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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 589

To improve the safety and convenience of air travel by establishing the

Federal Aviation Administration as an independent Federal agency.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 19, 1995

Mr. OBERSTAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To improve the safety and convenience of air travel by establishing the Federal Aviation Administration as an independent Federal agency.

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 ‘‘Independent Federal

5 Aviation Administration Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUC7 TURE.

8 There is established as an independent establishment

9 in the executive branch the Federal Aviation Administra10 tion. The Administration shall succeed the Federal Avia-
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1 tion Administration of the Department of Transportation

2 as such department is in existence on the day before the

3 effective date of this Act.

4 SEC. 3. OFFICERS OF ADMINISTRATION.

5 (a) ADMINISTRATOR.—

6 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Administration shall

7 be headed by an Administrator, who shall be ap8 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and

9 consent of the Senate, to a 5-year term of office.

10 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Administrator—

11 (A) shall carry out all functions trans12 ferred to the Administrator by this Act; and

13 (B) shall have authority and control over

14 all personnel, programs, and activities of the

15 Administration.

16 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Administrator shall

17 be compensated at the rate prescribed for level II of

18 the Executive Schedule.

19 (b) DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR.—

20 (1) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be in the Ad21 ministration a Deputy Administrator, who shall be

22 appointed by the President, by and with the advice

23 and consent of the Senate.

24 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Deputy Administrator—
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1 (A) shall perform such functions and have

2 such duties and powers as the Administrator

3 may prescribe;

4 (B) shall act for and perform the functions

5 of the Administrator when the Administrator is

6 absent or unable to serve and when the office

7 of the Administrator is vacant; and

8 (C) shall, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, assure that procurement actions of the

10 Administration take advantage of all methods

11 available to expedite the procurement process.

12 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Deputy Adminis13 trator shall be compensated at the rate prescribed

14 for level III of the Executive Schedule.

15 (c) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATORS.—

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Administrator shall

17 appoint Associate Administrators who shall each

18 have such duties as may be prescribed by the Ad19 ministrator.

20 (2) COMPENSATION.—Each Associate Adminis21 trator appointed under this subsection shall be com22 pensated at the rate prescribed for level IV of the

23 Executive Schedule.

24 (d) CHIEF COUNSEL.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be in the Ad2 ministration a chief counsel, who shall be appointed

3 by the Administrator.

4 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Counsel shall be

5 the chief legal officer for all legal matters arising

6 from the activities of the Administration.

7 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Chief Counsel shall

8 be compensated at the rate prescribed for level IV

9 of the Executive Schedule.

10 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATOR.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall—

12 (1) exercise all powers and discharge all duties

13 of the Administration; and

14 (2) carry out all functions, powers, and duties

15 relating to aviation safety that are vested in the Sec16 retary of Transportation on the day before the effec17 tive date of this Act.

18 (b) EXISTING LAW.—Except as otherwise provided

19 by this Act, in carrying out the functions of the Adminis20 tration under this Act, the Administrator shall be subject

21 to all provisions of law to which the Administrator was

22 subject on the day before the effective date of this Act

23 (including part A of subtitle VII of title 49, United States

24 Code) to the extent such provisions are not inconsistent

25 with this Act.
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1 (c) NOT SUBJECT TO ENTITIES CREATED BY EXEC2 UTIVE ORDER.—The Administrator shall not submit deci3 sions for the approval of, and shall not be bound by the

4 decisions or recommendations of, any committee, board,

5 or other organization created by Executive Order.

