II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2459 

To provide for improvements to aircraft hangars, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2021 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide for improvements to aircraft hangars, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hangars Accelerate 

5 National Growth And Regional Stability Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘HANGARS Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. HANGAR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR GENERAL 

8 AVIATION AIRPORTS. 

9 (a) PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation (in this section referred to as the ‘‘SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jul 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2459.IS S2459

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2459 IS

1 retary’’) shall establish a program under which the 

2 Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities for 

3 an eligible project at the airport. 

4 (2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 

5 grant under the program under this section shall 

6 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

7 in such manner, and containing such information as 

8 the Secretary may require. 

9 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a sponsor of a— 

11 (1) public-use airport that is not a primary air12 port (as such terms are defined in section 47102 of 

13 title 49, United States Code); or 

14 (2) general aviation airport (as defined in such 

15 section 47102). 

16 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term ‘‘el18 igible project’’ means a project to construct, repair, 

19 or improve an aircraft hangar facility. 

20 (2) PLANNING AND ACQUISITION COSTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), an eligible project may include costs 

23 incurred— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2459 IS

1 (i) to prepare a plan or specifications, 

2 including carrying out a field investigation, 

3 for the eligible project; and 

4 (ii) to acquire land and install utilities 

5 connected to the development of the eligi6 ble project. 

7 (B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 per8 cent of the amount of a grant awarded under 

9 this section may be used for the costs described 

10 in subparagraph (A). 

11 (d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

12 costs of an eligible project carried out with a grant under 

13 this section is 95 percent. 

14 (e) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants 

15 under the program under this section, the Secretary shall 

16 give priority consideration to eligible projects— 

17 (1) that will be completed within 2 years of the 

18 grant award; 

19 (2) that leverage private sector investments to 

20 build or improve facilities at the airport; and 

21 (3) that— 

22 (A) achieve a complete development objec23 tive; 

24 (B) are located on a statewide aviation 

25 master plan; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2459 IS

1 (C) are located on an airport’s master 

2 plan. 

3 (f) REQUIREMENTS.—For any grant awarded under 

4 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the eligible 

5 project is— 

6 (1) owned and operated by the sponsor of the 

7 eligible airport; 

8 (2) used on a non-exclusive basis; and 

9 (3) made available and used for public aero10 nautical purposes, including aircraft storage and 

11 maintenance. 

12 (g) GRANT LIMIT.—For grants awarded under this 

13 section, not more than $5,000,000 may be made available 

14 to a single eligible project. 

15 (h) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts made avail16 able under subsection (i), the Secretary may retain up to 

17 3 percent for personnel, contracting, and other costs to 

18 administer and oversee grants made under this section. 

19 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

21 $1,000,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this sec22 tion. Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence 

23 shall remain available until expended. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2459 IS

1 SEC. 3. HANGAR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY 

2 AIRPORTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Works and 

4 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et 

5 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 219. GRANTS FOR HANGAR IMPROVEMENT. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—On the application of an eligible 

8 recipient, the Secretary may make grants to construct, re9 pair, or improve an aircraft hangar facility to further the 

10 economic adjustment objectives of this subchapter. 

11 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA FOR GRANT.—The Secretary may 

12 make a grant under this section if the Secretary deter13 mines that— 

14 ‘‘(1) the eligible project for which the grant is 

15 applied will, directly or indirectly— 

16 ‘‘(A) improve the opportunities, in the area 

17 where the eligible project is or will be located, 

18 for the successful establishment or expansion of 

19 aircraft maintenance and repair hangar facili20 ties; 

21 ‘‘(B) leverage private sector investments to 

22 build or improve hangar facilities at the airport; 

23 ‘‘(C) assist in the creation of additional 

24 long-term employment opportunities in the 

25 area; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2459 IS

1 ‘‘(D) improve the opportunities, in the area 

2 where the eligible project is or will be located, 

3 for air carriers to establish or increase commer4 cial routes; 

5 ‘‘(2) the area for which the eligible project is to 

6 be carried out has a comprehensive economic devel7 opment strategy and the eligible project is consistent 

8 with the strategy; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the eligible project is located on a state10 wide aviation master plan or on the airport’s master 

11 plan. 

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—In this section, the term 

13 ‘eligible recipient’ has the meaning given such term in sec14 tion 3 and includes a primary airport (as defined in sec15 tion 47102 of title 49, United States Code). 

16 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘eligible project’ means a project to construct, repair, or 

18 improve an aircraft hangar facility at a primary airport 

19 (as defined in section 47102 of title 49, United States 

20 Code). 

21 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding section 

22 204, the Federal share of the costs of an eligible project 

23 carried out with a grant under this section is 85 percent. 

24 ‘‘(f) NOTICE OF FEDERAL INTEREST.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of law, any eligible recipient 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2459 IS

1 awarded a grant under this section shall record a state2 ment of the Federal Government’s interest in the property 

3 improved through the grant in a form acceptable to the 

4 Secretary. The Secretary of Transportation shall cooper5 ate with the Secretary as may be needed to facilitate the 

6 recording of such statement. 

7 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts made avail8 able under subsection (h), the Secretary may retain up 

9 to 1 percent for personnel, contracting, and other costs 

10 to administer and oversee grants made under this section. 

11 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

13 $100,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this section. 

14 Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence shall 

15 remain available until expended.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con17 tents contained in section 1(b) of the Public Works and 

18 Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 

19 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

20 section 218 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 219. Grants for hangar improvement.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS