II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 82

To authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mr. LOTT, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr.

FRIST, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. GORTON, and Mr.

DORGAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation

Administration, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF SECTIONS.

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

5 ‘‘Air Transportation Improvement Act’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of sections.

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

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATIONS
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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. 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. Report on efforts to implement capacity enhancements.

Sec. 207. Prioritization of discretionary projects.

Sec. 208. Public notice before grant assurance requirement waived.

Sec. 209. Definition of public aircraft.

Sec. 210. Terminal development costs.

Sec. 211. Airfield pavement conditions.

Sec. 212. 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. Extension of Aviation Insurance Program.

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—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Oversight of FAA response to year 2000 problem.

Sec. 402. Cargo collision avoidance systems deadline.

Sec. 403. Runway safety areas; precision approach path indicators.

Sec. 404. Airplane emergency locators.

Sec. 405. Counterfeit aircraft parts.

Sec. 406. FAA may fine unruly passengers.

Sec. 407. Higher standards for handicapped access.

Sec. 408. Conveyances of United States Government land.

Sec. 409. Flight operations quality assurance rules.

Sec. 410. Wide area augmentation system.

Sec. 411. Regulation of Alaska air guides.

Sec. 412. Application of FAA regulations.

Sec. 413. Human factors program.

Sec. 414. Independent validation of FAA costs and allocations.
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Sec. 415. Whistleblower protection for FAA employees.

Sec. 416. Report on modernization of oceanic ATC system.

Sec. 417. Report on air transportation oversight system.

Sec. 418. Recycling of EIS.

Sec. 419. Protection of employees providing air safety information.

Sec. 420. Improvements to air navigation facilities.

Sec. 421. Denial of airport access to certain air carriers.

Sec. 422. Tourism.

Sec. 423. Equivalency of FAA and EU safety standards.

Sec. 424. Sense of the Senate on property taxes on public-use airports.

Sec. 425. Federal Aviation Administration Personnel Management System.

Sec. 426. Aircraft and aviation component repair and maintenance advisory

panel.

Sec. 427. Report on enhanced domestic airline competition.

Sec. 428. Aircraft situational display data.

Sec. 429. To express the sense of the Senate concerning a bilateral agreement

between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding

Charlotte-London route.

Sec. 430. To express the sense of the Senate concerning a bilateral agreement

between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding

Cleveland-London route.

Sec. 431. Allocation of Trust Fund funding.

Sec. 432. Taos Pueblo and Blue Lakes Wilderness Area demonstration project.

Sec. 433. Airline marketing disclosure.

Sec. 434. Certain air traffic control towers.

Sec. 435. Compensation under the Death on the High Seas Act.

TITLE V—AVIATION COMPETITION PROMOTION

Sec. 501. Purpose.

Sec. 502. Establishment of small community aviation development program.

Sec. 503. Community-carrier air service program.

Sec. 504. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 505. Marketing practices.

Sec. 506. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet service.

Sec. 507. Exemptions to perimeter rule at Ronald Reagan Washington National

Airport.

Sec. 508. Additional slot exemptions at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Sec. 509. Consumer notification of e-ticket expiration dates.

Sec. 510. Regional air service incentive options.

Sec. 511. GAO study of air transportation needs.

TITLE VI—NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHTS

Sec. 601. Findings.

Sec. 602. Air tour management plans for national parks.

Sec. 603. Advisory group.

Sec. 604. Overflight fee report.

Sec. 605. Prohibition of commercial air tours over the Rocky Mountain National Park.

TITLE VII—TITLE 49 TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

Sec. 701. Restatement of 49 U.S.C. 106(g).

Sec. 702. Restatement of 49 U.S.C. 44909.
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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.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

16 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for

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

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

19 2000. Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated

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

21 be used to support air safety efforts through pay22 ment of United States membership obligations, to be

23 paid as soon as practicable.

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

25 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1)

26 $450,000 may be used for wildlife hazard mitigation
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1 measures and management of the wildlife strike

2 database of the Federal Aviation Administration.

3 ‘‘(3) UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM.—There are au4 thorized to be appropriated not more than

5 $9,100,000 for the 3 fiscal year period beginning

6 with fiscal year 1999 to support a university consor7 tium established to provide an air safety and secu8 rity management certificate program, working coop9 eratively with the Federal Aviation Administration

10 and United States air carriers. Funds authorized

11 under this paragraph—

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

13 of a building or other facility; and

14 ‘‘(B) shall be awarded on the basis of open

15 competition.’’.

16 (b) COORDINATION.—The authority granted the Sec17 retary under section 41720 of title 49, United States

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

19 other provision of law.

20 SEC. 102. AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

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

22 striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the follow23 ing:

24 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 1999—
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1 ‘‘(A) $222,800,000 for engineering, devel2 opment, test, and evaluation: en route pro3 grams;

4 ‘‘(B) $74,700,000 for engineering, develop5 ment, test, and evaluation: terminal programs;

6 ‘‘(C) $108,000,000 for engineering, devel7 opment, test, and evaluation: landing and navi8 gational aids;

9 ‘‘(D) $17,790,000 for engineering, develop10 ment, test, and evaluation: research, test, and

11 evaluation equipment and facilities programs;

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

13 facilities and equipment: en route programs;

14 ‘‘(F) $492,315,500 for air traffic control

15 facilities and equipment: terminal programs;

16 ‘‘(G) $38,764,400 for air traffic control fa17 cilities and equipment: flight services programs;

18 ‘‘(H) $50,500,000 for air traffic control fa19 cilities and equipment: other ATC facilities pro20 grams;

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

22 and equipment programs;

23 ‘‘(J) $14,500,000 for training and equip24 ment facilities programs;
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1 ‘‘(K) $280,800,000 for mission support

2 programs;

3 ‘‘(L) $235,210,000 for personnel and re4 lated expenses; and

5 ‘‘(2) $2,189,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.

6 (b) CONTINUATION OF ILS INVENTORY PROGRAM.—

7 Section 44502(a)(4)(B) is amended—

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

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

10 (2) by striking ‘‘acquisition,’’ and inserting ‘‘ac11 quisition under new or existing contracts,’’.

12 (c) LIFE-CYCLE COST ESTIMATES.—The Adminis13 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab14 lish life-cycle cost estimates for any air traffic control

15 modernization project the total life-cycle costs of which

16 equal or exceed $50,000,000.

17 SEC. 103. AIRPORT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND

18 NOISE COMPATIBILITY PLANNING AND PRO19 GRAMS.

20 (a) EXTENSION AND AUTHORIZATION.—Section

21 48103 is amended by striking ‘‘$1,205,000,000 for the 6-

22 month period beginning October 1, 1998.’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘$2,410,000,000 for fiscal years ending before October 1,

24 1999, and $4,885,000,000 for fiscal years ending before

25 October 1, 2000.’’.
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1 (b) PROJECT GRANT AUTHORITY.—Section 47104(c)

2 is amended by striking ‘‘March 31, 1999,’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘September 30, 2000,’’.

4 SEC. 104. REPROGRAMMING NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

5 Before reprogramming any amounts appropriated

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

7 United States Code, for which notification of the Commit8 tees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of

9 Representatives is required, the Secretary of Transpor10 tation shall submit a written explanation of the proposed

11 reprogramming to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

12 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep14 resentatives.

15 SEC. 105. AIRPORT SECURITY PROGRAM.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 471 (as amended by sec17 tion 202(a) of this Act) is amended by adding at the end

18 thereof the following new section:

19 ‘‘§ 47136. Airport security program

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

21 public airports in the United States, the Secretary of

22 Transportation shall carry out not less than 1 project to

23 test and evaluate innovative airport security systems and

24 related technology.
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1 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the

2 Secretary shall give the highest priority to a request from

3 an eligible sponsor for a grant to undertake a project

4 that—

5 ‘‘(1) evaluates and tests the benefits of innova6 tive airport security systems or related technology,

7 including explosives detection systems, for the pur8 pose of improving airport and aircraft physical secu9 rity and access control; and

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

11 security systems and technology in an operational,

12 test bed environment.

13 ‘‘(c) MATCHING SHARE.—Notwithstanding section

14 47109, the United States Government’s share of allowable

15 project costs for a project under this section is 100 per16 cent.

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

18 establish such terms and conditions as the Secretary de19 termines appropriate for carrying out a project under this

20 section, including terms and conditions relating to the

21 form and content of a proposal for a project, project assur22 ances, and schedule of payments.

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

24 the term ‘eligible sponsor’ means a nonprofit corporation

25 composed of a consortium of public and private persons,
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1 including a sponsor of a primary airport, with the nec2 essary engineering and technical expertise to successfully

3 conduct the testing and evaluation of airport and aircraft

4 related security systems.

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

6 amounts made available to the Secretary under section

7 47115 in a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make available

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

9 this section.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy11 sis for such chapter (as amended by section 202(b) of this

12 Act) is amended by inserting after the item relating to

13 section 47135 the following:

‘‘47136. Airport security program.’’.

14 SEC. 106. AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVATION SYSTEM

15 STATIONS.

16 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis17 tration shall not terminate human weather observers for

18 Automated Surface Observation System stations until—

19 (1) the Secretary of Transportation determines

20 that the System provides consistent reporting of

21 changing meteorological conditions and notifies the

22 Congress in writing of that determination; and

23 (2) 60 days have passed since the report was

24 submitted to the Congress.
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1 TITLE II—AIRPORT IMPROVE2 MENT PROGRAM AMEND3 MENTS

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

5 Section 47115(g) is amended by striking paragraph

6 (4).

7 SEC. 202. INNOVATIVE USE OF AIRPORT GRANT FUNDS.

8 (a) CODIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF 1996 PRO9 GRAM.—Subchapter I of chapter 471 is amended by add10 ing at the end thereof the following:

11 ‘‘§ 47135. Innovative financing techniques

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

13 is authorized to carry out a demonstration program under

14 which the Secretary may approve applications under this

15 subchapter for not more than 20 projects for which grants

16 received under the subchapter may be used to implement

17 innovative financing techniques.

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

19 program shall be to provide information on the use of in20 novative financing techniques for airport development

21 projects.

22 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION—In no case shall the implementa23 tion of an innovative financing technique under this sec24 tion be used in a manner giving rise to a direct or indirect
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1 guarantee of any airport debt instrument by the United

2 States Government.

3 ‘‘(d) INNOVATIVE FINANCING TECHNIQUE DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘innovative financing

5 technique’ includes methods of financing projects that the

6 Secretary determines may be beneficial to airport develop7 ment, including—

8 ‘‘(1) payment of interest;

9 ‘‘(2) commercial bond insurance and other cred10 it enhancement associated with airport bonds for eli11 gible airport development; and

12 ‘‘(3) flexible non-Federal matching require13 ments.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy15 sis for chapter 471 is amended by inserting after the item

16 relating to section 47134 the following:

‘‘47135. Innovative financing techniques.’’.

17 SEC. 203. MATCHING SHARE.

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

19 more than’’ before ‘‘90 percent’’.

20 SEC. 204. INCREASE IN APPORTIONMENT FOR NOISE COM21 PATIBILITY PLANNING AND PROGRAMS.

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

23 each time it appears and substituting ‘‘35’’.
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1 SEC. 205. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

2 (a) USE OF APPORTIONMENTS FOR ALASKA, PUERTO

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

4 read as follows:

5 ‘‘(3) An amount apportioned under paragraph

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

7 or Puerto Rico may be made available by the Sec8 retary for any public airport in those respective ju9 risdictions.’’.

