I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8532 

To establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 6, 2020 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. LARSEN of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish the National Center for the Advancement of 

Aviation. 

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 ‘‘National Center for 

5 the Advancement of Aviation Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL CHARTER FOR THE NATIONAL CENTER 

7 FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF AVIATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of Subtitle I of title 

9 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 118. NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

2 AVIATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL CHARTER AND STATUS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Center for 

5 the Advancement of Aviation (in this section re6 ferred to as the ‘Center’) is a Federally chartered 

7 entity. The Center is a private entity, not a depart8 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United 

9 States Government. Except as provided in subsection 

10 (f)(1), an officer or employee of the Center is not an 

11 officer or employee of the Federal Government. 

12 ‘‘(2) PERPETUAL EXISTENCE.—Except as oth13 erwise provided, the Center has perpetual existence. 

14 ‘‘(b) GOVERNING BODY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors (in 

16 this section referred to as the ‘Board’) is the gov17 erning body of the Center. 

18 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY AND POWERS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall adopt 

20 a constitution, bylaws, regulations, policies, and 

21 procedures to carry out the purpose of the Cen22 ter and may take any other action that it con23 siders necessary (in accordance with the duties 

24 and powers of the Center) for the management 

25 and operation of the Center. The Board is re26 sponsible for the general policies and manageVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8532.IH H8532

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1 ment of the Center and for the control of all 

2 funds of the Center. 

3 ‘‘(B) POWERS OF BOARD.—The Board 

4 shall have the power to do the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) Adopt and alter a corporate seal. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Establish and maintain offices to 

7 conduct its activities. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Enter into contracts. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Acquire, own, lease, encumber, 

10 and transfer property as necessary and ap11 propriate to carry out the purposes of the 

12 Center. 

13 ‘‘(v) Publish documents and other 

14 publications in a publicly accessible man15 ner. 

16 ‘‘(vi) Incur and pay obligations. 

17 ‘‘(vii) Make or issue grants and in18 clude any conditions on such grants in fur19 therance of the purpose and duties of the 

20 Center. 

21 ‘‘(viii) Perform any other act nec22 essary and proper to carry out the pur23 poses of the Center as described in its con24 stitution and bylaws or duties outlined in 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall have 

3 11 Directors as follows: 

4 ‘‘(i) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP.—The 

5 following individuals, or their designees, 

6 shall serve as ex-officio members of the 

7 Board: 

8 ‘‘(I) The Administrator of the 

9 Federal Aviation Administration. 

10 ‘‘(II) The Director of the William 

11 J. Hughes Technical Center within 

12 the Federal Aviation Administration. 

13 ‘‘(III) The Director of the Mike 

14 Monroney Aeronautical Center within 

15 the Federal Aviation Administration. 

16 ‘‘(ii) APPOINTMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—From among 

18 those members of the public who are 

19 highly respected and have knowledge 

20 and experience in the fields of avia21 tion, finance, or academia— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary of 

23 Transportation shall appoint 5 

24 members to the Board; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary of De2 fense shall appoint 1 member to 

3 the Board; and 

4 ‘‘(cc) the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs shall appoint 1 

6 member to the Board. 

7 ‘‘(II) TERMS.—The members ap8 pointed under subclause (I) shall serve 

9 for a term of 3 years and may be re10 appointed. To ensure subsequent ap11 pointments to the Board are stag12 gered, of the 7 members first ap13 pointed under subclause (I), 2 shall be 

14 appointed for a term of 1 year, 2 shall 

15 be appointed for a term of 2 years, 

16 and 3 shall be appointed for a term of 

17 3 years. 

18 ‘‘(III) CONSIDERATION.—When 

19 considering whom to appoint to the 

20 Board, the Secretary of Transpor21 tation and Secretary of Defense shall 

22 ensure the overall composition of the 

23 Board remains balanced between and 

24 within the fields of aviation, finance, 

25 and academia. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The 

2 Executive Director of the Center shall be a 

3 member of the Board pursuant to para4 graph (5)(D). 

5 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the 

6 Board shall be filled in the same manner as the 

7 initial appointment. 

8 ‘‘(4) CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD.—The Board 

9 shall choose a Chairman of the Board from among 

10 the members of the Board. 

11 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) MEETINGS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall 

14 meet at the call of the Chair but not less 

15 than 2 times each year and may, as appro16 priate, conduct business by telephone or 

17 other electronic means. 

18 ‘‘(ii) OPEN.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

20 provided in clause (II), a meeting of 

21 the Board shall be open to the public. 