6 SEC. 5. TRANSFERS AND INCIDENTAL PROVISIONS.

7 (a) TRANSFERS.—The following are transferred to

8 the Federal Aviation Administration established by section

9 2:

10 (1) FUNCTIONS OF FAA.—All functions vested

11 by law on the day before the effective date of this

12 Act in the Federal Aviation Administration in the

13 Department of Transportation or its Administrator,

14 and all functions vested by law on the day before the

15 effective date of this Act in the Secretary of Trans16 portation or the Department of Transportation

17 which are administered through the Federal Aviation

18 Administration (including budgetary and procure19 ment functions) or related to the Federal Aviation

20 Administration, including the following:

21 (A) All of such functions established by the

22 Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as in effect on

23 July 4, 1994, other than those functions—
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1 (i) exercised under section 305 of that

2 Act relating to fostering the development

3 of civil aeronautics and air commerce;

4 (ii) exercised by the Secretary of

5 Transportation under title IV of that Act

6 as successor to the Civil Aeronautics

7 Board; and

8 (iii) exercised by the Secretary of

9 Transportation under titles XI or XII of

10 that Act relative to international air com11 merce.

12 (B) All of such functions carried out under

13 section 6(c) of the Department of Transpor14 tation Act (49 U.S.C. 1655(c)) along with all

15 functions, duties, and powers which at any time

16 had been vested in the Administrator of the

17 Federal Aviation Administration prior to the re18 vision of title 49, United States Code, by Public

19 Law 97–449.

20 (C) All of such functions carried out under

21 the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of

22 1982, as in effect on July 4, 1994.

23 (D) All of such functions carried out under

24 the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, as

25 in effect on July 4, 1994, to the extent that
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1 such Act pertains to the transportation of haz2 ardous materials by air.

3 (E) All of such functions carried out under

4 the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, as

5 in effect on July 4, 1994, to the extent it re6 lates to transportation by air.

7 (F) All of such functions carried out under

8 the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act

9 of 1979, as in effect on July 4, 1994.

10 (2) INCIDENTAL FUNCTIONS.—All functions of

11 the Department of Transportation and of the Fed12 eral Aviation Administration in the Department of

13 Transportation on the day before the effective date

14 of this Act which are incidental to, helpful to, or

15 necessary for, the performance of the functions

16 transferred by paragraph (1), or which relate pri17 marily to those functions.

18 (3) PERSONNEL, PROPERTY, RECORDS, AND

19 FUNDS.—So much of the personnel, property,

20 records, funds, accounts, and unexpended balances

21 of appropriations, allocations, and other funds of the

22 Department of Transportation and the Federal

23 Aviation Administration as are employed, used, held,

24 available, or to be made available in connection with

25 the functions transferred by paragraphs (1) and (2).
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1 (b) NO REDUCTION IN CLASSIFICATION OR COM2 PENSATION.—The personnel transferred under this sec3 tion shall be transferred without reduction in classification

4 or compensation.

5 (c) EXERCISE OF FUNCTIONS BY ADMINISTRATOR.—

6 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration

7 shall exercise all functions transferred by subsection (a)

8 of this section and any other function vested by any law

9 in the Federal Aviation Administration or the Adminis10 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration after the

11 date of the enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 6. RULES; REGULATIONS.

13 In the performance of functions pursuant to this Act,

14 the Administrator may make, promulgate, issue, rescind,

15 and amend rules and regulations in accordance with chap16 ter 5 of title 5, United States Code.

17 SEC. 7. DELEGATION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

19 this Act, the Administrator may delegate functions to offi20 cers and employees of the Administration, and may au21 thorize successive redelegations of such functions in the

22 Administration, as the Administrator considers necessary

23 or appropriate.

24 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REMAINS RESPONSIBLE.—A

25 delegation of functions by the Administrator under this
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1 section or under any other provision of this Act shall not

2 relieve the Administrator of responsibility for the adminis3 tration of such functions.

4 SEC. 8. SUPPLEMENTAL PERSONNEL AND SERVICES.

5 (a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—In addition to

6 the officers provided for by section 3, the Administrator

7 may obtain the services of experts and consultants in ac8 cordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (b) PERSONNEL OF OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon re10 quest of the Administrator, the head of any Federal agen11 cy may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the person12 nel of such agency to assist the Administrator in carrying

13 out functions of the Administration.

14 (c) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may ac16 cept voluntary services of individuals in accordance

17 with the provisions of section 3111 of title 5, United

18 States Code and without regard to the provisions of

19 section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, if such

20 services will not be used to displace Federal employ21 ees employed on a full-time, part-time, or seasonal

22 basis.

