice.

11 ‘‘§ 41745. Assistance to communities for service

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance provided

13 under section 41743 during any fiscal year as part of the

14 pilot program established under section 41744(a) shall be

15 implemented for not more than—

16 ‘‘(1) 4 communities within any State at any

17 given time; and

18 ‘‘(2) 40 communities in the entire program at

19 any time.

20 For purposes of this subsection, a consortium of commu21 nities shall be treated as a single community.

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to participate in a pilot

23 project under this subchapter, a State, community, or

24 group of communities shall apply to the Secretary in such

25 form and at such time, and shall supply such information,
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1 as the Secretary may require, and shall demonstrate to

2 the satisfaction of the Secretary that—

3 ‘‘(1) the applicant has an identifiable need for

4 access, or improved access, to the national air trans5 portation system that would benefit the public;

6 ‘‘(2) the pilot project will provide material bene7 fits to a broad section of the travelling public, busi8 nesses, educational institutions, and other enter9 prises whose access to the national air transpor10 tation system is limited;

11 ‘‘(3) the pilot project will not impede competi12 tion; and

13 ‘‘(4) the applicant has established, or will estab14 lish, public-private partnerships in connection with

15 the pilot project to facilitate service to the public.

16 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS OF

17 SUBCHAPTER.—The Secretary shall carry out the 4-year

18 pilot program authorized by this subchapter in such a

19 manner as to complement action taken under the other

20 provisions of this subchapter. To the extent the Secretary

21 determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may adopt cri22 teria for implementation of the 4-year pilot program that

23 are the same as, or similar to, the criteria developed under

24 the preceding sections of this subchapter for determining

25 which airports are eligible under those sections. The Sec-
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1 retary shall also, to the extent possible, provide incentives

2 where no direct, viable, and feasible alternative service ex3 ists, taking into account geographical diversity and appro4 priate market definitions.

5 ‘‘(d) MAXIMIZATION OF PARTICIPATION.—The Sec6 retary shall structure the program established pursuant

7 to section 41744(a) in a way designed to—

8 ‘‘(1) permit the participation of the maximum

9 feasible number of communities and States over a 4-

10 year period by limiting the number of years of par11 ticipation or otherwise; and

12 ‘‘(2) obtain the greatest possible leverage from

13 the financial resources available to the Secretary and

14 the applicant by—

15 ‘‘(A) progressively decreasing, on a project16 by-project basis, any Federal financial incen17 tives provided under this chapter over the 4-

18 year period; and

19 ‘‘(B) terminating as early as feasible Fed20 eral financial incentives for any project deter21 mined by the Secretary after its implementation

22 to be—

23 ‘‘(i) viable without further support

24 under this subchapter; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) failing to meet the purposes of

2 this chapter or criteria established by the

3 Secretary under the pilot program.

4 ‘‘(e) SUCCESS BONUS.—If Federal financial incen5 tives to a community are terminated under subsection

6 (d)(2)(B) because of the success of the program in that

7 community, then that community may receive a one-time

8 incentive grant to ensure the continued success of that

9 program.

10 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM TO TERMINATE IN 4 YEARS.—No new

11 financial assistance may be provided under this sub12 chapter for any fiscal year beginning more than 4 years

13 after the date of enactment of the Wendell H. Ford Na14 tional Air Transportation System Improvement Act of

15 1998.

16 ‘‘§ 41746. Additional authority

17 ‘‘In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary—

18 ‘‘(1) may provide assistance to States and com19 munities in the design and application phase of any

20 project under this chapter, and oversee the imple21 mentation of any such project;

22 ‘‘(2) may assist States and communities in put23 ting together projects under this chapter to utilize

24 private sector resources, other Federal resources, or

25 a combination of public and private resources;
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1 ‘‘(3) may accord priority to service by jet air2 craft;

3 ‘‘(4) take such action as may be necessary to

4 ensure that financial resources, facilities, and admin5 istrative arrangements made under this chapter are

6 used to carry out the purposes of title VI of the

7 Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation Sys8 tem Improvement Act of 1998; and

9 ‘‘(5) shall work with the Federal Aviation Ad10 ministration on airport and air traffic control needs

11 of communities in the program.

12 ‘‘§ 41747. Air traffic control services pilot program

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To further facilitate the use of,

14 and improve the safety at, small airports, the Adminis15 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab16 lish a pilot program to contract for Level I air traffic con17 trol services at 20 facilities not eligible for participation

18 in the Federal Contract Tower Program.

19 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the

20 pilot program established under subsection (a), the Ad21 ministrator may—

22 ‘‘(1) utilize current, actual, site-specific data,

23 forecast estimates, or airport system plan data pro24 vided by a facility owner or operator;
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1 ‘‘(2) take into consideration unique aviation

2 safety, weather, strategic national interest, disaster

3 relief, medical and other emergency management re4 lief services, status of regional airline service, and

5 related factors at the facility;

6 ‘‘(3) approve for participation any facility will7 ing to fund a pro rata share of the operating costs

8 used by the Federal Aviation Administration to cal9 culate, and, as necessary, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

10 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

11 Tower Program; and

12 ‘‘(4) approve for participation no more than 3

13 facilities willing to fund a pro rata share of con14 struction costs for an air traffic control tower so as

15 to achieve, at a minimum, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

16 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

17 Tower Program, and for each of such facilities the

18 Federal share of construction costs does not exceed

19 $1,000,000.

20 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—One year before the pilot program es21 tablished under subsection (a) terminates, the Adminis22 trator shall report to the Congress on the effectiveness of

23 the program, with particular emphasis on the safety and

24 economic benefits provided to program participants and

25 the national air transportation system.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy2 sis for chapter 417 is amended by inserting after the item

3 relating to section 41742 the following:

‘‘41743. Air service program for small communities.

‘‘41744. Pilot program project authority.

‘‘41745. Assistance to communities for service.

‘‘41746. Additional authority.

‘‘41747. Air traffic control services pilot program.’’.

4 (c) WAIVER OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.—Section

5 41736(b) is amended by inserting after paragraph (4) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘Paragraph (4) does not apply to any community ap8 proved for service under this section during the period be9 ginning October 1, 1991, and ending December 31,

10 1997.’’.

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

13 Transportation such sums as may be necessary to carry

14 out section 41747 of title 49, United States Code.

15 SEC. 604. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 To carry out sections 41743 through 41746 of title

17 49, United States Code, for the 4 fiscal-year period begin18 ning with fiscal year 1999—

19 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated to

20 the Secretary of Transportation not more than

21 $10,000,000; and

22 (2) not more than $20,000,000 shall be made

23 available, if available, to the Secretary for obligation
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1 and expenditure out of the account established under

2 section 45303(a) of title 49, United States Code.

3 To the extent that amounts are not available in such ac4 count, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums

5 as may be necessary to provide the amount authorized to

6 be obligated under paragraph (2) to carry out those sec7 tions for that 4 fiscal-year period.

8 SEC. 605. MARKETING PRACTICES.

9 Section 41712 is amended by—

10 (1) inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

11 ‘‘On’’; and

12 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

13 ‘‘(b) MARKETING PRACTICES THAT ADVERSELY AF14 FECT SERVICE TO SMALL OR MEDIUM COMMUNITIES.—

15 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of the Wen16 dell H. Ford National Air Transportation System Im17 provement Act of 1998, the Secretary shall review the

18 marketing practices of air carriers that may inhibit the

19 availability of quality, affordable air transportation serv20 ices to small and medium-sized communities, including—

21 ‘‘(1) marketing arrangements between airlines

22 and travel agents;

23 ‘‘(2) code-sharing partnerships;

24 ‘‘(3) computer reservation system displays;

25 ‘‘(4) gate arrangements at airports;
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1 ‘‘(5) exclusive dealing arrangments; and

2 ‘‘(6) any other marketing practice that may

3 have the same effect.

4 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—If the Secretary finds, after

5 conducting the review required by subsection (b), that

6 marketing practices inhibit the availability of such service

7 to such communities, then, after public notice and an op8 portunity for comment, the Secretary shall promulgate

9 regulations that address the problem.’’.