22 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—A meeting, 

23 or any portion of a meeting, may be 

24 closed if the Board, in public session, 


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1 votes to close the meeting because the 

2 matters to be discussed— 

3 ‘‘(aa) relate solely to the in4 ternal personnel rules and prac5 tices of the Center; 

6 ‘‘(bb) may result in disclo7 sure of commercial or financial 

8 information obtained from a per9 son that is privileged or confiden10 tial; 

11 ‘‘(cc) may disclose informa12 tion of a personal nature where 

13 disclosure would constitute a 

14 clearly unwarranted invasion of 

15 personal privacy; or 

16 ‘‘(dd) are matters that are 

17 specifically exempted from disclo18 sure by Federal or State law. 

19 ‘‘(iii) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT.—At 

20 least 1 week before a meeting, and as soon 

21 as practicable thereafter if there are any 

22 changes, the Board shall make a public an23 nouncement of the meeting that de24 scribes— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the time, place, and subject 

2 matter of the meeting; 

3 ‘‘(II) whether the meeting is to 

4 be open or closed to the public; and 

5 ‘‘(III) the name and appropriate 

6 contact information of a person who 

7 can respond to requests for informa8 tion about the meeting. 

9 ‘‘(iv) RECORD.—The Board shall keep 

10 a transcript of minutes from each Board 

11 meeting. Such transcript shall be made 

12 available to the public in an accessible for13 mat, except for portions of the meeting 

14 that are closed pursuant to subparagraph 

15 (A)(ii)(II). 

16 ‘‘(B) QUORUM.—A majority of members of 

17 the Board shall constitute a quorum. 

18 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTION.—No member of the 

19 Board shall participate in any proceeding, ap20 plication, ruling or other determination, con21 tract claim, scholarship award, controversy, or 

22 other matter in which the member, the mem23 ber’s employer or prospective employer, or the 

24 member’s spouse, partner, or minor child has a 

25 direct financial interest. Any person who vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8532.IH H8532

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1 lates this subparagraph shall be subject to ap2 plicable Federal and State laws and may be 

3 fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned for 

4 not more than 2 years, or both. 

5 ‘‘(D) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Board 

6 shall appoint and fix the pay of an Executive 

7 Director of the Center (in this section referred 

8 to as the ‘Executive Director’) who shall also 

9 become a member of the Board. The Executive 

10 Director serves at the pleasure of the Board, 

11 under such terms and conditions as the Board 

12 shall establish and is subject to removal by the 

13 Board at its discretion. The Executive Director 

14 shall be responsible for the daily management 

15 and operation of the Center and for carrying 

16 out the purposes and duties of the Center. The 

17 Board shall designate to the Executive Director 

18 the authority to appoint additional personnel as 

19 the Board considers appropriate and necessary 

20 to carry out the purposes and duties of the 

21 Center. 

22 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF THE CENTER.—The purpose of the 

23 Center is to provide a forum to facilitate collaboration and 

24 cooperation between aviation and aerospace private sector 

25 stakeholders, including general, business, and commercial 


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1 aviation, education, labor, manufacturing, the Armed 

2 Forces, and other governmental, non-governmental, and 

3 international organizations, for the purpose of supporting 

4 and promoting civil and military aviation and aerospace 

5 in order to address the demands and challenges associated 

6 with ensuring a safe and vibrant national aviation system 

7 as identified by the Board. In furtherance of that purpose, 

8 the constitution and bylaws of the Center shall direct the 

9 Center to focus on the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) The development and sustainability of a 

11 well-qualified, well-trained civil and military aviation 

12 and aerospace workforce. 

13 ‘‘(2) The conduct of research and development 

14 of new aviation and aerospace training materials and 

15 products. 

16 ‘‘(3) The coordination of the dissemination of 

17 grants for the development of aviation and aerospace 

18 oriented high school STEM education curriculum. 

19 ‘‘(4) The facilitation of collaboration between 

20 institutions of higher education or other research in21 stitutions engaged in aviation, aerospace or related 

22 research or technical development, including those 

23 institutions designated as Centers of Excellence or 

24 Test Centers of the Federal Aviation Administration 

25 and aviation and aerospace stakeholders. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The engagement in other workforce devel2 opment activities consistent with addressing the de3 mands and challenges facing the aviation and aero4 space industry. 