23 (2) INCIDENTAL EXPENSES.—The Adminis24 trator may provide for incidental expenses, including

25 transportation, lodging, and subsistence, for persons
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1 who provide voluntary services pursuant to this sub2 section to the Administrator.

3 (3) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—An individual

4 who provides voluntary services to the Administrator

5 pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered

6 to be a Federal employee for any purpose other than

7 for purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, United States

8 Code (relating to compensation for work injuries)

9 and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (re10 lating to tort claims).

11 SEC. 9. CONTRACTS.

12 The Administrator may, without regard to the provi13 sions of section 3324 of title 31, United States Code, and

14 subject to appropriations Acts, enter into and perform

15 contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, and other trans16 actions, on such terms and conditions as the Adminis17 trator considers appropriate, with any Federal agency or

18 any instrumentality of the United States, with any State,

19 territory, or possession, with any political subdivision

20 thereof, and with any person, (including any educational

21 institution) as may be necessary to carry out the functions

22 of the Administrator and the Administration.
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1 SEC. 10. USE OF SERVICES, EQUIPMENT, PERSONNEL, AND

2 FACILITIES OF OTHER AGENCIES.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—With the consent of the appro4 priate agency, the Administrator may, with or without re5 imbursement, use the services, equipment, personnel, and

6 facilities of Federal agencies and other public and private

7 agencies, and may cooperate with other public and private

8 agencies in the use of services, equipment, personnel, and

9 facilities.

10 (b) COOPERATION OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

11 The head of each Federal agency shall cooperate fully with

12 the Administrator in making the services, equipment, per13 sonnel, and facilities of the Federal agency available to

14 the Administrator.

15 (c) SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT.—Notwithstanding

16 any other provision of law, the head of a Federal agency

17 may transfer to or receive from the Administration, with18 out reimbursement, supplies and equipment, other than

19 administrative supplies and equipment.

20 SEC. 11. ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may—

22 (1) acquire (by purchase, lease, condemnation,

23 or otherwise), construct, improve, repair, operate,

24 and maintain—

25 (A) air traffic control facilities and equip26 ment,
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1 (B) research and testing sites and facili2 ties, and

3 (C) such other real and personal property

4 (including office space and patents), and any

5 interest therein within or outside the continen6 tal United States,

7 as the Administrator considers necessary;

8 (2) lease to others such real and personal prop9 erty; and

10 (3) provide by contract or otherwise for eating

11 facilities and other necessary facilities for the wel12 fare of employees of the Administration at its instal13 lations and purchase and maintain equipment for

14 such facilities.

15 (b) TITLE TO PROPERTY.—Title to any property or

16 interest therein acquired pursuant to this section shall be

17 in the United States.

18 (c) LIMITATION.—The authority granted by sub19 section (a) shall be available only with respect to facilities

20 of a special purpose nature that cannot readily be reas21 signed from similar Federal activities and are not other22 wise available for assignment to the Administration by the

23 Administrator of General Services.

24 (d) CONTRACTS AND LEASES SUBJECT TO APPRO25 PRIATIONS.—The authority of the Administrator to enter
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1 into contracts and leases under this section shall be to

2 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in appro3 priation Acts.

4 SEC. 12. TRANSFERS OF FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL

5 AGENCIES.

6 The Administrator may accept transfers from other

7 Federal agencies of funds which are available to carry

8 out—

9 (1) functions transferred by this Act to the Ad10 ministrator; or

11 (2) functions assigned by law to the Adminis12 trator after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 13. SEAL OF ADMINISTRATION.

14 The Administration shall cause a seal of office to be

15 made for the Administration of such design as the Admin16 istrator shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken

17 of such seal.