10 SEC. 606. SLOT EXEMPTIONS FOR NONSTOP REGIONAL JET

11 SERVICE.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is

13 amended by—

14 (1) redesignating section 41715 as 41716; and

15 (2) inserting after section 41714 the following:

16 ‘‘§ 41715. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet

17 service.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after receiving

19 an application for an exemption to provide nonstop re20 gional jet air service between—

21 ‘‘(1) an airport with fewer than 2,000,000 an22 nual enplanements; and

23 ‘‘(2) a high density airport subject to the ex24 emption authority under section 41714(a),
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1 the Secretary of Transportation shall grant or deny the

2 exemption in accordance with established principles of

3 safety and the promotion of competition.

4 ‘‘(b) EXISTING SLOTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In

5 deciding to grant or deny an exemption under subsection

6 (a), the Secretary may take into consideration the slots

7 and slot exemptions already used by the applicant.

8 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may grant an ex9 emption to an air carrier under subsection (a)—

10 ‘‘(1) for a period of not less than 12 months;

11 ‘‘(2) for a minimum of 2 daily roundtrip flights;

12 and

13 ‘‘(3) for a maximum of 3 daily roundtrip

14 flights.

15 ‘‘(d) CHANGE OF NONHUB, SMALL HUB, OR MEDIUM

16 HUB AIRPORT; JET AIRCRAFT.—The Secretary may,

17 upon application made by an air carrier operating under

18 an exemption granted under subsection (a)—

19 ‘‘(1) authorize the air carrier or an affiliated air

20 carrier to upgrade service under the exemption to a

21 larger jet aircraft; or

22 ‘‘(2) authorize an air carrier operating under

23 such an exemption to change the nonhub airport or

24 small hub airport for which the exemption was

25 granted to provide the same service to a different
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1 airport that is smaller than a large hub airport (as

2 defined in section 47134(d)(2)) if—

3 ‘‘(A) the air carrier has been operating

4 under the exemption for a period of not less

5 than 12 months; and

6 ‘‘(B) the air carrier can demonstrate

7 unmitigatable losses.

8 ‘‘(e) FOREFEITURE FOR MISUSE.—Any exemption

9 granted under subsection (a) shall be terminated imme10 diately by the Secretary if the air carrier to which it was

11 granted uses the slot for any purpose other than the pur12 pose for which it was granted or in violation of the condi13 tions under which it was granted.

14 ‘‘(f) RESTORATION OF AIR SERVICE.—To the extent

15 that—

16 ‘‘(1) slots were withdrawn from an air carrier

17 under section 41714(b);

18 ‘‘(2) the withdrawal of slots under that section

19 resulted in a net loss of slots; and

20 ‘‘(3) the net loss of slots and slot exemptions

21 resulting from the withdrawal had an adverse effect

22 on service to nonhub airports and in other domestic

23 markets,

24 the Secretary shall give priority consideration to the re25 quest of any air carrier from which slots were withdrawn
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1 under that section for an equivalent number of slots at

2 the airport where the slots were withdrawn. No priority

3 consideration shall be given under this subsection to an

4 air carrier described in paragraph (1) when the net loss

5 of slots and slot exemptions is eliminated.

6 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY TO NEW ENTRANTS AND LIMITED IN7 CUMBENT CARRIERS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In granting slot exemptions

9 under this section the Secretary shall give priority

10 consideration to an application from an air carrier

11 that, as of July 1, 1998, operated or held fewer than

12 20 slots or slot exemptions at the high density air13 port for which it filed an exemption application.

14 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No priority may be given

15 under paragraph (1) to an air carrier that, at the

16 time of application, operates or holds 20 or more

17 slots and slot exemptions at the airport for which

18 the exemption application is filed.

19 ‘‘(3) AFFILIATED CARRIERS.—The Secretary

20 shall treat all commuter air carriers that have coop21 erative agreements, including code-share agreements,

22 with other air carriers equally for determining eligi23 bility for exemptions under this section regardless of

24 the form of the corporate relationship between the

25 commuter air carrier and the other air carrier.
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1 ‘‘(h) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An exemption

2 may not be granted under this section with respect to any

3 aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft (as defined by the

4 Secretary).

5 ‘‘(i) REGIONAL JET DEFINED.—In this section, the

6 term ‘regional jet’ means a passenger, turbofan-powered

7 aircraft carrying not fewer than 30 and not more than

8 50 passengers.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

10 (1) Section 40102 is amended by inserting after

11 paragraph (28) the following:

12 ‘‘(28A) LIMITED INCUMBENT AIR CARRIER.—

13 The term ‘limited incumbent air carrier’ has the

14 meaning given that term in subpart S of part 93 of

15 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, except that

16 ‘20’ shall be substituted for ‘12’ in sections

17 93.213(a)(5), 93.223(c)(3), and 93.226(h) as such

18 sections were in effect on August 1, 1998.’’.

19 (2) The chapter analysis for chapter 417 is

20 amended by striking the item relating to section

21 41716 and inserting the following:

‘‘41715. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet service.

‘‘41716. Air service termination notice.’’.
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1 SEC. 607. EXEMPTIONS TO PERIMETER RULE AT RONALD

2 REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417, as

4 amended by section 606, is amended by—

5 (1) redesignating section 41716 as 41717; and

6 (2) inserting after section 41715 the following:

7 ‘‘§ 41716. Special Rules for Ronald Reagan Washing8 ton National Airport

9 ‘‘(a) BEYOND-PERIMETER EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec10 retary shall by order grant exemptions from the applica11 tion of sections 49104(a)(5), 49109, 49111(e), and 41714

12 of this title to air carriers to operate limited frequencies

13 and aircraft on select routes between Ronald Reagan

14 Washington National Airport and domestic hub airports

15 of such carriers and exemptions from the requirements of

16 subparts K and S of part 93, Code of Federal Regulations,

17 if the Secretary finds that the exemptions will—

18 ‘‘(1) provide air transportation service with do19 mestic network benefits in areas beyond the perim20 eter described in that section;

21 ‘‘(2) increase competition in multiple markets;

22 ‘‘(3) not reduce travel options for communities

23 served by small hub airports and medium hub air24 ports within the perimeter described in section

25 49109 of title 49, United States Code; and
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1 ‘‘(4) not result in meaningfully increased travel

2 delays.

3 ‘‘(b) WITHIN-PERIMETER EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec4 retary shall by order grant exemptions from the require5 ments of sections 49104(a)(5), 49111(e), and 41714 of

6 this title and subparts K and S of part 93 of title 14,

7 Code of Federal Regulations, to commuter air carriers for

8 service to airports with fewer than 2,000,000 annual

9 enplanements within the perimeter established for civil air10 craft operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National

11 Airport under section 49109. The Secretary shall develop

12 criteria for distributing slot exemptions for flights within

13 the perimeter to such airports under this paragraph in a

14 manner consistent with the promotion of air transpor15 tation.

16 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An ex18 emption may not be granted under this section with

19 respect to any aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft

20 (as defined by the Secretary).

21 ‘‘(2) GENERAL EXEMPTIONS.—The exemptions

22 granted under subsections (a) and (b) may not in23 crease the number of operations at Ronald Reagan

24 Washington National Airport in any 1-hour period
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1 during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.

2 by more than 2 operations.’’.

3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec4 retary shall grant exemptions under subsections (a)

5 and (b) that—

6 ‘‘(A) will result in 12 additional daily air

7 carrier slot exemptions at such airport for long8 haul service beyond the perimeter;

9 ‘‘(B) will result in 12 additional daily com10 muter slot exemptions at such airport; and

11 ‘‘(C) will not result in additional daily

12 commuter slot exemptions for service to any

13 within-the-perimeter airport that is not smaller

14 than a large hub airport (as defined in section

15 47134(d)(2)).

16 ‘‘(4) ASSESSMENT OF SAFETY, NOISE AND EN17 VIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.—The Secretary shall assess

18 the impact of granting exemptions, including the im19 pacts of the additional slots and flights at Ronald

20 Reagan Washington National Airport provided

21 under subsections (a) and (b) on safety, noise levels

22 and the environment within 90 days of the date of

23 the enactment of this Act. The environmental as24 sessment shall be carried out in accordance with

25 parts 1500–1508 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu-
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1 lations. Such environmental assessment shall include

2 a public meeting.

3 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY WITH EXEMPTION 5133.—

4 Nothing in this section affects Exemption No. 5133,

5 as from time-to-time amended and extended.’’.