10 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL APPORTIONMENT FOR ALAS11 KA.—Section 47114(e) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘ALTERNATIVE’’ in the sub13 section caption and inserting ‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL’’;

14 (2) in paragraph (1) by—

15 (A) striking ‘‘Instead of apportioning

16 amounts for airports in Alaska under’’ and in17 serting ‘‘Notwithstanding’’; and

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

19 ‘‘airports in Alaska’’; and

20 (3) striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(3) An amount apportioned under this sub23 section may be used for any public airport in Alas24 ka.’’.

25 (c) REPEAL OF APPORTIONMENT LIMITATION ON

26 COMMERCIAL SERVICE AIRPORTS IN ALASKA.—Section
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1 47117 is amended by striking subsection (f) and redesig2 nating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g),

3 respectively.

4 (d) DISCRETIONARY FUND DEFINITION.—

5 (1) Section 47115 is amended—

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

7 inserting ‘‘12.5’’; and

8 (B) by striking the second sentence in sub9 section (b).

10 (2) Section 47116 is amended—

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

12 inserting ‘‘87.5’’;

13 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and

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

15 (B), respectively, and inserting before subpara16 graph (A), as so redesignated, the following:

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

18 hub airports (as defined in section 41731 of this

19 title); and

20 ‘‘(2) the remaining amounts based on the fol21 lowing:’’.

22 (e) CONTINUATION OF PROJECT FUNDING.—Section

23 47108 is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow24 ing:
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1 ‘‘(e) CHANGE IN AIRPORT STATUS.—If the status of

2 a primary airport changes to a nonprimary airport at a

3 time when a development project under a multiyear agree4 ment under subsection (a) is not yet completed, the project

5 shall remain eligible for funding from discretionary funds

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

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

8 availability of funds.’’.

9 (f) GRANT ELIGIBILITY FOR PRIVATE RELIEVER

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

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

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

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

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

15 a reliever airport, received Federal aid for

16 airport development prior to October 9,

17 1996, but only if the Administrator issues

18 revised administrative guidance after July

19 1, 1998, for the designation of reliever air20 ports; or’’.

21 (g) RELIEVER AIRPORTS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR LET22 TERS OF INTENT.—Section 47110(e)(1) is amended by

23 striking ‘‘or reliever’’.
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1 (h) PASSENGER FACILITY FEE WAIVER FOR CER2 TAIN CLASS OF CARRIERS.—Section 40117(e)(2) is

3 amended—

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

5 subparagraph (B);

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

7 and inserting ‘‘payment; and’’; and

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

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

10 a seating capacity of less than 20 passengers.’’.

11 (i) PASSENGER FACILITY FEE WAIVER FOR CERTAIN

12 CLASS OF CARRIERS OR FOR SERVICE TO AIRPORTS IN

13 ISOLATED COMMUNITIES.—Section 40117(i) is

14 amended—

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

16 (1);

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

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

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

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

21 collection of a passenger facility fee be waived for—

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

23 air carrier or foreign air carrier if the number

24 of passengers enplaned by the carriers in the

25 class constitutes not more than one percent of
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1 the total number of passengers enplaned annu2 ally at the airport at which the fee is imposed;

3 or

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

5 airport—

6 ‘‘(i) that has fewer than 2,500 pas7 senger boardings each year and receives

8 scheduled passenger service; or

9 ‘‘(ii) in a community which has a pop10 ulation of less than 10,000 and is not con11 nected by a land highway or vehicular way

12 to the land-connected National Highway

13 System within a State.’’.

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

15 AIRPORTS IN SURPLUS PROPERTY DISPOSAL.—

16 (1) Section 47151 is amended—

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

18 and inserting ‘‘convey to’’;

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

20 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

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

22 and inserting ‘‘conveying’’;

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

24 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’; and
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1 (E) by adding at the end thereof the fol2 lowing:

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

4 requests from another Federal agency, a department,

5 agency, or instrumentality of the Executive Branch of the

6 United States Government shall give priority to a request

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

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

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

10 (2) Section 47152 is amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘gifts’’ in the section cap12 tion and inserting ‘‘conveyances’’; and

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

14 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’.

15 (3) The chapter analysis for chapter 471 is

16 amended by striking the item relating to section

17 47152 and inserting the following:

‘‘47152. Terms of conveyances.’’.

18 (4) Section 47153(a) is amended—

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

20 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’;

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

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

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

24 and inserting ‘‘conveyance’’.
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1 (k) APPORTIONMENT FOR CARGO ONLY AIRPORTS.—

2 Section 47114(c)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘2.5 per3 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘3 percent’’.

4 (l) FLEXIBILITY IN PAVEMENT DESIGN STAND5 ARDS.—Section 47114(d) is amended by adding at the end

6 thereof the following:

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

8 highway specifications for airfield pavement con9 struction using funds made available under this sub10 section at nonprimary airports with runways of

11 5,000 feet or shorter serving aircraft that do not ex12 ceed 60,000 pounds gross weight, if the Secretary

13 determines that—

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

15 and

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

17 shorter than it would be if constructed using

18 Administration standards.

19 An airport may not seek funds under this sub20 chapter for runway rehabilitation or reconstruction

21 of any such airfield pavement constructed using

22 State highway specifications for a period of 10 years

23 after construction is completed.’’.
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1 SEC. 206. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAPACITY

2 ENHANCEMENTS.

3 Within 9 months after the date of enactment of this

4 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the

5 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

6 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In7 frastructure of the House of Representatives on efforts by

8 the Federal Aviation Administration to implement capac9 ity enhancements and improvements, such as precision

10 runway monitoring systems, and the time frame for imple11 mentation of such enhancements and improvements.

12 SEC. 207. PRIORITIZATION OF DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS.

13 Section 47120 is amended by—

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

15 ‘‘In’’; and

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

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

18 HIGHER PRIORITY PROJECTS.—The Administrator of the

19 Federal Aviation Administration shall discourage airport

20 sponsors and airports from using entitlement funds for

21 lower priority projects by giving lower priority to discre22 tionary projects submitted by airport sponsors and air23 ports that have used entitlement funds for projects that

24 have a lower priority than the projects for which discre25 tionary funds are being requested.’’.
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1 SEC. 208. PUBLIC NOTICE BEFORE GRANT ASSURANCE RE2 QUIREMENT WAIVED.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law to the contrary, the Secretary of Transpor5 tation may not waive any assurance required under section

6 47107 of title 49, United States Code, that requires prop7 erty to be used for aeronautical purposes unless the Sec8 retary provides notice to the public not less than 30 days

9 before issuing any such waiver. Nothing in this section

10 shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to issue a

11 waiver of any assurance required under that section.

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

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

14 SEC. 209. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC AIRCRAFT.

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

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

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

18 and inserting ‘‘States; or’’; and

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

20 ‘‘(III) transporting persons

21 aboard the aircraft if the aircraft is

22 operated for the purpose of prisoner

23 transport.’’.

24 SEC. 210. TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS.

25 Section 40117 is amended by adding at the end

26 thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘(j) SHELL OF TERMINAL BUILDING.—In order to

2 enable additional air service by an air carrier with less

3 than 50 percent of the scheduled passenger traffic at an

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

5 building (including heating, ventilation, and air condi6 tioning) and aircraft fueling facilities adjacent to an air7 port terminal building to be an eligible airport-related

8 project under subsection (a)(3)(E).’’.

9 SEC. 211. AIRFIELD PAVEMENT CONDITIONS.

10 (a) EVALUATION OF OPTIONS.—The Administrator

11 of the Federal Aviation Administration shall evaluate op12 tions for improving the quality of information available to

13 the Administration on airfield pavement conditions for air14 ports that are part of the national air transportation sys15 tem, including—

16 (1) improving the existing runway condition in17 formation contained in the Airport Safety Data Pro18 gram by reviewing and revising rating criteria and

19 providing increased training for inspectors;

20 (2) requiring such airports to submit pavement

21 condition index information as part of their airport

22 master plan or as support in applications for airport

23 improvement grants; and

24 (3) requiring all such airports to submit pave25 ment condition index information on a regular basis
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1 and using this information to create a pavement

2 condition database that could be used in evaluating

3 the cost-effectiveness of project applications and

4 forecasting anticipated pavement needs.

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

6 transmit a report, containing an evaluation of such op7 tions, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,

8 and Transportation and the House of Representatives

9 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure not later

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

11 SEC. 212. DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.

12 Notwithstanding any limitation on the amount of

13 funds that may be expended for grants for noise abate14 ment, if any funds made available under section 48103

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

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

17 available, and are not allocated under section 47115 of

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

19 awarding of discretionary grants from unobligated funds

20 made available under section 48103 of that title, the Sec21 retary of Transportation may use those funds to make dis22 cretionary grants for noise abatement activities.
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1 TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO

2 AVIATION LAW

3 SEC. 301. SEVERABLE SERVICES CONTRACTS FOR PERIODS

4 CROSSING FISCAL YEARS.

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

6 thereof the following:

7 ‘‘§ 40125. Severable services contracts for periods

8 crossing fiscal years

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Fed10 eral Aviation Administration may enter into a contract for

11 procurement of severable services for a period that begins

12 in one fiscal year and ends in the next fiscal year if (with13 out regard to any option to extend the period of the con14 tract) the contract period does not exceed one year.

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

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

17 of a contract entered into under the authority of sub18 section (a) of this section.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy20 sis for chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end there21 of the following:

‘‘40125. Severable services contracts for periods crossing fiscal years.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. FOREIGN CARRIERS ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVER

2 UNDER AIRPORT NOISE AND CAPACITY ACT.

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

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

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

6 it appears.

7 SEC. 303. GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.

8 Section 44903 is amended by adding at the end

9 thereof the following:

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

11 The Administrator may establish at airports such consor12 tia of government and aviation industry representatives as

13 the Administrator may designate to provide advice on mat14 ters related to aviation security and safety. Such consortia

15 shall not be considered federal advisory committees for

16 purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

17 U.S.C. App.).’’.

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

19 CHICAGO CONVENTION.

20 Section 44701 is amended—

21 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub22 section (f); and

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow24 ing:

25 ‘‘(e) BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVER26 SIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this

2 chapter, and pursuant to Article 83 bis of the Con3 vention on International Civil Aviation, the Adminis4 trator may, by a bilateral agreement with the aero5 nautical authorities of another country, exchange

6 with that country all or part of their respective func7 tions and duties with respect to aircraft described in

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B), under the following ar9 ticles of the Convention:

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

11 ‘‘(B) Article 31 (Certificates of Airworthi12 ness).

13 ‘‘(C) Article 32a (Licenses of Personnel).

14 ‘‘(2) The agreement under paragraph (1) may

15 apply to—

16 ‘‘(A) aircraft registered in the United

17 States operated pursuant to an agreement for

18 the lease, charter, or interchange of the aircraft

19 or any similar arrangement by an operator that

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

21 no such place of business, its permanent resi22 dence, in another country; or

23 ‘‘(B) aircraft registered in a foreign coun24 try operated under an agreement for the lease,

25 charter, or interchange of the aircraft or any
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1 similar arrangement by an operator that has its

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

3 place of business, its permanent residence, in

4 the United States.

5 ‘‘(3) The Administrator relinquishes responsibil6 ity with respect to the functions and duties trans7 ferred by the Administrator as specified in the bilat8 eral agreement, under the Articles listed in para9 graph (1) of this subsection for United States-reg10 istered aircraft transferred abroad as described in

11 subparagraph (A) of that paragraph, and accepts re12 sponsibility with respect to the functions and duties

13 under those Articles for aircraft registered abroad

14 that are transferred to the United States as de15 scribed in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph.