18 SEC. 14. STATUS OF ADMINISTRATION UNDER CERTAIN

19 LAWS.

20 For purposes of chapter 9 of title 5, United States

21 Code, the Administration is an independent regulatory

22 agency.
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1 SEC. 15. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—All orders, determinations, rules,

3 regulations, permits, contracts, certificates, licenses, and

4 privileges—

5 (1) which have been issued, made, granted, or

6 allowed to become effective by the President, any

7 Federal department or agency or official thereof, or

8 by a court of competent jurisdiction, in regard to

9 functions which are transferred under this Act to

10 the Administration on or after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act; and

12 (2) which are in effect on the effective date of

13 this Act;

14 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

15 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in

16 accordance with law by the President, the Administrator

17 or other authorized official, by a court of competent juris18 diction, or by operation of law.

19 (b) PENDING LICENSES, PERMITS, CERTIFICATES,

20 AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not affect any

22 proceedings or any application for any license, per23 mit, certificate, or financial assistance pending on

24 the effective date of this Act, and such proceedings

25 and applications, to the extent that they relate to

26 functions so transferred, shall be continued.
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1 (2) PROCEEDINGS.—Orders shall be issued in

2 proceedings referred to in paragraph (1), appeals

3 shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be

4 made pursuant to such orders, as if this Act had not

5 been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceed6 ings shall continue in effect until modified, termi7 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized

8 official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by

9 operation of law.

10 (3) DISCONTINUANCE OR MODIFICATION.—

11 Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to

12 prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any

13 proceeding under the same terms and conditions and

14 to the same extent that such proceeding could have

15 been discontinued or modified if this Act had not

16 been enacted.

17 (c) PENDING SUITS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not affect

19 suits commenced before the effective date of this

20 Act.

21 (2) PROCEEDINGS.—In all suits referred to in

22 paragraph (1), proceedings shall be had, appeals

23 taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner

24 and effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

25 (d) INTERIM APPOINTMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case involving an of2 ficer required by this Act to be appointed by and

3 with the advice and consent of the Senate who has

4 not entered office on the effective date of this Act,

5 the President may designate the person who served

6 as such officer on the day before the effective date

7 of this Act to act in such office until the office is

8 filled as provided by this Act.

9 (2) COMPENSATION.—A person designated to

10 act in an office under paragraph (1) shall receive

11 compensation at the rate of pay provided by this Act

12 for the office in which the person acts.

13 SEC. 16. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF THE AIRPORT AND

14 AIRWAY TRUST FUND.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, the receipts and disbursements of the Airport

17 and Airway Trust Fund allocable to the transportation18 related operations of such Trust Fund, including disburse19 ments for administrative expenses incurred in connection

20 with such Trust Fund—

21 (1) shall not be included in the totals of—

22 (A) the budget of the United States Gov23 ernment as submitted by the President, or
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1 (B) the congressional budget (including al2 locations of budget authority and outlays pro3 vided therein);

4 (2) shall be exempt from any general budget

5 limitation imposed by statute on expenditures and

6 net lending (budget outlays) of the United States

7 Government; and

8 (3) shall be exempt from any order issued

9 under part C of the Balanced Budget and Emer10 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef12 fect October 1, 1996.

13 SEC. 17. LAWS AND REGULATIONS.

14 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all laws,

15 rules, and regulations in effect and applicable to the Fed16 eral Aviation Administration of the Department of Trans17 portation or to the Administrator of such Administration

18 on the date immediately preceding the effective date of

19 this Act shall, on and after such effective date, be applica20 ble to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Ad21 ministrator established by this Act, until such law, rule,

22 or regulation is repealed or otherwise modified or

23 amended.
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1 SEC. 18. REPEAL.

2 Section 106 of title 49, United States Code (relating

3 to the establishment of the Federal Aviation Administra4 tion in the Department of Transportation), is repealed.

5 SEC. 19. DEFINITIONS.

6 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions

7 apply:

8 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra9 tion’’ means the Federal Aviation Administration es10 tablished by section 2.

11 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

13 Aviation Administration appointed under section 3.

14 SEC. 20. EFFECTIVE DATE.

15 Except as provided in section 16(b), this Act shall

16 take effect 180 days after the date of its enactment.

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