6 (b) OVERRIDE OF MWAA RESTRICTION.—Section

7 49104(a)(5) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(D) Subparagraph (C) does not apply to

10 any increase in the number of instrument flight

11 rule takeoffs and landings necessary to imple12 ment exemptions granted by the Secretary

13 under section 41716.’’.

14 (c) MWAA NOISE-RELATED GRANT ASSURANCES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any condition

16 for approval of an airport development project that

17 is the subject of a grant application submitted to the

18 Secretary of Transportation under chapter 471 of

19 title 49, United States Code, by the Metropolitan

20 Washington Airports Authority, the Authority shall

21 be required to submit a written assurance that, for

22 each such grant made to the Authority for fiscal

23 year 1999 or any subsequent fiscal year—

24 (A) the Authority will make available for

25 that fiscal year funds for noise compatibility
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1 planning and programs that are eligible to re2 ceive funding under chapter 471 of title 49,

3 United States Code, in an amount not less than

4 10 percent of the aggregate annual amount of

5 financial assistance provided to the Authority

6 by the Secretary as grants under chapter 471

7 of title 49, United States Code; and

8 (B) the Authority will not divert funds

9 from a high priority safety project in order to

10 make funds available for noise compatibility

11 planning and programs.

12 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Transportation

13 may waive the requirements of paragraph (1) for

14 any fiscal year for which the Secretary determines

15 that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Author16 ity is in full compliance with applicable airport noise

17 compatibility planning and program requirements

18 under part 150 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula19 tions.

20 (3) SUNSET.—This subsection shall cease to be

21 in effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this

22 Act, if on that date the Secretary of Transportation

23 certifies that the Metropolitan Washington Airports

24 Authority has achieved full compliance with applica25 ble noise compatibility planning and program re-
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1 quirements under part 150 of title 14, Code of Fed2 eral Regulations.

3 (d) NOISE COMPATIBILITY PLANNING AND PRO4 GRAMS.—Section 47117(e) is amended by adding at the

5 end the following:

6 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall give priority in making

7 grants under paragraph (1)(A) to applications for

8 airport noise compatibility planning and programs at

9 and around airports where operations increase under

10 title VI of the Wendell H. Ford National Air Trans11 portation System Improvement Act of 1998 and the

12 amendments made by that title.’’.

13 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) Section 49111 is amended by striking sub15 section (e).

16 (2) The chapter analysis for chapter 417, as

17 amended by section 606(b) of this Act, is amended

18 by striking the item relating to section 41716 and

19 inserting the following:

‘‘41716. Special Rules for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

‘‘41717. Air service termination notice.’’.

20 (f) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary

22 shall certify to the United States Senate Committee on

23 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the United

24 States House of Representatives Committee on Transpor-
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1 tation and Infrastructure, the Governments of Maryland,

2 Virginia, and West Virginia and the metropolitan planning

3 organization for Washington D.C. that noise standards,

4 air traffic congestion, airport-related vehicular congestion,

5 safety standards, and adequate air service to communities

6 served by small hub airports and medium hub airports

7 within the perimeter described in section 49109 of title

8 49, United States Code, have been maintained at appro9 priate levels.

10 SEC. 608. ADDITIONAL SLOT EXEMPTIONS AT CHICAGO

11 O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 417, as amended by sec13 tion 607, is amended by—

14 (1) redesignating section 41717 as 41718; and

15 (2) inserting after section 41716 the following:

16 ‘‘§ 41717. Special Rules for Chicago O’Hare Inter17 national Airport

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

19 shall grant 30 slot exemptions over a 3-year period begin20 ning on the date of enactment of the Wendell H. Ford

21 National Air Transportation System Improvement Act of

22 1998 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

23 ‘‘(b) EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An ex25 emption may not be granted under this section with
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1 respect to any aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft

2 (as defined by the Secretary).

3 ‘‘(2) SERVICE PROVIDED.—Of the exemptions

4 granted under subsection (a)—

5 ‘‘(A) 18 shall be used only for service to

6 underserved markets, of which no fewer than 6

7 shall be designated as commuter slot exemp8 tions; and

9 ‘‘(B) 12 shall be air carrier slot exemp10 tions.

11 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—Before grant12 ing exemptions under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

13 ‘‘(1) conduct an environmental review, taking

14 noise into account, and determine that the granting

15 of the exemptions will not cause a significant in16 crease in noise;

17 ‘‘(2) determine whether capacity is available

18 and can be used safely and, if the Secretary so de19 termines then so certify;

20 ‘‘(3) give 30 days notice to the public through

21 publication in the Federal Register of the Sec22 retary’s intent to grant the exemptions; and

23 ‘‘(4) consult with appropriate officers of the

24 State and local government on any related noise and

25 environmental issues.
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1 ‘‘(d) UNDERSERVED MARKET DEFINED.—In this

2 section, the term ‘service to underserved markets’ means

3 passenger air transportation service to an airport that is

4 a nonhub airport or a small hub airport (as defined in

5 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively, of section

6 41731(a)).’’.

7 (b) STUDIES.—

8 (1) 3-YEAR REPORT.—The Secretary shall

9 study and submit a report 3 years after the first ex10 emption granted under section 41717(a) of title 49,

11 United States Code, is first used on the impact of

12 the additional slots on the safety, environment,

13 noise, access to underserved markets, and competi14 tion at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

15 (2) DOT STUDY IN 2000.—The Secretary of

16 Transportation shall study community noise levels in

17 the areas surrounding the 4 high-density airports

18 after the 100 percent Stage 3 fleet requirements are

19 in place, and compare those levels with the levels in

20 such areas before 1991.

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy22 sis for chapter 417, as amended by section 607(b) of this

23 Act, is amended by striking the item relating to section

24 41717 and inserting the following:

‘‘41717. Special Rules for Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

‘‘41718. Air service termination notice.’’.
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1 SEC. 609. CONSUMER NOTIFICATION OF E-TICKET EXPIRA2 TION DATES.

3 Section 41712, as amended by section 605 of this

4 Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘(d) E-TICKET EXPIRATION NOTICE.—It shall be an

7 unfair or deceptive practice under subsection (a) for any

8 air carrier utilizing electronically transmitted tickets to

9 fail to notify the purchaser of such a ticket of its expira10 tion date, if any.’’.

11 SEC. 610. JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENTS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417, as

13 amended by section 608, is amended by adding at the end

14 the following:

15 ‘‘§ 41719. Joint venture agreements

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

17 ‘‘(1) JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT.—The term

18 ‘joint venture agreement’ means an agreement en19 tered into by a major air carrier on or after January

20 1, 1998, with regard to (A) code-sharing, blocked21 space arrangements, long-term wet leases (as de22 fined in section 207.1 of title 14, Code of Federal

23 Regulations) of a substantial number (as defined by

24 the Secretary by regulation) of aircraft, or frequent

25 flyer programs, or (B) any other cooperative working

26 arrangement (as defined by the Secretary by regula-
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1 tion) between 2 or more major air carriers that af2 fects more than 15 percent of the total number of

3 available seat miles offered by the major air carriers.

4 ‘‘(2) MAJOR AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘major

5 air carrier’ means a passenger air carrier that is cer6 tificated under chapter 411 of this title and included

7 in Carrier Group III under criteria contained in sec8 tion 04 of part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg9 ulations.

10 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSION OF JOINT VENTURE AGREE11 MENT.—At least 30 days before a joint venture agreement

12 may take effect, each of the major air carriers that entered

13 into the agreement shall submit to the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(1) a complete copy of the joint venture agree15 ment and all related agreements; and

16 ‘‘(2) other information and documentary mate17 rial that the Secretary may require by regulation.

18 ‘‘(c) EXTENSION OF WAITING PERIOD.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may extend

20 the 30-day period referred to in subsection (b)

21 until—

22 ‘‘(A) in the case of a joint venture agree23 ment with regard to code-sharing, the 150th

24 day following the last day of such period; and
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other joint venture

2 agreement, the 60th day following the last day

3 of such period.