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

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

18 functions and duties on any conditions the Adminis19 trator deems necessary and prudent.’’.

20 SEC. 305. FOREIGN AVIATION SERVICES AUTHORITY.

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

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

23 entity obtaining services outside the United States.’’.
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1 SEC. 306. FLEXIBILITY TO PERFORM CRIMINAL HISTORY

2 RECORD CHECKS; TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

3 TO PILOT RECORDS IMPROVEMENT ACT.

4 Section 44936 is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C))’’ in sub6 section (a)(1)(B) and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C),

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

8 screening at airports, the Administrator decides it is

9 necessary to ensure air transportation security)’’;

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

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

12 as a pilot’’; and

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

14 or entity that employed the individual,’’ in sub15 section (f)(14)(B) after ‘‘exists,’’.

16 SEC. 307. EXTENSION OF AVIATION INSURANCE PROGRAM.

17 Section 44310 is amended by striking ‘‘March 31,

18 1999.’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2003.’’.

19 SEC. 308. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO CIVIL PENALTY

20 PROVISIONS.

21 Section 46301 is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘46302, 46303, or’’ in sub23 section (a)(1)(A);

24 (2) by striking ‘‘individual’’ the first time it ap25 pears in subsection (d)(7)(A) and inserting ‘‘per26 son’’; and
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1 (3) by inserting ‘‘or the Administrator’’ in sub2 section (g) after ‘‘Secretary’’.

3 SEC. 309. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR PILOTS OPERATING IN

4 AIR TRANSPORTATION WITHOUT AN AIR5 MAN’S CERTIFICATE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 463 is amended by add7 ing at the end the following:

8 ‘‘§ 46317. Criminal penalty for pilots operating in air

9 transportation without an airman’s cer10 tificate

11 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—This section applies only to air12 craft used to provide air transportation.

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

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

15 3 years, or both, if that individual—

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

17 to serve in any capacity as an airman without an

18 airman’s certificate authorizing the individual to

19 serve in that capacity; or

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

21 or uses in any capacity as an airman an individual

22 who does not have an airman’s certificate authoriz23 ing the individual to serve in that capacity.

24 ‘‘(c) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE CRIMINAL PEN25 ALTY.—(1) In this subsection, the term ‘controlled sub-
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1 stance’ has the same meaning given that term in section

2 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and

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

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

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

6 or both, if the violation is related to transporting a con7 trolled substance by aircraft or aiding or facilitating a con8 trolled substance violation and that transporting, aiding,

9 or facilitating—

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

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

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

13 imprisonment for more than 1 year under a Federal

14 or State law related to a controlled substance (ex15 cept a law related to simple possession (as that term

16 is used in section 46306(c)) of a controlled sub17 stance).

18 ‘‘(3) A term of imprisonment imposed under para19 graph (2) shall be served in addition to, and not concur20 rently with, any other term of imprisonment imposed on

21 the individual subject to the imprisonment.’’.

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis

23 for chapter 463 is amended by adding at the end thereof

24 the following:

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

airman’s certificate.’’.
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1 SEC. 310. NONDISCRIMINATORY INTERLINE INTERCONNEC2 TION REQUIREMENTS.

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

4 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

5 ‘‘§ 41717. Interline agreements for domestic transpor6 tation

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

8 major air carrier that provides air service to an essential

9 airport facility has any agreement involving ticketing, bag10 gage and ground handling, and terminal and gate access

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

12 any requesting air carrier that offers service to a commu13 nity selected for participation in the program under sec14 tion 41743 under similar terms and conditions and on a

15 nondiscriminatory basis within 30 days after receiving the

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

17 safety, service, financial, and maintenance requirements,

18 if any, as the Secretary may by regulation establish con19 sistent with public convenience and necessity. The Sec20 retary must review any proposed agreement to determine

21 if the requesting carrier meets operational requirements

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

23 major carrier. This agreement may be terminated by ei24 ther party in the event of failure to meet the standards

25 and conditions outlined in the agreement.’’.
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1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the term ‘essen2 tial airport facility’ means a large hub airport (as defined

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

4 which one carrier has more than 50 percent of such air5 port’s total annual enplanements.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis

7 for subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at

8 the end thereof the following:

‘‘41717. Interline agreements for domestic transportation.’’.

9 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

10 SEC. 401. OVERSIGHT OF FAA RESPONSE TO YEAR 2000

11 PROBLEM.

12 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis13 tration shall report to the Senate Committee on Com14 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House Com15 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure every 3

16 months, in oral or written form, on electronic data proc17 essing problems associated with the year 2000 within the

18 Administration.

19 SEC. 402. CARGO COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS DEAD20 LINE.

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

22 Aviation Administration shall require by regulation that,

23 not later than December 31, 2002, collision avoidance

24 equipment be installed on each cargo aircraft with a pay25 load capacity of 15,000 kilograms or more.
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1 (b) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may extend the

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

3 years if the Administrator finds that the extension is need4 ed to promote—

5 (1) a safe and orderly transition to the oper6 ation of a fleet of cargo aircraft equipped with colli7 sion avoidance equipment; or

8 (2) other safety or public interest objectives.

9 (c) COLLISION AVOIDANCE EQUIPMENT.—For pur10 poses of this section, the term ‘‘collision avoidance equip11 ment’’ means TCAS II equipment (as defined by the Ad12 ministrator), or any other similar system approved by the

13 Administration for collision avoidance purposes.

14 SEC. 403. RUNWAY SAFETY AREAS; PRECISION APPROACH

15 PATH INDICATORS.

16 Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this

17 Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis18 tration shall solicit comments on the need for—

19 (1) the improvement of runway safety areas;

20 and

21 (2) the installation of precision approach path

22 indicators.

23 SEC. 404. AIRPLANE EMERGENCY LOCATORS.

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

25 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(b) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (a) does not

2 apply to aircraft when used in—

3 ‘‘(1) scheduled flights by scheduled air carriers

4 holding certificates issued by the Secretary of Trans5 portation under subpart II of this part;

6 ‘‘(2) training operations conducted entirely

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

8 the training operations begin;

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

10 testing, manufacture, preparation, and delivery of

11 aircraft;

12 ‘‘(4) showing compliance with regulations, exhi13 bition, or air racing; or

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

15 agricultural purpose.’’.

16 (b) COMPLIANCE.—Section 44712 is amended by re17 designating subsection (c) as subsection (d), and by insert18 ing after subsection (b) the following:

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

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

21 an emergency locator transmitter that transmits on the

22 121.5/243 megahertz frequency or the 406 megahertz fre23 quency, or with other equipment approved by the Sec24 retary for meeting the requirement of subsection (a).’’.

25 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; REGULATIONS.—
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1 (1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Trans2 portation shall promulgate regulations under section

3 44712(b) of title 49, United States Code, as amend4 ed by this section not later than January 1, 2002.

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

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

7 SEC. 405. COUNTERFEIT AIRCRAFT PARTS.

8 (a) DENIAL; REVOCATION; AMENDMENT OF CERTIFI9 CATE.—

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

11 adding at the end thereof the following:

12 ‘‘§ 44725. Denial and revocation of certificate for

13 counterfeit parts violations

14 ‘‘(a) DENIAL OF CERTIFICATE.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2) of this subsection and subsection (e)(2) of

17 this section, the Administrator may not issue a cer18 tificate under this chapter to any person—

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

20 the United States or of a State relating to the

21 installation, production, repair, or sale of a

22 counterfeit or falsely-represented aviation part

23 or material; or
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1 ‘‘(B) subject to a controlling or ownership

2 interest of an individual convicted of such a vio3 lation.

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

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

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

7 if issuance of the certificate will facilitate law en8 forcement efforts.

9 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub11 sections (f) and (g) of this section, the Adminis12 trator shall issue an order revoking a certificate

13 issued under this chapter if the Administrator finds

14 that the holder of the certificate, or an individual

15 who has a controlling or ownership interest in the

16 holder—

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

18 of the United States or of a State relating to

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

20 counterfeit or falsely-represented aviation part

21 or material; or

22 ‘‘(B) knowingly carried out or facilitated

23 an activity punishable under such a law.

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

25 In carrying out paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
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1 Administrator may not review whether a person vio2 lated such a law.

3 ‘‘(c) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—Before the Adminis4 trator revokes a certificate under subsection (b), the Ad5 ministrator shall—

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

7 reason for the revocation; and

8 ‘‘(2) provide the holder of the certificate an op9 portunity to be heard on why the certificate should

10 not be revoked.

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

12 apply to the appeal of a revocation order under subsection

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

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

15 place it appears.

16 ‘‘(e) ACQUITTAL OR REVERSAL.—

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

18 revoke, and the Board may not affirm a revocation

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

20 section if the holder of the certificate, or the individ21 ual, is acquitted of all charges related to the viola22 tion.

23 ‘‘(2) REISSUANCE.—The Administrator may re24 issue a certificate revoked under subsection (b) of

25 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-
39

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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.’’.
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1 SEC. 406. 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:
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‘‘46316. Interference with cabin or flight crew.

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

1 SEC. 407. 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
42

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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. 408. 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
43

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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. 409. 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. 410. 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. 411. 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. 412. 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. 413. 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 Air Transpor16 tation Improvement Act, to address critical safety

17 problems, including problems of pilots—

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

19 the aircraft, including handling unusual atti20 tudes and mechanical malfunctions;

21 ‘‘(B) in deviating from standard operating

22 procedures, including inappropriate responses to

23 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. 414. 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. 415. 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. 416. 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. 417. REPORT ON AIR TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT

2 SYSTEM.

3 Beginning in 2000, 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. 418. 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. 419. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES PROVIDING AIR

23 SAFETY INFORMATION.

24 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Chapter 421 is amended by

25 adding at the end the 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 is amended by adding at the end the

11 following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM

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

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

13 amended by striking ‘‘subchapter II of chapter 421,’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘subchapter II or III of chapter 421,’’.

15 SEC. 420. IMPROVEMENTS TO AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES.

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

17 thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(5) The Administrator may improve real prop19 erty leased for air navigation facilities without re20 gard to the costs of the improvements in relation to

21 the cost of the lease if—

22 ‘‘(A) the improvements primarily benefit

23 the government;
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1 ‘‘(B) are essential for mission accomplish2 ment; and

3 ‘‘(C) the government’s interest in the im4 provements is protected.’’.

5 SEC. 421. DENIAL OF AIRPORT ACCESS TO CERTAIN AIR

6 CARRIERS.

7 Section 47107 is amended by adding at the end

8 thereof the following:

9 ‘‘(q) DENIAL OF ACCESS.—

10 ‘‘(1) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—If an owner or oper11 ator of an airport described in paragraph (2) denies

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

13 that denial shall not be considered to be unreason14 able or unjust discrimination or a violation of this

15 section.

16 ‘‘(2) AIRPORTS TO WHICH SUBSECTION AP17 PLIES.—An airport is described in this paragraph if

18 it—

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

20 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad21 ministration;

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

23 issued under part 139 of title 14, Code of Fed24 eral Regulations (or any subsequent similar reg25 ulations); and
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1 ‘‘(C) is located within a 35-mile radius of

2 an airport that has—

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

4 annual boardings in the United States; and

5 ‘‘(ii) current gate capacity to handle

6 the demands of a public charter operation.

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

8 is described in this paragraph if it conducts oper9 ations as a public charter under part 380 of title 14,

10 Code of Federal Regulations (or any subsequent

11 similar regulations) with aircraft that is designed to

12 carry more than 9 passengers per flight.

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

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

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

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

17 have the meanings given those terms in section

18 40102 of this title.