5 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF CENTER.—In order to accomplish 

6 the purpose described in subsection (c), the Center shall 

7 perform the following duties: 

8 ‘‘(1) Support the development of aviation and 

9 aerospace education curricula, including syllabuses 

10 and lesson plans, for use by high schools, institu11 tions of higher education, secondary education insti12 tutions, or technical training and vocational schools 

13 that are designed to prepare students to enter the 

14 aviation or aerospace workforce by becoming aircraft 

15 pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft sys16 tem operators, aviation maintenance technicians, or 

17 other aviation maintenance professionals, or to re18 fresh the knowledge of pilots or any of the aforemen19 tioned individuals working in the aviation or aero20 space sector. 

21 ‘‘(2) Support the professional development of 

22 educators using the curriculum described in para23 graph (1) and subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sub24 section (e)(1) by organizing symposiums designed to 


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1 assist educators who are teaching or who wish to 

2 teach the aviation curriculum. 

3 ‘‘(3) Promote aviation and aerospace employ4 ment opportunities generally, including building 

5 awareness of youth oriented aviation and aerospace 

6 programs (such as the Civil Air Patrol, Young Ea7 gles program, and Reserve Officers Training Corps) 

8 and establishing scholarships, apprenticeships, or 

9 mentorship programs for individuals, including indi10 viduals in economically disadvantaged areas or indi11 viduals who are underrepresented in the aviation in12 dustry and who wish to pursue a career in an 

13 aviation- or aerospace-related field. 

14 ‘‘(4) Support of Armed Forces personnel seek15 ing to transition to a career in civil aviation or an 

16 aerospace related field through outreach, training, 

17 apprenticeships, or other means. 

18 ‘‘(5) Serve as a central repository for publicly 

19 available economic data, safety data, and research 

20 efforts related to the aviation and aerospace sectors 

21 in order to make available to the public information 

22 that highlights the economic impact of aviation and 

23 aerospace and information that would improve the 

24 safety of aviation and aerospace. The Center shall 

25 periodically, as appropriate, publicize an analysis of 


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1 such data in an accessible format. In particular, the 

2 Center shall coordinate with existing FAA Centers 

3 of Excellence to do the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Ensure research and development ef5 forts conducted at Centers of Excellence of the 

6 Federal Aviation Administration are tracked, 

7 collected, and amplified across the aviation and 

8 aerospace community. 

9 ‘‘(B) Provide a repository of pertinent rec10 ommendations or other action items from all 

11 Centers of Excellence for public review. 

12 ‘‘(C) Serve as a collaborative forum for 

13 Centers of Excellence institution researchers, 

14 stakeholders, and other interested parties for 

15 the purpose of discussing research efforts. 

16 ‘‘(6) Serve as a forum, through symposiums, 

17 conferences, and other means as appropriate, for 

18 cross-disciplinary collaboration among aviation and 

19 aerospace stakeholders to consider the near-term 

20 and long-term future of aviation and aerospace gen21 erally with respect to new training materials and 

22 products. 

23 ‘‘(e) GRANTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to accomplish the 

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1 section (d), the Center shall have the authority and 

2 ability to issue grants to organizations that have ex3 perience in, and knowledge of, creating, developing, 

4 and delivering or updating— 

5 ‘‘(A) high school aviation curricula, includ6 ing syllabuses and lesson plans, that are de7 signed to prepare students to become aircraft 

8 pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft 

9 system operators, aviation maintenance techni10 cians, or other aviation maintenance profes11 sionals, or to refresh the knowledge of out-of12 practice pilots or any of the aforementioned in13 dividuals; or 

14 ‘‘(B) aviation curricula, including sylla15 buses and lesson plans, used at institutions of 

16 higher education, secondary education institu17 tions, or by technical training and vocational 

18 schools, that are designed to prepare students 

19 to become aircraft pilots, aerospace engineers, 

20 unmanned aircraft system operators, or aviation 

21 maintenance technicians, or to refresh the 

22 knowledge of out-of-practice pilots or any of the 

23 aforementioned individuals. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No organization that re25 ceives a grant under this subsection shall sell or 


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1 make a profit from the creation, development, deliv2 ery, or updating of aviation curricula. 

3 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS OF THE CENTER.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DETAILEES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the 

6 Center, the head of any Federal agency or de7 partment may detail to the Center, on a reim8 bursable basis, any employee of the agency or 

9 department. 

10 ‘‘(B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail 

11 of an employee under subparagraph (A) shall be 

12 without interruption or loss of civil service sta13 tus or privilege. 

14 ‘‘(2) NAMES AND SYMBOLS.—The Center may 

15 use proceeds derived from the Center’s use of the ex16 clusive right to use its name and seal, emblems, and 

17 badges incorporating such name as lawfully adopted 

18 by the Board of Directors in furtherance of the pur19 pose and duties of the Center. 