4 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION OF REASONS FOR EXTEN5 SION.—If the Secretary extends the 30-day period

6 referred to in subsection (b), the Secretary shall

7 publish in the Federal Register the reasons of the

8 Secretary for making the extension.

9 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF WAITING PERIOD.—At any

10 time after the date of submission of a joint venture agree11 ment under subsection (b), the Secretary may terminate

12 the waiting periods referred to in subsections (b) and (c)

13 with respect to the agreement.

14 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The effectiveness of a joint ven15 ture agreement may not be delayed due to any failure of

16 the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this sub17 section.

18 ‘‘(f) MEMORANDUM TO PREVENT DUPLICATIVE RE19 VIEWS.—Promptly after the date of enactment of this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall consult with the Assistant Attor21 ney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department

22 of Justice in order to establish, through a written memo23 randum of understanding, preclearance procedures to pre24 vent unnecessary duplication of effort by the Secretary
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1 and the Assistant Attorney General under this section and

2 the United States antitrust laws, respectively.

3 ‘‘(g) PRIOR AGREEMENTS.—With respect to a joint

4 venture agreement entered into before the date of enact5 ment of this section as to which the Secretary finds that—

6 ‘‘(1) the parties have submitted the agreement

7 to the Secretary before such date of enactment; and

8 ‘‘(2) the parties have submitted any information

9 on the agreement requested by the Secretary,

10 the waiting period described in paragraphs (2) and (3)

11 shall begin on the date, as determined by the Secretary,

12 on which all such information was submitted and end on

13 the last day to which the period could be extended under

14 this section.

15 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

16 The authority granted to the Secretary under this sub17 section shall not in any way limit the authority of the At18 torney General to enforce the antitrust laws as defined in

19 the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12).’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

21 subchapter I of such chapter is amended by adding at the

22 end the following:

‘‘41716. Joint venture agreements.’’.

23 SEC. 611. REGIONAL AIR SERVICE INCENTIVE OPTIONS.

24 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro25 vide the Congress with an analysis of means to improve
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1 service by jet aircraft to underserved markets by authoriz2 ing a review of different programs of Federal financial as3 sistance, including loan guarantees like those that would

4 have been provided for by section 2 of S. 1353, 105th Con5 gress, as introduced, to commuter air carriers that would

6 purchase regional jet aircraft for use in serving those mar7 kets.

8 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

9 study the efficacy of a program of Federal loan guarantees

10 for the purchase of regional jets by commuter air carriers.

11 The Secretary shall include in the study a review of op12 tions for funding, including alternatives to Federal fund13 ing. In the study, the Secretary shall analyze—

14 (1) the need for such a program;

15 (2) its potential benefit to small communities;

16 (3) the trade implications of such a program;

17 (4) market implications of such a program for

18 the sale of regional jets;

19 (5) the types of markets that would benefit the

20 most from such a program;

21 (6) the competititve implications of such a pro22 gram; and

23 (7) the cost of such a program.

24 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a report of

25 the results of the study to the Senate Committee on Com-
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1 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep2 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc3 ture not later than 24 months after the date of enactment

4 of this Act.

5 SEC. 612. GAO STUDY OF AIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS.

6 The General Accounting Office shall conduct a study

7 of the current state of the national airport network and

8 its ability to meet the air transportation needs of the

9 United States over the next 15 years. The study shall in10 clude airports located in remote communities and reliever

11 airports. In assessing the effectiveness of the system the

12 Comptroller General may consider airport runway length

13 of 5,500 feet or the equivalent altitude-adjusted length,

14 air traffic control facilities, and navigational aids.

15 TITLE VII—NATIONAL PARKS

16 OVERFLIGHTS

17 SEC. 701. FINDINGS.

18 The Congress finds that—

19 (1) the Federal Aviation Administration has

20 sole authority to control airspace over the United

21 States;

22 (2) the Federal Aviation Administration has the

23 authority to preserve, protect, and enhance the envi24 ronment by minimizing, mitigating, or preventing
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1 the adverse effects of aircraft overflights on the pub2 lic and tribal lands;

3 (3) the National Park Service has the respon4 sibility of conserving the scenery and natural and

5 historic objects and wildlife in national parks and of

6 providing for the enjoyment of the national parks in

7 ways that leave the national parks unimpaired for

8 future generations;

9 (4) the protection of tribal lands from aircraft

10 overflights is consistent with protecting the public

11 health and welfare and is essential to the mainte12 nance of the natural and cultural resources of In13 dian tribes;

14 (5) the National Parks Overflights Working

15 Group, composed of general aviation, air tour, envi16 ronmental, and Native American representatives,

17 recommended that the Congress enact legislation

18 based on its consensus work product; and

19 (6) this title reflects the recommendations made

20 by that Group.

21 SEC. 702. AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL

22 PARKS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401, as amended by sec24 tion 301 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end

25 the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 40126. Overflights of national parks

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

3 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A commercial

4 air tour operator may not conduct commercial air

5 tour operations over a national park or tribal lands

6 except—

7 ‘‘(A) in accordance with this section;

8 ‘‘(B) in accordance with conditions and

9 limitations prescribed for that operator by the

10 Administrator; and

11 ‘‘(C) in accordance with any effective air

12 tour management plan for that park or those

13 tribal lands.

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR15 ITY.—

16 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Before

17 commencing commercial air tour operations

18 over a national park or tribal lands, a commer19 cial air tour operator shall apply to the Admin20 istrator for authority to conduct the operations

21 over that park or those tribal lands.

22 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR LIMITED

23 CAPACITY PARKS.—Whenever a commercial air

24 tour management plan limits the number of

25 commercial air tour flights over a national park

26 area during a specified time frame, the Admin-
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1 istrator, in cooperation with the Director, shall

2 authorize commercial air tour operators to pro3 vide such service. The authorization shall speci4 fy such terms and conditions as the Adminis5 trator and the Director find necessary for man6 agement of commercial air tour operations over

7 the national park. The Administrator, in co8 operation with the Director, shall develop an

9 open competitive process for evaluating propos10 als from persons interested in providing com11 mercial air tour services over the national park.

12 In making a selection from among various pro13 posals submitted, the Administrator, in co14 operation with the Director, shall consider rel15 evant factors, including—

16 ‘‘(i) the safety record of the company

17 or pilots;

18 ‘‘(ii) any quiet aircraft technology pro19 posed for use;

20 ‘‘(iii) the experience in commercial air

21 tour operations over other national parks

22 or scenic areas;

23 ‘‘(iv) the financial capability of the

24 company;
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1 ‘‘(v) any training programs for pilots;

2 and

3 ‘‘(vi) responsiveness to any criteria de4 veloped by the National Park Service or

5 the affected national park.

6 ‘‘(C) NUMBER OF OPERATIONS AUTHOR7 IZED.—In determining the number of author8 izations to issue to provide commercial air tour

9 service over a national park, the Administrator,

10 in cooperation with the Director, shall take into

11 consideration the provisions of the air tour

12 management plan, the number of existing com13 mercial air tour operators and current level of

14 service and equipment provided by any such

15 companies, and the financial viability of each

16 commercial air tour operation.

17 ‘‘(D) COOPERATION WITH NPS.—Before

18 granting an application under this paragraph,

19 the Administrator shall, in cooperation with the

20 Director, develop an air tour management plan

21 in accordance with subsection (b) and imple22 ment such plan.

23 ‘‘(E) TIME LIMIT ON RESPONSE TO ATMP

24 APPLICATIONS.—The Administrator shall act on

25 any such application and issue a decision on the
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1 application not later than 24 months after it is

2 received or amended.

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

4 (1), commercial air tour operators may conduct com5 mercial air tour operations over a national park

6 under part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

7 (14 CFR 91.1 et seq.) if—

8 ‘‘(A) such activity is permitted under part

9 119 (14 CFR 119.1(e)(2));

10 ‘‘(B) the operator secures a letter of agree11 ment from the Administrator and the national

12 park superintendent for that national park de13 scribing the conditions under which the flight

14 operations will be conducted; and

15 ‘‘(C) the total number of operations under

16 this exception is limited to not more than 5

17 flights in any 30-day period over a particular

18 park.

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR SAFETY REQUIRE20 MENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), an exist21 ing commercial air tour operator shall, not later

22 than 90 days after the date of enactment of the

23 Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation Sys24 tem Improvement Act of 1998, apply for operating

25 authority under part 119, 121, or 135 of the Fed-
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1 eral Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Pt. 119, 121, or

2 135). A new entrant commercial air tour operator

3 shall apply for such authority before conducting

4 commercial air tour operations over a national park

5 or tribal lands.