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

20 charter’ means charter air transportation for

21 which the general public is provided in advance

22 a schedule containing the departure location,

23 departure time, and arrival location of the

24 flights.’’.
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1 SEC. 422. TOURISM.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) through an effective public-private partner4 ship, Federal, State, and local governments and the

5 travel and tourism industry can successfully market

6 the United States as the premiere international tour7 ist destination in the world;

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

9 made a substantial contribution to the health of the

10 Nation’s economy, as follows:

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

12 largest employers, directly employing 7,000,000

13 Americans, throughout every region of the

14 country, heavily concentrated among small busi15 nesses, and indirectly employing an additional

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

17 jobs.

18 (B) The industry ranks as the first, sec19 ond, or third largest employer in 32 States and

20 the District of Columbia, generating a total

21 tourism-related annual payroll of

22 $127,900,000,000.

23 (C) The industry has become the Nation’s

24 third-largest retail sales industry, generating a

25 total of $489,000,000,000 in total expenditures.
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1 (D) The industry generated

2 $71,700,000,000 in tax revenues for Federal,

3 State, and local governments;

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

5 foreign visitors in the United States in 1997 gen6 erated a trade services surplus of more than

7 $26,000,000,000;

8 (4) the private sector, States, and cities cur9 rently spend more than $1,000,000,000 annually to

10 promote particular destinations within the United

11 States to international visitors;

12 (5) because other nations are spending hun13 dreds of millions of dollars annually to promote the

14 visits of international tourists to their countries, the

15 United States will miss a major marketing oppor16 tunity if it fails to aggressively compete for an in17 creased share of international tourism expenditures

18 as they continue to increase over the next decade;

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

20 marketing effort—combined with additional public

21 and private sector efforts—would help small and

22 large businesses, as well as State and local govern23 ments, share in the anticipated phenomenal growth

24 of the international travel and tourism market in the

25 21st century;
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1 (7) by making permanent the successful visa

2 waiver pilot program, Congress can facilitate the in3 creased flow of international visitors to the United

4 States;

5 (8) Congress can increase the opportunities for

6 attracting international visitors and enhancing their

7 stay in the United States by—

8 (A) improving international signage at air9 ports, seaports, land border crossings, high10 ways, and bus, train, and other public transit

11 stations in the United States;

12 (B) increasing the availability of multi13 lingual tourist information; and

14 (C) creating a toll-free, private-sector oper15 ated, telephone number, staffed by multilingual

16 operators, to provide assistance to international

17 tourists coping with an emergency;

18 (9) by establishing a satellite system of ac19 counting for travel and tourism, the Secretary of

20 Commerce could provide Congress and the President

21 with objective, thorough data that would help policy22 makers more accurately gauge the size and scope of

23 the domestic travel and tourism industry and its sig24 nificant impact on the health of the Nation’s econ25 omy; and
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1 (10) having established the United States Na2 tional Tourism Organization under the United

3 States National Tourism Organization Act of 1996

4 (22 U.S.C. 2141 et seq.) to increase the United

5 States share of the international tourism market by

6 developing a national travel and tourism strategy,

7 Congress should support a long-term marketing ef8 fort and other important regulatory reform initia9 tives to promote increased travel to the United

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

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

12 provide international visitor initiatives and an inter13 national marketing program to enable the United States

14 travel and tourism industry and every level of government

15 to benefit from a successful effort to make the United

16 States the premiere travel destination in the world.

17 (c) INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ASSISTANCE TASK

18 FORCE.—

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 9

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

21 Secretary of Commerce shall establish an Intergov22 ernmental Task Force for International Visitor As23 sistance (hereafter in this subsection referred to as

24 the ‘‘Task Force’’).

25 (2) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall examine—
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1 (A) signage at facilities in the United

2 States, including airports, seaports, land border

3 crossings, highways, and bus, train, and other

4 public transit stations, and shall identify exist5 ing inadequacies and suggest solutions for such

6 inadequacies, such as the adoption of uniform

7 standards on international signage for use

8 throughout the United States in order to facili9 tate international visitors’ travel in the United

10 States;

11 (B) the availability of multilingual travel

12 and tourism information and means of dissemi13 nating, at no or minimal cost to the Govern14 ment, of such information; and

15 (C) facilitating the establishment of a toll16 free, private-sector operated, telephone number,

17 staffed by multilingual operators, to provide as18 sistance to international tourists coping with an

19 emergency.

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

21 composed of the following members:

22 (A) The Secretary of Commerce.

23 (B) The Secretary of State.

24 (C) The Secretary of Transportation.
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1 (D) The Chair of the Board of Directors

2 of the United States National Tourism Organi3 zation.

4 (E) Such other representatives of other

5 Federal agencies and private-sector entities as

6 may be determined to be appropriate to the

7 mission of the Task Force by the Chairman.

8 (4) CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary of Commerce

9 shall be Chairman of the Task Force. The Task

10 Force shall meet at least twice each year. Each

11 member of the Task Force shall furnish necessary

12 assistance to the Task Force.

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

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

15 of the Task Force shall submit to the President and

16 to Congress a report on the results of the review, in17 cluding proposed amendments to existing laws or

18 regulations as may be appropriate to implement

19 such recommendations.

20 (d) TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY SATELLITE

21 SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTING.—

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

23 shall complete, as soon as may be practicable, a sat24 ellite system of accounting for the travel and tour25 ism industry.
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1 (2) FUNDING.—To the extent any costs or ex2 penditures are incurred under this subsection, they

3 shall be covered to the extent funds are available to

4 the Department of Commerce for such purpose.

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to paragraph

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

8 sums as may be necessary for the purpose of fund9 ing international promotional activities by the

10 United States National Tourism Organization to

11 help brand, position, and promote the United States

12 as the premiere travel and tourism destination in the

13 world.

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

15 of the funds appropriated under paragraph (1) may

16 be used for purposes other than marketing, research,

17 outreach, or any other activity designed to promote

18 the United States as the premiere travel and tour19 ism destination in the world, except that the general

20 and administrative expenses of operating the United

21 States National Tourism Organization shall be borne

22 by the private sector through such means as the

23 Board of Directors of the Organization shall deter24 mine.
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1 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than

2 March 30 of each year in which funds are made

3 available under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

4 submit to the Committee on Commerce of the House

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a detailed

7 report setting forth—

8 (A) the manner in which appropriated

9 funds were expended;

10 (B) changes in the United States market

11 share of international tourism in general and as

12 measured against specific countries and regions;

13 (C) an analysis of the impact of inter14 national tourism on the United States economy,

15 including, as specifically as practicable, an anal16 ysis of the impact of expenditures made pursu17 ant to this section;

18 (D) an analysis of the impact of inter19 national tourism on the United States trade

20 balance and, as specifically as practicable, an

21 analysis of the impact on the trade balance of

22 expenditures made pursuant to this section; and

23 (E) an analysis of other relevant economic

24 impacts as a result of expenditures made pursu25 ant to this section.
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1 SEC. 423. EQUIVALENCY OF FAA AND EU SAFETY STAND2 ARDS.

3 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis4 tration shall determine whether the Administration’s safe5 ty regulations are equivalent to the safety standards set

6 forth in European Union Directive 89/336EEC. If the Ad7 ministrator determines that the standards are equivalent,

8 the Administrator shall work with the Secretary of Com9 merce to gain acceptance of that determination pursuant

10 to the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the United

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

12 to ensure that aviation products approved by the Adminis13 tration are acceptable under that Directive.

14 SEC. 424. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PROPERTY TAXES ON

15 PUBLIC-USE AIRPORTS.

16 It is the sense of the Senate that—

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

18 be assessed fairly and equitably, regardless of the lo19 cation of the owner of the airport; and

20 (2) the property tax recently assessed on the

21 City of The Dalles, Oregon, as the owner and opera22 tor of the Columbia Gorge Regional/The Dalles Mu23 nicipal Airport, located in the State of Washington,

24 should be repealed.
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1 SEC. 425. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PERSON2 NEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

3 (a) APPLICABILITY OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

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

5 of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations

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

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

8 (6);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (7) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and

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

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

13 7701–7703, relating to the Merit Systems Protec14 tion Board.’’.

15 (b) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

16 BOARD.—Section 347(c) of the Department of Transpor17 tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(c) APPEALS TO MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION

20 BOARD.—Under the new personnel management system

21 developed and implemented under subsection (a), an em22 ployee of the Federal Aviation Administration may submit

23 an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and may

24 seek judicial review of any resulting final orders or deci25 sions of the Board from any action that was appealable
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1 to the Board under any law, rule, or regulation as of

2 March 31, 1996.’’.

3 SEC 426. AIRCRAFT AND AVIATION COMPONENT REPAIR

4 AND MAINTENANCE ADVISORY PANEL.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL.—The Administrator

6 of the Federal Aviation Administration—

7 (1) shall establish an Aircraft Repair and Main8 tenance Advisory Panel to review issues related to

9 the use and oversight of aircraft and aviation com10 ponent repair and maintenance facilities located

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

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

13 issue related to methods to improve the safety of do14 mestic or foreign contract aircraft and aviation com15 ponent repair facilities.

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

17 (1) 8 members, appointed by the Administrator

18 as follows:

19 (A) 3 representatives of labor organiza20 tions representing aviation mechanics;

21 (B) 1 representative of cargo air carriers;

22 (C) 1 representative of passenger air car23 riers;

24 (D) 1 representative of aircraft and avia25 tion component repair stations;
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1 (E) 1 representative of aircraft manufac2 turers; and

3 (F) 1 representative of the aviation indus4 try not described in the preceding subpara5 graphs;

6 (2) 1 representative from the Department of

7 Transportation, designated by the Secretary of

8 Transportation;

9 (3) 1 representative from the Department of

10 State, designated by the Secretary of State; and

11 (4) 1 representative from the Federal Aviation

12 Administration, designated by the Administrator.

13 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The panel shall—

14 (1) determine how much aircraft and aviation

15 component repair work and what type of aircraft

16 and aviation component repair work is being per17 formed by aircraft and aviation component repair

18 stations located within, and outside of, the United

19 States to better understand and analyze methods to

20 improve the safety and oversight of such facilities;

21 and

22 (2) provide advice and counsel to the Adminis23 trator with respect to aircraft and aviation compo24 nent repair work performed by those stations, staff-
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1 ing needs, and any safety issues associated with that

2 work.

3 (d) FAA TO REQUEST INFORMATION FROM FOR4 EIGN AIRCRAFT REPAIR STATIONS.—

5 (1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Ad6 ministrator shall by regulation request aircraft and

7 aviation component repair stations located outside

8 the United States to submit such information as the

9 Administrator may require in order to assess safety

10 issues and enforcement actions with respect to the

11 work performed at those stations on aircraft used by

12 United States air carriers.

13 (2) DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING INFORMA14 TION.—Included in the information the Adminis15 trator requests under paragraph (1) shall be infor16 mation on the existence and administration of em17 ployee drug and alcohol testing programs in place at

18 such stations, if applicable.

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

20 the information the Administrator requests under

21 paragraph (1) shall be information on the amount

22 and type of aircraft and aviation component repair

23 work performed at those stations on aircraft reg24 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. 427. 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 June 30, 1999,

19 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. 428. 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. 429. 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. 430. 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. 431. 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. 432. 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. 433. 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. 434. 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. 435. 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 V—AVIATION

2 COMPETITION PROMOTION

3 SEC. 501. 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. 502. 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 2000 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. 503. 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 authorized under sec15 tion 504 of the Air Transportation Improvement Act

16 to carry out this section;

17 ‘‘(3) shall continue to work with both the car18 riers and the communities to develop a combination

19 of community incentives and carrier service levels

20 that—

21 ‘‘(A) are acceptable to communities and

22 carriers; and

23 ‘‘(B) do not conflict with other Federal or

24 State programs to facilitate air transportation

25 to the communities;
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1 ‘‘(4) designate an airport in the program as an

2 Air Service Development Zone and work with the

3 community on means to attract business to the area

4 surrounding the airport, to develop land use options

5 for the area, and provide data, working with the De6 partment of Commerce and other agencies;

7 ‘‘(5) take such other action under this chapter

8 as may be appropriate.