20 ‘‘(3) GIFTS, GRANTS, BEQUESTS, AND DE21 VISES.—The Center may accept, use, and dispose of 

22 gifts, grants, bequests, or devises of money, services, 

23 or property from any public or private source for the 

24 purpose of covering the costs incurred by the Center 


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1 in furtherance of the purpose and duties of the Cen2 ter. 

3 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—The Center may 

4 accept from any person voluntary services to be pro5 vided in furtherance of the purpose and duties of the 

6 Center. 

7 ‘‘(g) RESTRICTIONS ON THE CENTER.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PROFIT.—The Center may not engage in 

9 business activity for profit. 

10 ‘‘(2) STOCKS AND DIVIDENDS.—The Center 

11 may not issue stock or declare or pay a dividend. 

12 ‘‘(3) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—The Center shall 

13 be nonpolitical and may not provide financial aid or 

14 assistance to, or otherwise promote the candidacy of, 

15 an individual seeking elective public office. The Cen16 ter may not engage in activities that are, directly, or 

17 indirectly, intended to be or likely to be perceived as 

18 advocating or influencing the legislative process. 

19 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME OR ASSETS.— 

20 The assets of the Center may not inure to the ben21 efit of a member of the Board, or an officer or em22 ployee of the Center or be distributed to any person. 

23 This subsection does not prevent the payment of 

24 reasonable compensation to an officer, employee, or 


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1 other person or reimbursement for actual and nec2 essary expenses in amounts approved by the Board. 

3 ‘‘(5) LOANS.—The Center may not make a loan 

4 to a member of the Board or an officer or employee 

5 of the Center. 

6 ‘‘(6) NO CLAIM OF GOVERNMENTAL APPROVAL

7 OR AUTHORITY.—The Center may not claim ap8 proval of Congress or of the authority of the United 

9 States for any of its activities. 

10 ‘‘(h) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director 

12 shall appoint members to an advisory committee 

13 subject to the approval by the Board. Members of 

14 the Board of the Center may not sit on the advisory 

15 committee. 

16 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory committee 

17 shall consist of 15 members who represent a balance 

18 of various aviation stakeholder groups. The advisory 

19 committee shall choose a Chairman and Vice Chair20 man of the advisory committee from among mem21 bers of the advisory committee. Members of the ad22 visory committee shall be appointed for a term of 5 

23 years. 

24 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The advisory committee shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) provide recommendations to the 

2 Board on an annual basis regarding the prior3 ities for the Center’s activities; 

4 ‘‘(B) provide advice to the Board on an on5 going basis regarding the appropriate powers of 

6 the Board to accomplish the purposes and du7 ties of the Center; 

8 ‘‘(C) provide data and information to the 

9 Center to aid the Center in carrying out its du10 ties; and 

11 ‘‘(D) nominate United States citizens for 

12 consideration by the Board to be honored by 

13 the Center for their work in promoting aviation 

14 or aviation education in the United States. 

15 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The provisions for meetings 

16 of the Board under subsection (c)(1) shall apply to 

17 meetings of the advisory committee. 

18 ‘‘(i) WORKING GROUPS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may establish 

20 and appoint the membership of working groups for 

21 a time and for a specific reason as necessary and ap22 propriate. 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Any working group estab24 lished by the Board shall have members representing 

25 a balance of various aviation stakeholder groups. 


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1 Once established, the membership of such working 

2 group shall choose a Chairman from among the 

3 members of the working group. 

4 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—Any working group estab5 lished by the Board under this subsection shall be 

6 constituted for a time period of not more than 3 

7 years. 

8 ‘‘(j) RECORDS OF ACCOUNTS.—The Center shall keep 

9 correct and complete records of accounts. 

10 ‘‘(k) DUTY TO MAINTAIN TAX-EXEMPT STATUS.— 

11 The Center shall be operated in a manner and for pur12 poses that qualify the Center for exemption from taxation 

13 under the Internal Revenue Code as an organization de14 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of that Code. 

15 ‘‘(l) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Center shall submit an 

16 annual report to Congress on the activities of the Center 

17 during the prior year. 

18 ‘‘(m) FUNDING.—In order to carry out this section, 

19 notwithstanding any other provision of law, an amount 

20 equal to 5 percent of the interest from investment credited 

21 to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under 

22 such section shall be transferred annually as a direct lump 

23 sum payment on the first day of October to the Center 

24 to carry out this section and shall be available until ex25 pended without further act of appropriation.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 1 of subtitle 1 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

4 117 the following: 

‘‘118. National Center for the Advancement of Aviation.’’. 

Æ 


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