6 ‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ATMPS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

9 shall, in cooperation with the Director, establish

10 an air tour management plan for any national

11 park or tribal land for which such a plan is not

12 already in effect whenever a person applies for

13 authority to operate a commercial air tour over

14 the park. The development of the air tour man15 agement plan is to be a cooperative undertaking

16 between the Federal Aviation Administration

17 and the National Park Service. The air tour

18 management plan shall be developed by means

19 of a public process, and the agencies shall de20 velop information and analysis that explains the

21 conclusions that the agencies make in the appli22 cation of the respective criteria. Such expla23 nations shall be included in the Record of Deci24 sion and may be subject to judicial review.
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1 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of any

2 air tour management plan shall be to develop

3 acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or

4 prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any,

5 of commercial air tours upon the natural and

6 cultural resources and visitor experiences and

7 tribal lands.

8 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION.—In

9 establishing an air tour management plan under this

10 subsection, the Administrator and the Director shall

11 each sign the environmental decision document re12 quired by section 102 of the National Environmental

13 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) which may in14 clude a finding of no significant impact, an environ15 mental assessment, or an environmental impact

16 statement, and the Record of Decision for the air

17 tour management plan.

18 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An air tour management

19 plan for a national park—

20 ‘‘(A) may prohibit commercial air tour op21 erations in whole or in part;

22 ‘‘(B) may establish conditions for the con23 duct of commercial air tour operations, includ24 ing commercial air tour routes, maximum or

25 minimum altitudes, time-of-day restrictions, re-
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1 strictions for particular events, maximum num2 ber of flights per unit of time, intrusions on pri3 vacy on tribal lands, and mitigation of noise,

4 visual, or other impacts;

5 ‘‘(C) shall apply to all commercial air tours

within 1 6 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary of a na7 tional park;

8 ‘‘(D) shall include incentives (such as pre9 ferred commercial air tour routes and altitudes,

10 relief from caps and curfews) for the adoption

11 of quiet aircraft technology by commercial air

12 tour operators conducting commercial air tour

13 operations at the park;

14 ‘‘(E) shall provide for the initial allocation

15 of opportunities to conduct commercial air

16 tours if the plan includes a limitation on the

17 number of commercial air tour flights for any

18 time period; and

19 ‘‘(F) shall justify and document the need

20 for measures taken pursuant to subparagraphs

21 (A) through (E).

22 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing a commer23 cial air tour management plan for a national park,

24 the Administrator and the Director shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) initiate at least one public meeting

2 with interested parties to develop a commercial

3 air tour management plan for the park;

4 ‘‘(B) publish the proposed plan in the Fed5 eral Register for notice and comment and make

6 copies of the proposed plan available to the

7 public;

8 ‘‘(C) comply with the regulations set forth

9 in sections 1501.3 and 1501.5 through 1501.8

10 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (for

11 purposes of complying with those regulations,

12 the Federal Aviation Administration is the lead

13 agency and the National Park Service is a co14 operating agency); and

15 ‘‘(D) solicit the participation of any Indian

16 tribe whose tribal lands are, or may be,

17 overflown by aircraft involved in commercial air

18 tour operations over a national park or tribal

19 lands, as a cooperating agency under the regu20 lations referred to in paragraph (4)(C).

21 ‘‘(5) AMENDMENTS.—Any amendment of an air

22 tour management plan shall be published in the

23 Federal Register for notice and comment. A request

24 for amendment of an air tour management plan
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1 shall be made in such form and manner as the Ad2 ministrator may prescribe.

3 ‘‘(c) INTERIM OPERATING AUTHORITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application for oper5 ating authority, the Administrator shall grant in6 terim operating authority under this paragraph to a

7 commercial air tour operator for a national park or

8 tribal lands for which the operator is an existing

9 commercial air tour operator.

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.—In11 terim operating authority granted under this

12 subsection—

13 ‘‘(A) shall provide annual authorization

14 only for the greater of—

15 ‘‘(i) the number of flights used by the

16 operator to provide such tours within the

17 12-month period prior to the date of enact18 ment of the Wendell H. Ford National Air

19 Transportation System Improvement Act

20 of 1998; or

21 ‘‘(ii) the average number of flights per

22 12-month period used by the operator to

23 provide such tours within the 36-month pe24 riod prior to such date of enactment, and,

25 for seasonal operations, the number of
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1 flights so used during the season or sea2 sons covered by that 12-month period;

3 ‘‘(B) may not provide for an increase in

4 the number of operations conducted during any

5 time period by the commercial air tour operator

6 to which it is granted unless the increase is

7 agreed to by the Administrator and the Direc8 tor;

9 ‘‘(C) shall be published in the Federal Reg10 ister to provide notice and opportunity for com11 ment;

12 ‘‘(D) may be revoked by the Administrator

13 for cause;

14 ‘‘(E) shall terminate 180 days after the

15 date on which an air tour management plan is

16 established for that park or those tribal lands;

17 and

18 ‘‘(F) shall—

19 ‘‘(i) promote protection of national

20 park resources, visitor experiences, and

21 tribal lands;

22 ‘‘(ii) promote safe operations of the

23 commercial air tour;

24 ‘‘(iii) promote the adoption of quiet

25 technology, as appropriate; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) allow for modifications of the op2 eration based on experience if the modi3 fication improves protection of national

4 park resources and values and of tribal

5 lands.

6 ‘‘(3) NEW ENTRANT AIR TOUR OPERATORS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in

8 cooperation with the Director, may grant in9 terim operating authority under this paragraph

10 to an air tour operator for a national park for

11 which that operator is a new entrant air tour

12 operator if the Administrator determines the

13 authority is necessary to ensure competition in

14 the provision of commercial air tours over that

15 national park or those tribal lands.

16 ‘‘(B) SAFETY LIMITATION.—The Adminis17 trator may not grant interim operating author18 ity under subparagraph (A) if the Adminis19 trator determines that it would create a safety

20 problem at that park or on tribal lands, or the

21 Director determines that it would create a noise

22 problem at that park or on tribal lands.

23 ‘‘(C) ATMP LIMITATION.—The Adminis24 trator may grant interim operating authority

25 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph only
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1 if the air tour management plan for the park or

2 tribal lands to which the application relates has

3 not been developed within 24 months after the

4 date of enactment of the Wendell H. Ford Na5 tional Air Transportation System Improvement

6 Act of 1998.

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

8 definitions apply:

9 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘com10 mercial air tour’ means any flight conducted for

11 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a

12 purpose of the flight is sightseeing. If the operator

13 of a flight asserts that the flight is not a commercial

14 air tour, factors that can be considered by the Ad15 ministrator in making a determination of whether

16 the flight is a commercial air tour, include, but are

17 not limited to—

18 ‘‘(A) whether there was a holding out to

19 the public of willingness to conduct a sightsee20 ing flight for compensation or hire;

21 ‘‘(B) whether a narrative was provided

22 that referred to areas or points of interest on

23 the surface;

24 ‘‘(C) the area of operation;

25 ‘‘(D) the frequency of flights;
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1 ‘‘(E) the route of flight;

2 ‘‘(F) the inclusion of sightseeing flights as

3 part of any travel arrangement package; or

4 ‘‘(G) whether the flight or flights in ques5 tion would or would not have been canceled

6 based on poor visibility of the surface.

7 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The

8 term ‘commercial air tour operator’ means any per9 son who conducts a commercial air tour.

10 ‘‘(3) EXISTING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERA11 TOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour opera12 tor’ means a commercial air tour operator that was

13 actively engaged in the business of providing com14 mercial air tours over a national park at any time

15 during the 12-month period ending on the date of

16 enactment of the Wendell H. Ford National Air

17 Transportation System Improvement Act of 1998.

18 ‘‘(4) NEW ENTRANT COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

19 OPERATOR.—The term ‘new entrant commercial air

20 tour operator’ means a commercial air tour operator

21 that—

22 ‘‘(A) applies for operating authority as a

23 commercial air tour operator for a national

24 park; and
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1 ‘‘(B) has not engaged in the business of

2 providing commercial air tours over that na3 tional park or those tribal lands in the 12-

4 month period preceding the application.

5 ‘‘(5) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATIONS.—

6 The term ‘commercial air tour operations’ means

7 commercial air tour flight operations conducted—

‘‘(A) over a national park or within 1 8 ⁄2 mile

9 outside the boundary of any national park;

10 ‘‘(B) below a minimum altitude, deter11 mined by the Administrator in cooperation with

12 the Director, above ground level (except solely

13 for purposes of takeoff or landing, or necessary

14 for safe operation of an aircraft as determined

15 under the rules and regulations of the Federal

16 Aviation Administration requiring the pilot-in17 command to take action to ensure the safe op18 eration of the aircraft); and

19 ‘‘(C) less than 1 mile laterally from any

20 geographic feature within the park (unless more

than 1 21 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary).

22 ‘‘(6) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘national

23 park’ means any unit of the National Park System.

24 ‘‘(7) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘tribal lands’

25 means ‘Indian country’, as defined by section 1151
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1 of title 18, United States Code, that is within or

2 abutting a national park.

3 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis4 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia5 tion Administration.

6 ‘‘(9) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means

7 the Director of the National Park Service.’’.

8 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—

9 (1) GRAND CANYON.—Section 40126 of title

10 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (a),

11 does not apply to—

12 (A) the Grand Canyon National Park; or

13 (B) Indian country within or abutting the

14 Grand Canyon National Park.

15 (2) ALASKA.—The provisions of this title and

16 section 40126 of title 49, United States Code, as

17 added by subsection (a), do not apply to any land

18 or waters located in Alaska.

19 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER REGULATIONS.—

20 For purposes of section 40126 of title 49, United

21 States Code—

22 (A) regulations issued by the Secretary of

23 Transportation and the Administrator of the

24 Federal Aviation Administration under section
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1 3 of Public Law 100–91 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1,

2 note); and

3 (B) commercial air tour operations carried

4 out in compliance with the requirements of

5 those regulations,

6 shall be deemed to meet the requirements of such

7 section 40126.

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

9 for chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end thereof

10 the following:

‘‘40126. Overflights of national parks.’’.

11 SEC. 703. ADVISORY GROUP.

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

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

14 the Federal Aviation Administration and the Director of

15 the National Park Service shall jointly establish an advi16 sory group to provide continuing advice and counsel with

17 respect to the operation of commercial air tours over and

18 near national parks.

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory group shall be

21 composed of—

22 (A) a balanced group of —

23 (i) representatives of general aviation;

24 (ii) representatives of commercial air

25 tour operators;
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1 (iii) representatives of environmental

2 concerns; and

3 (iv) representatives of Indian tribes;

4 (B) a representative of the Federal Avia5 tion Administration; and

6 (C) a representative of the National Park

7 Service.

8 (2) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator

9 and the Director shall serve as ex-officio members.

10 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the

11 Federal Aviation Administration and the representa12 tive of the National Park Service shall serve alter13 nating 1-year terms as chairman of the advisory

14 group, with the representative of the Federal Avia15 tion Administration serving initially until the end of

16 the calendar year following the year in which the ad17 visory group is first appointed.

18 (c) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall provide ad19 vice, information, and recommendations to the Adminis20 trator and the Director—

21 (1) on the implementation of this title;

22 (2) on the designation of appropriate and fea23 sible quiet aircraft technology standards for quiet

24 aircraft technologies under development for commer-
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1 cial purposes, which will receive preferential treat2 ment in a given air tour management plan;

3 (3) on other measures that might be taken to

4 accommodate the interests of visitors to national

5 parks; and

6 (4) on such other national park or tribal lands7 related safety, environmental, and air touring issues

8 as the Administrator and the Director may request.

9 (d) COMPENSATION; SUPPORT; FACA.—

10 (1) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.—Members of

11 the advisory group who are not officers or employees

12 of the United States, while attending conferences or

13 meetings of the group or otherwise engaged in its

14 business, or while serving away from their homes or

15 regular places of business, each member may be al16 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

17 subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,

18 United States Code, for persons in the Government

19 service employed intermittently.

20 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Federal

21 Aviation Administration and the National Park

22 Service shall jointly furnish to the advisory group

23 clerical and other assistance.
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1 (3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—Section 14 of

2 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

3 App.) does not apply to the advisory group.

4 (e) REPORT.—The Administrator and the Director

5 shall jointly report to the Congress within 24 months after

6 the date of enactment of this Act on the success of this

7 title in providing incentives for quiet aircraft technology.

8 SEC. 704. OVERFLIGHT FEE REPORT.

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

10 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad11 ministration shall transmit to Congress a report on the

12 effects proposed overflight fees are likely to have on the

13 commercial air tour industry. The report shall include, but

14 shall not be limited to—

15 (1) the viability of a tax credit for the commer16 cial air tour operators equal to the amount of the

17 proposed fee charged by the National Park Service;

18 and

19 (2) the financial effects proposed offsets are

20 likely to have on Federal Aviation Administration

21 budgets and appropriations.

22 SEC. 705. PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL AIR TOURS OVER

23 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK.

24 Effective beginning on the date of enactment of this

25 Act, no commercial air tour may be operated in the air-
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1 space over the Rocky Mountain National Park notwith2 standing any other provision of this Act or section 40126

3 of title 49, United States Code, as added by this Act.

4 TITLE VIII—CENTENNIAL OF

5 FLIGHT COMMEMORATION

6 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Centennial of Flight

8 Commemoration Act’’.

9 SEC. 802. FINDINGS.

10 Congress finds that—

11 (1) December 17, 2003, is the 100th anniver12 sary of the first successful manned, free, controlled,

13 and sustained flight by a power-driven, heavier-than14 air machine;

15 (2) the first flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright

16 represents the fulfillment of the age-old dream of

17 flying;

18 (3) the airplane has dramatically changed the

19 course of transportation, commerce, communication,

20 and warfare throughout the world;

21 (4) the achievement by the Wright brothers

22 stands as a triumph of American ingenuity, inven23 tiveness, and diligence in developing new tech24 nologies, and remains an inspiration for all Ameri25 cans;
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1 (5) it is appropriate to remember and renew the

2 legacy of the Wright brothers at a time when the

3 values of creativity and daring represented by the

4 Wright brothers are critical to the future of the Na5 tion; and

6 (6) as the Nation approaches the 100th anni7 versary of powered flight, it is appropriate to cele8 brate and commemorate the centennial year through

9 local, national, and international observances and ac10 tivities.

11 SEC. 803. ESTABLISHMENT.

12 There is established a commission to be known as the

13 Centennial of Flight Commission.

14 SEC. 804. MEMBERSHIP.

15 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

16 shall be composed of 6 members, as follows:

17 (1) The Director of the National Air and Space

18 Museum of the Smithsonian Institution or his des19 ignee.

20 (2) The Administrator of the National Aero21 nautics and Space Administration or his designee.

22 (3) The chairman of the First Flight Centen23 nial Foundation of North Carolina, or his designee.

24 (4) The chairman of the 2003 Committee of

25 Ohio, or his designee.
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1 (5) As chosen by the Commission, the president

2 or head of a United States aeronautical society,

3 foundation, or organization of national stature or

4 prominence who will be a person from a State other

5 than Ohio or North Carolina.

6 (6) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation

7 Administration, or his designee.

8 (b) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission

9 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original

10 designation was made.

11 (c) COMPENSATION.—

12 (1) PROHIBITION OF PAY.—Except as provided

13 in paragraph (2), members of the Commission shall

14 serve without pay or compensation.

15 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The Commission may

16 adopt a policy, only by unanimous vote, for members

17 of the Commission and related advisory panels to re18 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

19 subsistence. The policy may not exceed the levels es20 tablished under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

21 United States Code. Members who are Federal em22 ployees shall not receive travel expenses if otherwise

23 reimbursed by the Federal Government.

24 (d) QUORUM.—Three members of the Commission

25 shall constitute a quorum.
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1 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall select a

2 Chairperson of the Commission from the members des3 ignated under subsection (a) (1), (2), or (5). The Chair4 person may not vote on matters before the Commission

5 except in the case of a tie vote. The Chairperson may be

6 removed by a vote of a majority of the Commission’s mem7 bers.