9 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—

10 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY SUPPORT.—The program di11 rector may not provide financial assistance under

12 subsection (c)(2) to any community unless the pro13 gram director determines that—

14 ‘‘(A) a public-private partnership exists at

15 the community level to carry out the commu16 nity’s proposal;

17 ‘‘(B) the community will make a substan18 tial financial contribution that is appropriate

19 for that community’s resources, but of not less

20 than 25 percent of the cost of the project in

21 any event;

22 ‘‘(C) the community has established an

23 open process for soliciting air service proposals;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(D) the community will accord similar

2 benefits to air carriers that are similarly situ3 ated.

4 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The program director may not

5 obligate more than $30,000,000 of the amounts au6 thorized under 504 of the Air Transportation Im7 provement Act over the 4 years of the program.

8 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.—The pro9 gram established under subsection (a) shall not in10 volve more than 40 communities or consortia of

11 communities.

12 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The program director shall report

13 through the Secretary to the Congress annually on the

14 progress made under this section during the preceding

15 year in expanding commercial aviation service to smaller

16 communities.

17 ‘‘§ 41744. Pilot program project authority

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The program director designated

19 by the Secretary of Transportation under section

20 102(g)(1) shall establish a 4-year pilot program—

21 ‘‘(1) to assist communities and States with in22 adequate access to the national transportation sys23 tem to improve their access to that system; and

24 ‘‘(2) to facilitate better air service link-ups to

25 support the improved access.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AUTHORITY.—Under the pilot pro2 gram established pursuant to subsection (a), the program

3 director may—

4 ‘‘(1) out of amounts authorized under section

5 504 of the Air Transportation Improvement Act,

6 provide financial assistance by way of grants to

7 small communities or consortia of small communities

8 under section 41743 of up to $500,000 per year;

9 and

10 ‘‘(2) take such other action as may be appro11 priate.

12 ‘‘(c) OTHER ACTION.—Under the pilot program es13 tablished pursuant to subsection (a), the program director

14 may facilitate service by—

15 ‘‘(1) working with airports and air carriers to

16 ensure that appropriate facilities are made available

17 at essential airports;

18 ‘‘(2) collecting data on air carrier service to

19 small communities; and

20 ‘‘(3) providing policy recommendations to the

21 Secretary to stimulate air service and competition to

22 small communities.

23 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ACTION.—Under the pilot program

24 established pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall

25 work with air carriers providing service to participating
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1 communities and major air carriers serving large hub air2 ports (as defined in section 41731(a)(3)) to facilitate joint

3 fare arrangements consistent with normal industry prac4 tice.

5 ‘‘§ 41745. Assistance to communities for service

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance provided

7 under section 41743 during any fiscal year as part of the

8 pilot program established under section 41744(a) shall be

9 implemented for not more than—

10 ‘‘(1) 4 communities within any State at any

11 given time; and

12 ‘‘(2) 40 communities in the entire program at

13 any time.

14 For purposes of this subsection, a consortium of commu15 nities shall be treated as a single community.

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to participate in a pilot

17 project under this subchapter, a State, community, or

18 group of communities shall apply to the Secretary in such

19 form and at such time, and shall supply such information,

20 as the Secretary may require, and shall demonstrate to

21 the satisfaction of the Secretary that—

22 ‘‘(1) the applicant has an identifiable need for

23 access, or improved access, to the national air trans24 portation system that would benefit the public;
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1 ‘‘(2) the pilot project will provide material bene2 fits to a broad section of the travelling public, busi3 nesses, educational institutions, and other enter4 prises whose access to the national air transpor5 tation system is limited;

6 ‘‘(3) the pilot project will not impede competi7 tion; and

8 ‘‘(4) the applicant has established, or will estab9 lish, public-private partnerships in connection with

10 the pilot project to facilitate service to the public.

11 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS OF

12 SUBCHAPTER.—The Secretary shall carry out the 4-year

13 pilot program authorized by this subchapter in such a

14 manner as to complement action taken under the other

15 provisions of this subchapter. To the extent the Secretary

16 determines to be appropriate, the Secretary may adopt cri17 teria for implementation of the 4-year pilot program that

18 are the same as, or similar to, the criteria developed under

19 the preceding sections of this subchapter for determining

20 which airports are eligible under those sections. The Sec21 retary shall also, to the extent possible, provide incentives

22 where no direct, viable, and feasible alternative service ex23 ists, taking into account geographical diversity and appro24 priate market definitions.
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1 ‘‘(d) MAXIMIZATION OF PARTICIPATION.—The Sec2 retary shall structure the program established pursuant

3 to section 41744(a) in a way designed to—

4 ‘‘(1) permit the participation of the maximum

5 feasible number of communities and States over a 4-

6 year period by limiting the number of years of par7 ticipation or otherwise; and

8 ‘‘(2) obtain the greatest possible leverage from

9 the financial resources available to the Secretary and

10 the applicant by—

11 ‘‘(A) progressively decreasing, on a project12 by-project basis, any Federal financial incen13 tives provided under this chapter over the 4-

14 year period; and

15 ‘‘(B) terminating as early as feasible Fed16 eral financial incentives for any project deter17 mined by the Secretary after its implementation

18 to be—

19 ‘‘(i) viable without further support

20 under this subchapter; or

21 ‘‘(ii) failing to meet the purposes of

22 this chapter or criteria established by the

23 Secretary under the pilot program.

24 ‘‘(e) SUCCESS BONUS.—If Federal financial incen25 tives to a community are terminated under subsection
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1 (d)(2)(B) because of the success of the program in that

2 community, then that community may receive a one-time

3 incentive grant to ensure the continued success of that

4 program.

5 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM TO TERMINATE IN 4 YEARS.—No new

6 financial assistance may be provided under this sub7 chapter for any fiscal year beginning more than 4 years

8 after the date of enactment of the Air Transportation Im9 provement Act.

10 ‘‘§ 41746. Additional authority

11 ‘‘In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary—

12 ‘‘(1) may provide assistance to States and com13 munities in the design and application phase of any

14 project under this chapter, and oversee the imple15 mentation of any such project;

16 ‘‘(2) may assist States and communities in put17 ting together projects under this chapter to utilize

18 private sector resources, other Federal resources, or

19 a combination of public and private resources;

20 ‘‘(3) may accord priority to service by jet air21 craft;

22 ‘‘(4) take such action as may be necessary to

23 ensure that financial resources, facilities, and admin24 istrative arrangements made under this chapter are
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1 used to carry out the purposes of title V of the Air

2 Transportation Improvement Act; and

3 ‘‘(5) shall work with the Federal Aviation Ad4 ministration on airport and air traffic control needs

5 of communities in the program.

6 ‘‘§ 41747. Air traffic control services pilot program

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To further facilitate the use of,

8 and improve the safety at, small airports, the Adminis9 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall estab10 lish a pilot program to contract for Level I air traffic con11 trol services at 20 facilities not eligible for participation

12 in the Federal Contract Tower Program.

13 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the

14 pilot program established under subsection (a), the Ad15 ministrator may—

16 ‘‘(1) utilize current, actual, site-specific data,

17 forecast estimates, or airport system plan data pro18 vided by a facility owner or operator;

19 ‘‘(2) take into consideration unique aviation

20 safety, weather, strategic national interest, disaster

21 relief, medical and other emergency management re22 lief services, status of regional airline service, and

23 related factors at the facility;

24 ‘‘(3) approve for participation any facility will25 ing to fund a pro rata share of the operating costs
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1 used by the Federal Aviation Administration to cal2 culate, and, as necessary, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

3 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

4 Tower Program; and

5 ‘‘(4) approve for participation no more than 3

6 facilities willing to fund a pro rata share of con7 struction costs for an air traffic control tower so as

8 to achieve, at a minimum, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio,

9 as required for eligibility under the Federal Contract

10 Tower Program, and for each of such facilities the

11 Federal share of construction costs does not exceed

12 $1,000,000.

13 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—One year before the pilot program es14 tablished under subsection (a) terminates, the Adminis15 trator shall report to the Congress on the effectiveness of

16 the program, with particular emphasis on the safety and

17 economic benefits provided to program participants and

18 the national air transportation system.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy20 sis for subchapter II of chapter 417 is amended by insert21 ing after the item 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.’’.
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1 (c) WAIVER OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.—Section

2 41736(b) is amended by inserting after paragraph (4) the

3 following:

4 ‘‘Paragraph (4) does not apply to any community ap5 proved for service under this section during the period be6 ginning October 1, 1991, and ending December 31,

7 1997.’’.

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

10 Transportation such sums as may be necessary to carry

11 out section 41747 of title 49, United States Code.

12 SEC. 504. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 To carry out sections 41743 through 41746 of title

14 49, United States Code, for the 4 fiscal-year period begin15 ning with fiscal year 2000—

16 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated to

17 the Secretary of Transportation not more than

18 $10,000,000; and

19 (2) not more than $20,000,000 shall be made

20 available, if available, to the Secretary for obligation

21 and expenditure out of the account established under

22 section 45303(a) of title 49, United States Code.

23 To the extent that amounts are not available in such ac24 count, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums

25 as may be necessary to provide the amount authorized to
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1 be obligated under paragraph (2) to carry out those sec2 tions for that 4 fiscal-year period.

3 SEC. 505. MARKETING PRACTICES.

4 Section 41712 is amended by—

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

6 ‘‘On’’; and

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

8 ‘‘(b) MARKETING PRACTICES THAT ADVERSELY AF9 FECT SERVICE TO SMALL OR MEDIUM COMMUNITIES.—

10 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of the Air

11 Transportation Improvement Act, the Secretary shall re12 view the marketing practices of air carriers that may in13 hibit the availability of quality, affordable air transpor14 tation services to small and medium-sized communities,

15 including—

16 ‘‘(1) marketing arrangements between airlines

17 and travel agents;

18 ‘‘(2) code-sharing partnerships;

19 ‘‘(3) computer reservation system displays;

20 ‘‘(4) gate arrangements at airports;

21 ‘‘(5) exclusive dealing arrangements; and

22 ‘‘(6) any other marketing practice that may

23 have the same effect.

24 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—If the Secretary finds, after

25 conducting the review required by subsection (b), that
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1 marketing practices inhibit the availability of such service

2 to such communities, then, after public notice and an op3 portunity for comment, the Secretary shall promulgate

4 regulations that address the problem.’’.

5 SEC. 506. SLOT EXEMPTIONS FOR NONSTOP REGIONAL JET

6 SERVICE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417, as

8 amended by section 310, is amended by adding at the end

9 thereof the following:

10 ‘‘§ 41718. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet

11 service.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after receiving

13 an application for an exemption to provide nonstop re14 gional jet air service between—

15 ‘‘(1) an airport with fewer than 2,000,000 an16 nual enplanements; and

17 ‘‘(2) a high density airport subject to the ex18 emption authority under section 41714(a),

19 the Secretary of Transportation shall grant or deny the

20 exemption in accordance with established principles of

21 safety and the promotion of competition.

22 ‘‘(b) EXISTING SLOTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In

23 deciding to grant or deny an exemption under subsection

24 (a), the Secretary may take into consideration the slots

25 and slot exemptions already used by the applicant.
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1 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may grant an ex2 emption to an air carrier under subsection (a)—

3 ‘‘(1) for a period of not less than 12 months;

4 ‘‘(2) for a minimum of 2 daily roundtrip flights;

5 and

6 ‘‘(3) for a maximum of 3 daily roundtrip

7 flights.

8 ‘‘(d) CHANGE OF NONHUB, SMALL HUB, OR MEDIUM

9 HUB AIRPORT; JET AIRCRAFT.—The Secretary may,

10 upon application made by an air carrier operating under

11 an exemption granted under subsection (a)—

12 ‘‘(1) authorize the air carrier or an affiliated air

13 carrier to upgrade service under the exemption to a

14 larger jet aircraft; or

15 ‘‘(2) authorize an air carrier operating under

16 such an exemption to change the nonhub airport or

17 small hub airport for which the exemption was

18 granted to provide the same service to a different

19 airport that is smaller than a large hub airport (as

20 defined in section 47134(d)(2)) if—

21 ‘‘(A) the air carrier has been operating

22 under the exemption for a period of not less

23 than 12 months; and

24 ‘‘(B) the air carrier can demonstrate

25 unmitigatable losses.
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1 ‘‘(e) FORFEITURE FOR MISUSE.—Any exemption

2 granted under subsection (a) shall be terminated imme3 diately by the Secretary if the air carrier to which it was

4 granted uses the slot for any purpose other than the pur5 pose for which it was granted or in violation of the condi6 tions under which it was granted.

7 ‘‘(f) RESTORATION OF AIR SERVICE.—To the extent

8 that—

9 ‘‘(1) slots were withdrawn from an air carrier

10 under section 41714(b);

11 ‘‘(2) the withdrawal of slots under that section

12 resulted in a net loss of slots; and

13 ‘‘(3) the net loss of slots and slot exemptions

14 resulting from the withdrawal had an adverse effect

15 on service to nonhub airports and in other domestic

16 markets,

17 the Secretary shall give priority consideration to the re18 quest of any air carrier from which slots were withdrawn

19 under that section for an equivalent number of slots at

20 the airport where the slots were withdrawn. No priority

21 consideration shall be given under this subsection to an

22 air carrier described in paragraph (1) when the net loss

23 of slots and slot exemptions is eliminated.

24 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY TO NEW ENTRANTS AND LIMITED IN25 CUMBENT CARRIERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In granting slot exemptions

2 under this section the Secretary shall give priority

3 consideration to an application from an air carrier

4 that, as of July 1, 1998, operated or held fewer than

5 20 slots or slot exemptions at the high density air6 port for which it filed an exemption application.

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No priority may be given

8 under paragraph (1) to an air carrier that, at the

9 time of application, operates or holds 20 or more

10 slots and slot exemptions at the airport for which

11 the exemption application is filed.

12 ‘‘(3) AFFILIATED CARRIERS.—The Secretary

13 shall treat all commuter air carriers that have coop14 erative agreements, including code-share agreements,

15 with other air carriers equally for determining eligi16 bility for exemptions under this section regardless of

17 the form of the corporate relationship between the

18 commuter air carrier and the other air carrier.

19 ‘‘(h) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An exemption

20 may not be granted under this section with respect to any

21 aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft (as defined by the

22 Secretary).

23 ‘‘(i) REGIONAL JET DEFINED.—In this section, the

24 term ‘regional jet’ means a passenger, turbofan-powered
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1 aircraft carrying not fewer than 30 and not more than

2 50 passengers.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) Section 40102 is amended by inserting after

5 paragraph (28) the following:

6 ‘‘(28A) LIMITED INCUMBENT AIR CARRIER.—

7 The term ‘limited incumbent air carrier’ has the

8 meaning given that term in subpart S of part 93 of

9 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, except that

10 ‘20’ shall be substituted for ‘12’ in sections

11 93.213(a)(5), 93.223(c)(3), and 93.225(h) as such

12 sections were in effect on August 1, 1998.’’.

13 (2) The chapter analysis for subchapter I of

14 chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end there15 of the following:

‘‘41718. Slot exemptions for nonstop regional jet service.’’.

16 SEC. 507. EXEMPTIONS TO PERIMETER RULE AT RONALD

17 REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417, as

19 amended by section 506, is amended by adding at the end

20 thereof the following:

21 ‘‘§ 41719. Special Rules for Ronald Reagan Washing22 ton National Airport

23 ‘‘(a) BEYOND-PERIMETER EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec24 retary shall by order grant exemptions from the applica25 tion of sections 49104(a)(5), 49109, 49111(e), and 41714
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1 of this title to air carriers to operate limited frequencies

2 and aircraft on select routes between Ronald Reagan

3 Washington National Airport and domestic hub airports

4 of such carriers and exemptions from the requirements of

5 subparts K and S of part 93, Code of Federal Regulations,

6 if the Secretary finds that the exemptions will—

7 ‘‘(1) provide air transportation service with do8 mestic network benefits in areas beyond the perim9 eter described in that section;

10 ‘‘(2) increase competition in multiple markets;

11 ‘‘(3) not reduce travel options for communities

12 served by small hub airports and medium hub air13 ports within the perimeter described in section

14 49109 of title 49, United States Code; and

15 ‘‘(4) not result in meaningfully increased travel

16 delays.

17 ‘‘(b) WITHIN-PERIMETER EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec18 retary shall by order grant exemptions from the require19 ments of sections 49104(a)(5), 49111(e), and 41714 of

20 this title and subparts K and S of part 93 of title 14,

21 Code of Federal Regulations, to commuter air carriers for

22 service to airports with fewer than 2,000,000 annual

23 enplanements within the perimeter established for civil air24 craft operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National

25 Airport under section 49109. The Secretary shall develop
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1 criteria for distributing slot exemptions for flights within

2 the perimeter to such airports under this paragraph in a

3 manner consistent with the promotion of air transpor4 tation.

5 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

6 ‘‘(1) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An ex7 emption may not be granted under this section with

8 respect to any aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft

9 (as defined by the Secretary).

10 ‘‘(2) GENERAL EXEMPTIONS.—The exemptions

11 granted under subsections (a) and (b) may not in12 crease the number of operations at Ronald Reagan

13 Washington National Airport in any 1-hour period

14 during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.

15 by more than 2 operations.’’.

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec17 retary shall grant exemptions under subsections (a)

18 and (b) that—

19 ‘‘(A) will result in 12 additional daily air

20 carrier slot exemptions at such airport for long21 haul service beyond the perimeter;

22 ‘‘(B) will result in 12 additional daily com23 muter slot exemptions at such airport; and

24 ‘‘(C) will not result in additional daily

25 commuter slot exemptions for service to any
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1 within-the-perimeter airport that is not smaller

2 than a large hub airport (as defined in section

3 47134(d)(2)).

4 ‘‘(4) ASSESSMENT OF SAFETY, NOISE AND EN5 VIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.—The Secretary shall assess

6 the impact of granting exemptions, including the im7 pacts of the additional slots and flights at Ronald

8 Reagan Washington National Airport provided

9 under subsections (a) and (b) on safety, noise levels

10 and the environment within 90 days of the date of

11 the enactment of this Act. The environmental as12 sessment shall be carried out in accordance with

13 parts 1500–1508 of title 40, Code of Federal Regu14 lations. Such environmental assessment shall include

15 a public meeting.

16 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY WITH EXEMPTION 5133.—

17 Nothing in this section affects Exemption No. 5133,

18 as from time-to-time amended and extended.’’.

19 (b) OVERRIDE OF MWAA RESTRICTION.—Section

20 49104(a)(5) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(D) Subparagraph (C) does not apply to

23 any increase in the number of instrument flight

24 rule takeoffs and landings necessary to imple-
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1 ment exemptions granted by the Secretary

2 under section 41719.’’.

3 (c) MWAA NOISE-RELATED GRANT ASSURANCES.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any condition

5 for approval of an airport development project that

6 is the subject of a grant application submitted to the

7 Secretary of Transportation under chapter 471 of

8 title 49, United States Code, by the Metropolitan

9 Washington Airports Authority, the Authority shall

10 be required to submit a written assurance that, for

11 each such grant made to the Authority for fiscal

12 year 2000 or any subsequent fiscal year—

13 (A) the Authority will make available for

14 that fiscal year funds for noise compatibility

15 planning and programs that are eligible to re16 ceive funding under chapter 471 of title 49,

17 United States Code, in an amount not less than

18 10 percent of the aggregate annual amount of

19 financial assistance provided to the Authority

20 by the Secretary as grants under chapter 471

21 of title 49, United States Code; and

22 (B) the Authority will not divert funds

23 from a high priority safety project in order to

24 make funds available for noise compatibility

25 planning and programs.
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1 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Transportation

2 may waive the requirements of paragraph (1) for

3 any fiscal year for which the Secretary determines

4 that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Author5 ity is in full compliance with applicable airport noise

6 compatibility planning and program requirements

7 under part 150 of title 14, Code of Federal Regula8 tions.

9 (3) SUNSET.—This subsection shall cease to be

10 in effect 5 years after the date of enactment of this

11 Act, if on that date the Secretary of Transportation

12 certifies that the Metropolitan Washington Airports

13 Authority has achieved full compliance with applica14 ble noise compatibility planning and program re15 quirements under part 150 of title 14, Code of Fed16 eral Regulations.

17 (d) NOISE COMPATIBILITY PLANNING AND PRO18 GRAMS.—Section 47117(e) is amended by adding at the

19 end the following:

20 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall give priority in making

21 grants under paragraph (1)(A) to applications for

22 airport noise compatibility planning and programs at

23 and around airports where operations increase under

24 title V of the Air Transportation Improvement Act

25 and the amendments made by that title.’’.
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1 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) Section 49111 is amended by striking sub3 section (e).

4 (2) The chapter analysis for subchapter I of

5 chapter 417, as amended by section 506(b) of this

6 Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

7 following:

‘‘41719. Special Rules for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.’’.

8 (f) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary

10 shall certify to the United States Senate Committee on

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the United

12 States House of Representatives Committee on Transpor13 tation and Infrastructure, the Governments of Maryland,

14 Virginia, and West Virginia and the metropolitan planning

15 organization for Washington, D.C., that noise standards,

16 air traffic congestion, airport-related vehicular congestion,

17 safety standards, and adequate air service to communities

18 served by small hub airports and medium hub airports

19 within the perimeter described in section 49109 of title

20 49, United States Code, have been maintained at appro21 priate levels.
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1 SEC. 508. ADDITIONAL SLOT EXEMPTIONS AT CHICAGO

2 O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417, as

4 amended by section 507, is amended by adding at the end

5 thereof the following:

6 ‘‘§ 41720. Special Rules for Chicago O’Hare Inter7 national Airport

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

9 shall grant 30 slot exemptions over a 3-year period begin10 ning on the date of enactment of the Air Transportation

11 Improvement Act at Chicago O’Hare International Air12 port.

13 ‘‘(b) EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) STAGE 3 AIRCRAFT REQUIRED.—An ex15 emption may not be granted under this section with

16 respect to any aircraft that is not a Stage 3 aircraft

17 (as defined by the Secretary).