8 (f) ORGANIZATION.—No later than 90 days after the

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall meet

10 and select a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Executive

11 Director.

12 SEC. 805. DUTIES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall—

14 (1) represent the United States and take a

15 leadership role with other nations in recognizing the

16 importance of aviation history in general and the

17 centennial of powered flight in particular, and pro18 mote participation by the United States in such ac19 tivities;

20 (2) encourage and promote national and inter21 national participation and sponsorships in com22 memoration of the centennial of powered flight by

23 persons and entities such as—

24 (A) aerospace manufacturing companies;
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1 (B) aerospace-related military organiza2 tions;

3 (C) workers employed in aerospace-related

4 industries;

5 (D) commercial aviation companies;

6 (E) general aviation owners and pilots;

7 (F) aerospace researchers, instructors, and

8 enthusiasts;

9 (G) elementary, secondary, and higher edu10 cational institutions;

11 (H) civil, patriotic, educational, sporting,

12 arts, cultural, and historical organizations and

13 technical societies;

14 (I) aerospace-related museums; and

15 (J) State and local governments;

16 (3) plan and develop, in coordination with the

17 First Flight Centennial Commission, the First

18 Flight Centennial Foundation of North Carolina,

19 and the 2003 Committee of Ohio, programs and ac20 tivities that are appropriate to commemorate the

21 100th anniversary of powered flight;

22 (4) maintain, publish, and distribute a calendar

23 or register of national and international programs

24 and projects concerning, and provide a central clear25 inghouse for, information and coordination regard-
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1 ing, dates, events, and places of historical and com2 memorative significance regarding aviation history in

3 general and the centennial of powered flight in par4 ticular;

5 (5) provide national coordination for celebration

6 dates to take place throughout the United States

7 during the centennial year;

8 (6) assist in conducting educational, civic, and

9 commemorative activities relating to the centennial

10 of powered flight throughout the United States, es11 pecially activities that occur in the States of North

12 Carolina and Ohio and that highlight the activities

13 of the Wright brothers in such States; and

14 (7) encourage the publication of popular and

15 scholarly works related to the history of aviation or

16 the anniversary of the centennial of powered flight.

17 (b) NONDUPLICATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Com18 mission shall attempt to plan and conduct its activities

19 in such a manner that activities conducted pursuant to

20 this title enhance, but do not duplicate, traditional and

21 established activities of Ohio’s 2003 Committee, North

22 Carolina’s First Flight Centennial Commission, the First

23 Flight Centennial Foundation, or any other organization

24 of national stature or prominence.
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1 SEC. 806. POWERS.

2 (a) ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may ap4 point any advisory committee or task force from

5 among the membership of the Advisory Board in

6 section 812.

7 (2) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—To ensure the

8 overall success of the Commission’s efforts, the Com9 mission may call upon various Federal departments

10 and agencies to assist in and give support to the

11 programs of the Commission. The head of the Fed12 eral department or agency, where appropriate, shall

13 furnish the information or assistance requested by

14 the Commission, unless prohibited by law.

15 (3) PROHIBITION OF PAY OTHER THAN TRAVEL

16 EXPENSES.—Members of an advisory committee or

17 task force authorized under paragraph (1) shall not

18 receive pay, but may receive travel expenses pursu19 ant to the policy adopted by the Commission under

20 section 804(c)(2).

21 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem22 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

23 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au24 thorized to take under this title.

25 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROCURE AND TO MAKE LEGAL

26 AGREEMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision in this title, only the Commission may pro3 cure supplies, services, and property, and make or

4 enter into leases and other legal agreements in order

5 to carry out this title.

6 (2) RESTRICTION.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A contract, lease, or

8 other legal agreement made or entered into by

9 the Commission may not extend beyond the

10 date of the termination of the Commission.

11 (B) FEDERAL SUPPORT.—The Commission

12 shall obtain property, equipment, and office

13 space from the General Services Administration

14 or the Smithsonian Institution, unless other of15 fice space, property, or equipment is less costly.

16 (3) SUPPLIES AND PROPERTY POSSESSED BY

17 COMMISSION AT TERMINATION.—Any supplies and

18 property, except historically significant items, that

19 are acquired by the Commission under this title and

20 remain in the possession of the Commission on the

21 date of the termination of the Commission shall be22 come the property of the General Services Adminis23 tration upon the date of termination.
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1 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

2 States mails in the same manner and under the same con3 ditions as any other Federal agency.

4 SEC. 807. STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

5 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—There shall be an Exec6 utive Director appointed by the Commission and chosen

7 from among detailees from the agencies and organizations

8 represented on the Commission. The Executive Director

9 may be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate

10 of basic pay payable for the Senior Executive Service.

11 (b) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and fix

12 the pay of any additional personnel that it considers ap13 propriate, except that an individual appointed under this

14 subsection may not receive pay in excess of the maximum

15 rate of basic pay payable for GS–14 of the General Sched16 ule.

17 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

18 LAWS.—The Executive Director and staff of the Commis19 sion may be appointed without regard to the provisions

20 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in

21 the competitive service, and may be paid without regard

22 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap23 ter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General

24 Schedule pay rates, except as provided under subsections

25 (a) and (b) of this section.
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1 (d) MERIT SYSTEM PRINCIPLES.—The appointment

2 of the Executive Director or any personnel of the Commis3 sion under subsection (a) or (b) shall be made consistent

4 with the merit system principles under section 2301 of

5 title 5, United States Code.

6 (e) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

7 by the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of any

8 Federal department or agency may detail, on either a non9 reimbursable or reimbursable basis, any of the personnel

10 of the department or agency to the Commission to assist

11 the Commission to carry out its duties under this title.

12 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—

13 (1) REIMBURSABLE SERVICES.—The Secretary

14 of the Smithsonian Institution may provide to the

15 Commission on a reimbursable basis any administra16 tive support services that are necessary to enable the

17 Commission to carry out this title.

18 (2) NONREIMBURSABLE SERVICES.—The Sec19 retary may provide administrative support services

20 to the Commission on a nonreimbursable basis when,

21 in the opinion of the Secretary, the value of such

22 services is insignificant or not practical to determine.

23 (g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Commission

24 may enter into cooperative agreements with other Federal

25 agencies, State and local governments, and private inter-
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1 ests and organizations that will contribute to public aware2 ness of and interest in the centennial of powered flight

3 and toward furthering the goals and purposes of this title.

4 (h) PROGRAM SUPPORT.—The Commission may re5 ceive program support from the nonprofit sector.

6 SEC. 808. CONTRIBUTIONS.

7 (a) DONATIONS.—The Commission may accept dona8 tions of personal services and historic materials relating

9 to the implementation of its responsibilities under the pro10 visions of this title.

11 (b) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec12 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission

13 may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services

14 as the Commission determines necessary.

15 (c) REMAINING FUNDS.—Any funds (including funds

16 received from licensing royalties) remaining with the Com17 mission on the date of the termination of the Commission

18 may be used to ensure proper disposition, as specified in

19 the final report required under section 810(b), of histori20 cally significant property which was donated to or ac21 quired by the Commission. Any funds remaining after

22 such disposition shall be transferred to the Secretary of

23 the Treasury for deposit into the general fund of the

24 Treasury of the United States.
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1 SEC. 809. EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO NAME, LOGOS, EMBLEMS,

2 SEALS, AND MARKS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may devise any

4 logo, emblem, seal, or descriptive or designating mark that

5 is required to carry out its duties or that it determines

6 is appropriate for use in connection with the commemora7 tion of the centennial of powered flight.

8 (b) LICENSING.—The Commission shall have the sole

9 and exclusive right to use, or to allow or refuse the use

10 of, the name ‘‘Centennial of Flight Commission’’ on any

11 logo, emblem, seal, or descriptive or designating mark that

12 the Commission lawfully adopts.

13 (c) EFFECT ON OTHER RIGHTS.—No provision of

14 this section may be construed to conflict or interfere with

15 established or vested rights.

16 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds from licensing royalties

17 received pursuant to this section shall be used by the Com18 mission to carry out the duties of the Commission speci19 fied by this title.

20 (e) LICENSING RIGHTS.—All exclusive licensing

21 rights, unless otherwise specified, shall revert to the Air

22 and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution upon

23 termination of the Commission.