18 ‘‘(2) SERVICE PROVIDED.—Of the exemptions

19 granted under subsection (a)—

20 ‘‘(A) 18 shall be used only for service to

21 underserved markets, of which no fewer than 6

22 shall be designated as commuter slot exemp23 tions; and

24 ‘‘(B) 12 shall be air carrier slot exemp25 tions.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—Before grant2 ing exemptions under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

3 ‘‘(1) conduct an environmental review, taking

4 noise into account, and determine that the granting

5 of the exemptions will not cause a significant in6 crease in noise;

7 ‘‘(2) determine whether capacity is available

8 and can be used safely and, if the Secretary so de9 termines then so certify;

10 ‘‘(3) give 30 days notice to the public through

11 publication in the Federal Register of the Sec12 retary’s intent to grant the exemptions; and

13 ‘‘(4) consult with appropriate officers of the

14 State and local government on any related noise and

15 environmental issues.

16 ‘‘(d) UNDERSERVED MARKET DEFINED.—In this

17 section, the term ‘service to underserved markets’ means

18 passenger air transportation service to an airport that is

19 a nonhub airport or a small hub airport (as defined in

20 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively, of section

21 41731(a)).’’.

22 (b) STUDIES.—

23 (1) 3-YEAR REPORT.—The Secretary shall

24 study and submit a report 3 years after the first ex25 emption granted under section 41720(a) of title 49,
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1 United States Code, is first used on the impact of

2 the additional slots on the safety, environment,

3 noise, access to underserved markets, and competi4 tion at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

5 (2) DOT STUDY IN 2000.—The Secretary of

6 Transportation shall study community noise levels in

7 the areas surrounding the 4 high-density airports

8 after the 100 percent Stage 3 fleet requirements are

9 in place, and compare those levels with the levels in

10 such areas before 1991.

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy12 sis for subchapter I of chapter 417, as amended by section

13 507(b) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end there14 of the following:

‘‘41720. Special Rules for Chicago O’Hare International Airport.’’.

15 SEC. 509. CONSUMER NOTIFICATION OF E-TICKET EXPIRA16 TION DATES.

17 Section 41712, as amended by section 505 of this

18 Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow19 ing:

20 ‘‘(d) E-TICKET EXPIRATION NOTICE.—It shall be an

21 unfair or deceptive practice under subsection (a) for any

22 air carrier utilizing electronically transmitted tickets to

23 fail to notify the purchaser of such a ticket of its expira24 tion date, if any.’’.
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1 SEC. 510. REGIONAL AIR SERVICE INCENTIVE OPTIONS.

2 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro3 vide the Congress with an analysis of means to improve

4 service by jet aircraft to underserved markets by authoriz5 ing a review of different programs of Federal financial as6 sistance, including loan guarantees like those that would

7 have been provided for by section 2 of S. 1353, 105th Con8 gress, as introduced, to commuter air carriers that would

9 purchase regional jet aircraft for use in serving those mar10 kets.

11 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

12 study the efficacy of a program of Federal loan guarantees

13 for the purchase of regional jets by commuter air carriers.

14 The Secretary shall include in the study a review of op15 tions for funding, including alternatives to Federal fund16 ing. In the study, the Secretary shall analyze—

17 (1) the need for such a program;

18 (2) its potential benefit to small communities;

19 (3) the trade implications of such a program;

20 (4) market implications of such a program for

21 the sale of regional jets;

22 (5) the types of markets that would benefit the

23 most from such a program;

24 (6) the competititve implications of such a pro25 gram; and

26 (7) the cost of such a program.
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1 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a report of

2 the results of the study to the Senate Committee on Com3 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep4 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc5 ture not later than 24 months after the date of enactment

6 of this Act.

7 SEC. 511. GAO STUDY OF AIR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS.

8 The General Accounting Office shall conduct a study

9 of the current state of the national airport network and

10 its ability to meet the air transportation needs of the

11 United States over the next 15 years. The study shall in12 clude airports located in remote communities and reliever

13 airports. In assessing the effectiveness of the system the

14 Comptroller General may consider airport runway length

15 of 5,500 feet or the equivalent altitude-adjusted length,

16 air traffic control facilities, and navigational aids.

17 TITLE VI—NATIONAL PARKS

18 OVERFLIGHTS

19 SEC. 601. FINDINGS.

20 The Congress finds that—

21 (1) the Federal Aviation Administration has

22 sole authority to control airspace over the United

23 States;

24 (2) the Federal Aviation Administration has the

25 authority to preserve, protect, and enhance the envi-
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1 ronment by minimizing, mitigating, or preventing

2 the adverse effects of aircraft overflights on the pub3 lic and tribal lands;

4 (3) the National Park Service has the respon5 sibility of conserving the scenery and natural and

6 historic objects and wildlife in national parks and of

7 providing for the enjoyment of the national parks in

8 ways that leave the national parks unimpaired for

9 future generations;

10 (4) the protection of tribal lands from aircraft

11 overflights is consistent with protecting the public

12 health and welfare and is essential to the mainte13 nance of the natural and cultural resources of In14 dian tribes;

15 (5) the National Parks Overflights Working

16 Group, composed of general aviation, air tour, envi17 ronmental, and Native American representatives,

18 recommended that the Congress enact legislation

19 based on its consensus work product; and

20 (6) this title reflects the recommendations made

21 by that Group.
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1 SEC. 602. AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL

2 PARKS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401, as amended by sec4 tion 301 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘§ 40126. Overflights of national parks

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

8 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A commercial

9 air tour operator may not conduct commercial air

10 tour operations over a national park or tribal lands

11 except—

12 ‘‘(A) in accordance with this section;

13 ‘‘(B) in accordance with conditions and

14 limitations prescribed for that operator by the

15 Administrator; and

16 ‘‘(C) in accordance with any effective air

17 tour management plan for that park or those

18 tribal lands.

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR20 ITY.—

21 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Before

22 commencing commercial air tour operations

23 over a national park or tribal lands, a commer24 cial air tour operator shall apply to the Admin25 istrator for authority to conduct the operations

26 over that park or those tribal lands.
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1 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR LIMITED

2 CAPACITY PARKS.—Whenever a commercial air

3 tour management plan limits the number of

4 commercial air tour flights over a national park

5 area during a specified time frame, the Admin6 istrator, in cooperation with the Director, shall

7 authorize commercial air tour operators to pro8 vide such service. The authorization shall speci9 fy such terms and conditions as the Adminis10 trator and the Director find necessary for man11 agement of commercial air tour operations over

12 the national park. The Administrator, in co13 operation with the Director, shall develop an

14 open competitive process for evaluating propos15 als from persons interested in providing com16 mercial air tour services over the national park.

17 In making a selection from among various pro18 posals submitted, the Administrator, in co19 operation with the Director, shall consider rel20 evant factors, including—

21 ‘‘(i) the safety record of the company

22 or pilots;

23 ‘‘(ii) any quiet aircraft technology pro24 posed for use;
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1 ‘‘(iii) the experience in commercial air

2 tour operations over other national parks

3 or scenic areas;

4 ‘‘(iv) the financial capability of the

5 company;

6 ‘‘(v) any training programs for pilots;

7 and

8 ‘‘(vi) responsiveness to any criteria de9 veloped by the National Park Service or

10 the affected national park.

11 ‘‘(C) NUMBER OF OPERATIONS AUTHOR12 IZED.—In determining the number of author13 izations to issue to provide commercial air tour

14 service over a national park, the Administrator,

15 in cooperation with the Director, shall take into

16 consideration the provisions of the air tour

17 management plan, the number of existing com18 mercial air tour operators and current level of

19 service and equipment provided by any such

20 companies, and the financial viability of each

21 commercial air tour operation.

22 ‘‘(D) COOPERATION WITH NPS.—Before

23 granting an application under this paragraph,

24 the Administrator shall, in cooperation with the

25 Director, develop an air tour management plan
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1 in accordance with subsection (b) and imple2 ment such plan.

3 ‘‘(E) TIME LIMIT ON RESPONSE TO ATMP

4 APPLICATIONS.—The Administrator shall act on

5 any such application and issue a decision on the

6 application not later than 24 months after it is

7 received or amended.

8 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

9 (1), commercial air tour operators may conduct com10 mercial air tour operations over a national park

11 under part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

12 (14 CFR 91.1 et seq.) if—

13 ‘‘(A) such activity is permitted under part

14 119 (14 CFR 119.1(e)(2));

15 ‘‘(B) the operator secures a letter of agree16 ment from the Administrator and the national

17 park superintendent for that national park de18 scribing the conditions under which the flight

19 operations will be conducted; and

20 ‘‘(C) the total number of operations under

21 this exception is limited to not more than 5

22 flights in any 30-day period over a particular

23 park.

24 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR SAFETY REQUIRE25 MENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), an exist-
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1 ing commercial air tour operator shall, not later

2 than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Air

3 Transportation Improvement Act, apply for operat4 ing authority under part 119, 121, or 135 of the

5 Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Pt. 119, 121,

6 or 135). A new entrant commercial air tour operator

7 shall apply for such authority before conducting

8 commercial air tour operations over a national park

9 or tribal lands.

10 ‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ATMPS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

13 shall, in cooperation with the Director, establish

14 an air tour management plan for any national

15 park or tribal land for which such a plan is not

16 already in effect whenever a person applies for

17 authority to operate a commercial air tour over

18 the park. The development of the air tour man19 agement plan is to be a cooperative undertaking

20 between the Federal Aviation Administration

21 and the National Park Service. The air tour

22 management plan shall be developed by means

23 of a public process, and the agencies shall de24 velop information and analysis that explains the

25 conclusions that the agencies make in the appli-
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1 cation of the respective criteria. Such expla2 nations shall be included in the Record of Deci3 sion and may be subject to judicial review.

4 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of any

5 air tour management plan shall be to develop

6 acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or

7 prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any,

8 of commercial air tours upon the natural and

9 cultural resources and visitor experiences and

10 tribal lands.

11 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION.—In

12 establishing an air tour management plan under this

13 subsection, the Administrator and the Director shall

14 each sign the environmental decision document re15 quired by section 102 of the National Environmental

16 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) which may in17 clude a finding of no significant impact, an environ18 mental assessment, or an environmental impact

19 statement, and the Record of Decision for the air

20 tour management plan.

21 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An air tour management

22 plan for a national park—

23 ‘‘(A) may prohibit commercial air tour op24 erations in whole or in part;
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1 ‘‘(B) may establish conditions for the con2 duct of commercial air tour operations, includ3 ing commercial air tour routes, maximum or

4 minimum altitudes, time-of-day restrictions, re5 strictions for particular events, maximum num6 ber of flights per unit of time, intrusions on pri7 vacy on tribal lands, and mitigation of noise,

8 visual, or other impacts;

9 ‘‘(C) shall apply to all commercial air tours

within 1 10 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary of a na11 tional park;

12 ‘‘(D) shall include incentives (such as pre13 ferred commercial air tour routes and altitudes,

14 relief from caps and curfews) for the adoption

15 of quiet aircraft technology by commercial air

16 tour operators conducting commercial air tour

17 operations at the park;

18 ‘‘(E) shall provide for the initial allocation

19 of opportunities to conduct commercial air

20 tours if the plan includes a limitation on the

21 number of commercial air tour flights for any

22 time period; and

23 ‘‘(F) shall justify and document the need

24 for measures taken pursuant to subparagraphs

25 (A) through (E).
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1 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing a commer2 cial air tour management plan for a national park,

3 the Administrator and the Director shall—

4 ‘‘(A) initiate at least one public meeting

5 with interested parties to develop a commercial

6 air tour management plan for the park;

7 ‘‘(B) publish the proposed plan in the Fed8 eral Register for notice and comment and make

9 copies of the proposed plan available to the

10 public;

11 ‘‘(C) comply with the regulations set forth

12 in sections 1501.3 and 1501.5 through 1501.8

13 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (for

14 purposes of complying with those regulations,

15 the Federal Aviation Administration is the lead

16 agency and the National Park Service is a co17 operating agency); and

18 ‘‘(D) solicit the participation of any Indian

19 tribe whose tribal lands are, or may be,

20 overflown by aircraft involved in commercial air

21 tour operations over a national park or tribal

22 lands, as a cooperating agency under the regu23 lations referred to in paragraph (4)(C).

24 ‘‘(5) AMENDMENTS.—Any amendment of an air

25 tour management plan shall be published in the
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1 Federal Register for notice and comment. A request

2 for amendment of an air tour management plan

3 shall be made in such form and manner as the Ad4 ministrator may prescribe.

5 ‘‘(c) INTERIM OPERATING AUTHORITY.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application for oper7 ating authority, the Administrator shall grant in8 terim operating authority under this paragraph to a

9 commercial air tour operator for a national park or

10 tribal lands for which the operator is an existing

11 commercial air tour operator.

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.—In13 terim operating authority granted under this

14 subsection—

15 ‘‘(A) shall provide annual authorization

16 only for the greater of—

17 ‘‘(i) the number of flights used by the

18 operator to provide such tours within the

19 12-month period prior to the date of enact20 ment of the Air Transportation Improve21 ment Act; or

22 ‘‘(ii) the average number of flights per

23 12-month period used by the operator to

24 provide such tours within the 36-month pe25 riod prior to such date of enactment, and,
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1 for seasonal operations, the number of

2 flights so used during the season or sea3 sons covered by that 12-month period;

4 ‘‘(B) may not provide for an increase in

5 the number of operations conducted during any

6 time period by the commercial air tour operator

7 to which it is granted unless the increase is

8 agreed to by the Administrator and the Direc9 tor;

10 ‘‘(C) shall be published in the Federal Reg11 ister to provide notice and opportunity for com12 ment;

13 ‘‘(D) may be revoked by the Administrator

14 for cause;

15 ‘‘(E) shall terminate 180 days after the

16 date on which an air tour management plan is

17 established for that park or those tribal lands;

18 and

19 ‘‘(F) shall—

20 ‘‘(i) promote protection of national

21 park resources, visitor experiences, and

22 tribal lands;

23 ‘‘(ii) promote safe operations of the

24 commercial air tour;
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1 ‘‘(iii) promote the adoption of quiet

2 technology, as appropriate; and

3 ‘‘(iv) allow for modifications of the op4 eration based on experience if the modi5 fication improves protection of national

6 park resources and values and of tribal

7 lands.

8 ‘‘(3) NEW ENTRANT AIR TOUR OPERATORS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in

10 cooperation with the Director, may grant in11 terim operating authority under this paragraph

12 to an air tour operator for a national park for

13 which that operator is a new entrant air tour

14 operator if the Administrator determines the

15 authority is necessary to ensure competition in

16 the provision of commercial air tours over that

17 national park or those tribal lands.

18 ‘‘(B) SAFETY LIMITATION.—The Adminis19 trator may not grant interim operating author20 ity under subparagraph (A) if the Adminis21 trator determines that it would create a safety

22 problem at that park or on tribal lands, or the

23 Director determines that it would create a noise

24 problem at that park or on tribal lands.
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1 ‘‘(C) ATMP LIMITATION.—The Adminis2 trator may grant interim operating authority

3 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph only

4 if the air tour management plan for the park or

5 tribal lands to which the application relates has

6 not been developed within 24 months after the

7 date of enactment of the Air Transportation

8 Improvement Act.

9 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

10 definitions apply:

11 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘com12 mercial air tour’ means any flight conducted for

13 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a

14 purpose of the flight is sightseeing. If the operator

15 of a flight asserts that the flight is not a commercial

16 air tour, factors that can be considered by the Ad17 ministrator in making a determination of whether

18 the flight is a commercial air tour, include, but are

19 not limited to—

20 ‘‘(A) whether there was a holding out to

21 the public of willingness to conduct a sightsee22 ing flight for compensation or hire;

23 ‘‘(B) whether a narrative was provided

24 that referred to areas or points of interest on

25 the surface;
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1 ‘‘(C) the area of operation;

2 ‘‘(D) the frequency of flights;

3 ‘‘(E) the route of flight;

4 ‘‘(F) the inclusion of sightseeing flights as

5 part of any travel arrangement package; or

6 ‘‘(G) whether the flight or flights in ques7 tion would or would not have been canceled

8 based on poor visibility of the surface.

9 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The

10 term ‘commercial air tour operator’ means any per11 son who conducts a commercial air tour.

12 ‘‘(3) EXISTING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERA13 TOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour opera14 tor’ means a commercial air tour operator that was

15 actively engaged in the business of providing com16 mercial air tours over a national park at any time

17 during the 12-month period ending on the date of

18 enactment of the Air Transportation Improvement

19 Act.

20 ‘‘(4) NEW ENTRANT COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

21 OPERATOR.—The term ‘new entrant commercial air

22 tour operator’ means a commercial air tour operator

23 that—
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1 ‘‘(A) applies for operating authority as a

2 commercial air tour operator for a national

3 park; and

4 ‘‘(B) has not engaged in the business of

5 providing commercial air tours over that na6 tional park or those tribal lands in the 12-

7 month period preceding the application.

8 ‘‘(5) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATIONS.—

9 The term ‘commercial air tour operations’ means

10 commercial air tour flight operations conducted—

‘‘(A) over a national park or within 1 11 ⁄2 mile

12 outside the boundary of any national park;

13 ‘‘(B) below a minimum altitude, deter14 mined by the Administrator in cooperation with

15 the Director, above ground level (except solely

16 for purposes of takeoff or landing, or necessary

17 for safe operation of an aircraft as determined

18 under the rules and regulations of the Federal

19 Aviation Administration requiring the pilot-in20 command to take action to ensure the safe op21 eration of the aircraft); and

22 ‘‘(C) less than 1 mile laterally from any

23 geographic feature within the park (unless more

than 1 24 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary).
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1 ‘‘(6) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘national

2 park’ means any unit of the National Park System.

3 ‘‘(7) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘tribal lands’

4 means ‘Indian country’, as defined by section 1151

5 of title 18, United States Code, that is within or

6 abutting a national park.

7 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis8 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia9 tion Administration.

10 ‘‘(9) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means

11 the Director of the National Park Service.’’.

12 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—

13 (1) GRAND CANYON.—Section 40126 of title

14 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (a),

15 does not apply to—

16 (A) the Grand Canyon National Park; or

17 (B) Indian country within or abutting the

18 Grand Canyon National Park.

19 (2) ALASKA.—The provisions of this title and

20 section 40126 of title 49, United States Code, as

21 added by subsection (a), do not apply to any land

22 or waters located in Alaska.

23 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER REGULATIONS.—

24 For purposes of section 40126 of title 49, United

25 States Code—
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1 (A) regulations issued by the Secretary of

2 Transportation and the Administrator of the

3 Federal Aviation Administration under section

4 3 of Public Law 100–91 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1,

5 note); and

6 (B) commercial air tour operations carried

7 out in compliance with the requirements of

8 those regulations,

9 shall be deemed to meet the requirements of such

10 section 40126.

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 for chapter 401 is amended by adding at the end thereof

13 the following:

‘‘40126. Overflights of national parks.’’.

14 SEC. 603. ADVISORY GROUP.

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

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

17 the Federal Aviation Administration and the Director of

18 the National Park Service shall jointly establish an advi19 sory group to provide continuing advice and counsel with

20 respect to the operation of commercial air tours over and

21 near national parks.

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory group shall be

24 composed of—

25 (A) a balanced group of —
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1 (i) representatives of general aviation;

2 (ii) representatives of commercial air

3 tour operators;

4 (iii) representatives of environmental

5 concerns; and

6 (iv) representatives of Indian tribes;

7 (B) a representative of the Federal Avia8 tion Administration; and

9 (C) a representative of the National Park

10 Service.

11 (2) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator

12 and the Director shall serve as ex-officio members.

13 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the

14 Federal Aviation Administration and the representa15 tive of the National Park Service shall serve alter16 nating 1-year terms as chairman of the advisory

17 group, with the representative of the Federal Avia18 tion Administration serving initially until the end of

19 the calendar year following the year in which the ad20 visory group is first appointed.

21 (c) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall provide ad22 vice, information, and recommendations to the Adminis23 trator and the Director—

24 (1) on the implementation of this title;
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1 (2) on the designation of appropriate and fea2 sible quiet aircraft technology standards for quiet

3 aircraft technologies under development for commer4 cial purposes, which will receive preferential treat5 ment in a given air tour management plan;

6 (3) on other measures that might be taken to

7 accommodate the interests of visitors to national

8 parks; and

9 (4) on such other national park or tribal lands10 related safety, environmental, and air touring issues

11 as the Administrator and the Director may request.

12 (d) COMPENSATION; SUPPORT; FACA.—

13 (1) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.—Members of

14 the advisory group who are not officers or employees

15 of the United States, while attending conferences or

16 meetings of the group or otherwise engaged in its

17 business, or while serving away from their homes or

18 regular places of business, each member may be al19 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

20 subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5,

21 United States Code, for persons in the Government

22 service employed intermittently.

23 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Federal

24 Aviation Administration and the National Park
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1 Service shall jointly furnish to the advisory group

2 clerical and other assistance.

3 (3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—Section 14 of

4 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

5 App.) does not apply to the advisory group.

6 (e) REPORT.—The Administrator and the Director

7 shall jointly report to the Congress within 24 months after

8 the date of enactment of this Act on the success of this

9 title in providing incentives for quiet aircraft technology.

10 SEC. 604. OVERFLIGHT FEE REPORT.

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

12 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad13 ministration shall transmit to Congress a report on the

14 effects proposed overflight fees are likely to have on the

15 commercial air tour industry. The report shall include, but

16 shall not be limited to—

17 (1) the viability of a tax credit for the commer18 cial air tour operators equal to the amount of the

19 proposed fee charged by the National Park Service;

20 and

21 (2) the financial effects proposed offsets are

22 likely to have on Federal Aviation Administration

23 budgets and appropriations.
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1 SEC. 605. PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL AIR TOURS OVER

2 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK.

3 Effective beginning on the date of enactment of this

4 Act, no commercial air tour may be operated in the air5 space over the Rocky Mountain National Park notwith6 standing any other provision of this Act or section 40126

7 of title 49, United States Code, as added by this Act.

8 TITLE VII—TITLE 49 TECHNICAL

9 CORRECTIONS

10 SEC. 701. RESTATEMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 106(g).

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

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

13 44501(a) and (c), 44502(a)(1), (b) and (c), 44504, 44505,

14 44507, 44508, 44511–44513, 44701–44716, 44718(c),

15 44721(a), 44901, 44902, 44903(a)–(c) and (e), 44906,

16 44912, 44935–44937, and 44938(a) and (b), chapter 451,

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

18 40114(a), and 40119, and chapter 445 (except sections

19 44501(b), 44502(a)(2)–(4), 44503, 44506, 44509, 44510,

20 44514, and 44515), chapter 447 (except sections 44717,

21 44718(a) and (b), 44719, 44720, 44721(b), 44722, and

22 44723), chapter 449 (except sections 44903(d), 44904,

23 44905, 44907–44911, 44913, 44915, and 44931–44934),

24 chapter 451, chapter 453, sections’’.
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1 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—The amendment

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

3 substantive change in the language replaced.

4 SEC. 702. RESTATEMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 44909.

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

6 and inserting ‘‘should’’.

Æ