24 SEC. 810. REPORTS.

25 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—In each fiscal year in which

26 the Commission is in existence, the Commission shall pre-
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1 pare and submit to Congress a report describing the ac2 tivities of the Commission during the fiscal year. Each an3 nual report shall also include—

4 (1) recommendations regarding appropriate ac5 tivities to commemorate the centennial of powered

6 flight, including—

7 (A) the production, publication, and dis8 tribution of books, pamphlets, films, and other

9 educational materials;

10 (B) bibliographical and documentary

11 projects and publications;

12 (C) conferences, convocations, lectures,

13 seminars, and other similar programs;

14 (D) the development of exhibits for librar15 ies, museums, and other appropriate institu16 tions;

17 (E) ceremonies and celebrations commemo18 rating specific events that relate to the history

19 of aviation;

20 (F) programs focusing on the history of

21 aviation and its benefits to the United States

22 and humankind; and

23 (G) competitions, commissions, and awards

24 regarding historical, scholarly, artistic, literary,

25 musical, and other works, programs, and
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1 projects related to the centennial of powered

2 flight;

3 (2) recommendations to appropriate agencies or

4 advisory bodies regarding the issuance of commemo5 rative coins, medals, and stamps by the United

6 States relating to aviation or the centennial of pow7 ered flight;

8 (3) recommendations for any legislation or ad9 ministrative action that the Commission determines

10 to be appropriate regarding the commemoration of

11 the centennial of powered flight;

12 (4) an accounting of funds received and ex13 pended by the Commission in the fiscal year that the

14 report concerns, including a detailed description of

15 the source and amount of any funds donated to the

16 Commission in the fiscal year; and

17 (5) an accounting of any cooperative agree18 ments and contract agreements entered into by the

19 Commission.

20 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2004,

21 the Commission shall submit to the President and Con22 gress a final report. The final report shall contain—

23 (1) a summary of the activities of the Commis24 sion;
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1 (2) a final accounting of funds received and ex2 pended by the Commission;

3 (3) any findings and conclusions of the Com4 mission; and

5 (4) specific recommendations concerning the

6 final disposition of any historically significant items

7 acquired by the Commission, including items do8 nated to the Commission under section 808(a)(1).

9 SEC. 811. AUDIT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—

11 (1) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the

12 United States shall audit on an annual basis the fi13 nancial transactions of the Commission, including fi14 nancial transactions involving donated funds, in ac15 cordance with generally accepted auditing standards.

16 (2) ACCESS.—In conducting an audit under

17 this section, the Comptroller General—

18 (A) shall have access to all books, ac19 counts, financial records, reports, files, and

20 other papers, items, or property in use by the

21 Commission, as necessary to facilitate the audit;

22 and

23 (B) shall be afforded full facilities for veri24 fying the financial transactions of the Commis25 sion, including access to any financial records
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1 or securities held for the Commission by deposi2 tories, fiscal agents, or custodians.

3 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than September 30,

4 2004, the Comptroller General of the United States shall

5 submit to the President and to Congress a report detailing

6 the results of any audit of the financial transactions of

7 the Commission conducted by the Comptroller General.

8 SEC. 812. ADVISORY BOARD.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a First

10 Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board.

11 (b) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be com13 posed of 19 members as follows:

14 (A) The Secretary of the Interior, or the

15 designee of the Secretary.

16 (B) The Librarian of Congress, or the des17 ignee of the Librarian.

18 (C) The Secretary of the Air Force, or the

19 designee of the Secretary.

20 (D) The Secretary of the Navy, or the des21 ignee of the Secretary.

22 (E) The Secretary of Transportation, or

23 the designee of the Secretary.

24 (F) Six citizens of the United States, ap25 pointed by the President, who—
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1 (i) are not officers or employees of

2 any government (except membership on

3 the Board shall not be construed to apply

4 to the limitation under this clause); and

5 (ii) shall be selected based on their ex6 perience in the fields of aerospace history,

7 science, or education, or their ability to

8 represent the entities enumerated under

9 section 805(a)(2).

10 (G) Four citizens of the United States, ap11 pointed by the majority leader of the Senate in

12 consultation with the minority leader of the

13 Senate.

14 (H) Four citizens of the United States, ap15 pointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep16 resentatives in consultation with the minority

17 leader of the House of Representatives. Of the

18 individuals appointed under this

19 subparagraph—

20 (i) one shall be selected from among

21 individuals recommended by the represent22 ative whose district encompasses the

23 Wright Brothers National Memorial; and

24 (ii) one shall be selected from among

25 individuals recommended by the represent-
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1 atives whose districts encompass any part

2 of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National

3 Historical Park.

4 (c) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Advisory Board

5 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original

6 designation was made.

7 (d) MEETINGS.—Seven members of the Advisory

8 Board shall constitute a quorum for a meeting. All meet9 ings shall be open to the public.

10 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall designate 1

11 member appointed under subsection (b)(1)(F) as chair12 person of the Advisory Board.

13 (f) MAILS.—The Advisory Board may use the United

14 States mails in the same manner and under the same con15 ditions as a Federal agency.

16 (g) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall advise the

17 Commission on matters related to this title.

18 (h) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OTHER THAN

19 TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Advisory Board

20 shall not receive pay, but may receive travel expenses pur21 suant to the policy adopted by the Commission under sec22 tion 804(e).

23 (i) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Board shall termi24 nate upon the termination of the Commission.
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1 SEC. 813. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title:

3 (1) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘‘Advisory

4 Board’’ means the Centennial of Flight Federal Ad5 visory Board.

6 (2) CENTENNIAL OF POWERED FLIGHT.—The

7 term ‘‘centennial of powered flight’’ means the anni8 versary year, from December 2002 to December

9 2003, commemorating the 100-year history of avia10 tion beginning with the First Flight and highlighting

11 the achievements of the Wright brothers in develop12 ing the technologies which have led to the develop13 ment of aviation as it is known today.

14 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

15 means the Centennial of Flight Commission.

16 (4) DESIGNEE.—The term ‘‘designee’’ means a

17 person from the respective entity of each entity rep18 resented on the Commission or Advisory Board.

19 (5) FIRST FLIGHT.—The term ‘‘First Flight’’

20 means the first four successful manned, free, con21 trolled, and sustained flights by a power-driven,

22 heavier-than-air machine, which were accomplished

23 by Orville and Wilbur Wright of Dayton, Ohio on

24 December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
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1 SEC. 814. TERMINATION.

2 The Commission shall terminate not later than 60

3 days after the submission of the final report required by

4 section 810(b) and shall transfer all documents and mate5 rial to the National Archives or other appropriate Federal

6 entity.

7 SEC. 815. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

9 this title—

10 (1) $250,000 for fiscal year 1999;

11 (2) $600,000 for fiscal year 2000;

12 (3) $750,000 for fiscal year 2001;

13 (4) $900,000 for fiscal year 2002;

14 (5) $900,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

15 (6) $600,000 for fiscal year 2004.

16 TITLE IX—EXTENSION OF AIR17 PORT AND AIRWAY TRUST

18 FUND EXPENDITURE AU19 THORITY

20 SEC. 901. EXTENSION OF EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 9502(d)

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to expendi23 tures from Airport and Airway Trust Fund) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘October 1, 1998’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘October 1, 2000’’; and
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1 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

2 of subparagraph (A) the following ‘‘or the Wendell

3 H. Ford National Air Transportation System Im4 provement Act of 1998’’.

5 (b) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.—

6 Section 9502 of such Code is amended by adding at the

7 end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), no amount may be appropriated or cred11 ited to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund on and

12 after the date of any expenditure from the Airport

13 and Airway Trust Fund which is not permitted by

14 this section. The determination of whether an ex15 penditure is so permitted shall be made without re16 gard to—

17 ‘‘(A) any provision of law which is not con18 tained or referenced in this title or in a revenue

19 Act; and

20 ‘‘(B) whether such provision of law is a

21 subsequently enacted provision or directly or in22 directly seeks to waive the application of this

23 subsection.

24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR OBLIGATIONS.—

25 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any expenditure to
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1 liquidate any contract entered into (or for any

2 amount otherwise obligated) before October 1, 2000,

3 in accordance with the provisions of this section.’’.

Æ