II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1571 

To reform the essential air service program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. HAGEL, and Mr. NELSON of Nebraska) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reform the essential air service program, 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 ‘‘Rural Aviation Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE LOCAL PAR7 TICIPATION PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 417 of 

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking secVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:48 Jun 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1571.IS S1571

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1 tion 41747, and such title 49 shall be applied as if such 

2 section 41747 had not been enacted. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap4 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

5 striking the item relating to section 41747. 

6 SEC. 3. PER PASSENGER SUBSIDY FOR ESSENTIAL AIR 

7 SERVICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41742 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(c) PER PASSENGER SUBSIDY CAP.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor13 tation may not provide compensation to an air car14 rier to provide air transportation under this sub15 chapter to an otherwise eligible place in the 48 con16 tiguous States if the eligible place— 

17 ‘‘(A) is located fewer than 70 highway 

18 miles from the nearest large or medium hub 

19 airport; or 

20 ‘‘(B) is fewer than 210 miles from the 

21 nearest large or medium hub airport and re22 quires a per passenger subsidy in excess of the 

23 dollar amount described in paragraph (2). 

24 ‘‘(2) DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PER PASSENGER

25 SUBSIDY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The dollar amount de2 scribed in this paragraph is— 

3 ‘‘(i) for calendar year 2008, $200; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) for each calendar year after cal6 endar year 2008, $200 increased by an 

7 amount equal to— 

8 ‘‘(I) $200, multiplied by 

9 ‘‘(II) the percentage (if any) by 

10 which the CPI for the preceding cal11 endar year exceeds the CPI for cal12 endar year 2007. 

13 ‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—Any increase under 

14 subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be rounded to the 

15 nearest dollar. 

16 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) CPI FOR THE PRECEDING CALENDAR

18 YEAR.—The term ‘CPI for the preceding cal19 endar year’ means the average of the Consumer 

20 Price Index as of the close of the 12-month pe21 riod ending on August 31 of such calendar 

22 year. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.—The term 

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1 sumer Price Index for all-urban consumers pub2 lished by the Department of Labor.’’. 

3 (b) PER PASSENGER SUBSIDY DEFINED.—Section 

4 41731(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) ‘per passenger subsidy’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) the total compensation provided by 

8 the Secretary of Transportation to an air car9 rier under this subchapter that is necessary for 

10 the air carrier to provide air transportation to 

11 an eligible place, divided by 

12 ‘‘(B) the total number of passengers using 

13 such air transportation.’’. 

14 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 332 of the De15 partment of Transportation and Related Agencies Appro16 priations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–69; 49 U.S.C. 

17 41731 note) is repealed. 

18 SEC. 4. COMMUNITIES ABOVE PER PASSENGER SUBSIDY 

19 CAP. 

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

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

22 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 41749. Essential air service for eligible places 

2 above per passenger subsidy cap 

3 ‘‘(a) PROPOSALS.—A State or local government may 

4 submit a proposal to the Secretary of Transportation for 

5 compensation for an air carrier to provide air transpor6 tation to a place described in subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(b) PLACE DESCRIBED.—A place described in this 

8 subsection is a place— 

9 ‘‘(1) that is otherwise an eligible place; and 

10 ‘‘(2) for which the per passenger subsidy ex11 ceeds the dollar amount allowable under section 

12 41742(c). 

13 ‘‘(c) DECISIONS.—Not later than 90 days after re14 ceiving a proposal under subsection (a) for compensation 

15 for an air carrier to provide air transportation to a place 

16 described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) decide whether to provide compensation 

18 for the air carrier to provide air transportation to 

19 the place; and 

20 ‘‘(2) approve the proposal if the State or local 

21 government or a person is willing and able to pay 

22 the difference between— 

23 ‘‘(A) the per passenger subsidy; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the dollar amount allowable for such 

25 subsidy under section 41742(c). 

26 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION PAYMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay 

2 compensation under this section at such time and in 

3 such manner as the Secretary determines is appro4 priate. 

5 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

6 shall continue to pay compensation under this sec7 tion only as long as— 

8 ‘‘(A) the State or local government or per9 son agreeing to pay compensation under sub10 section (c)(2) continues to pay such compensa11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the Secretary decides the compensa13 tion is necessary to maintain air transportation 

14 to the place. 

15 ‘‘(e) REVIEW.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall peri17 odically review the type and level of air service pro18 vided under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

20 make appropriate adjustments in the type and level 

21 of air service to a place under this section based on 

22 the review under paragraph (1) and consultation 

23 with the affected community and the State or local 

24 government or person agreeing to pay compensation 

25 under subsection (c)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(f) ENDING, SUSPENDING, AND REDUCING AIR

2 TRANSPORTATION.—An air carrier providing air transpor3 tation to a place under this section may end, suspend, or 

4 reduce such air transportation if, not later than 30 days 

5 before ending, suspending, or reducing such air transpor6 tation, the air carrier provides notice of the intent of the 

7 air carrier to end, suspend, or reduce such air transpor8 tation to— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

10 ‘‘(2) the affected community; and 

11 ‘‘(3) the State or local government or person 

12 agreeing to pay compensation under subsection 

13 (c)(2).’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap15 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

16 adding after the item relating to section 41748 the fol17 lowing new item: 

‘‘41749. Essential air service for eligible places above per passenger subsidy 

cap.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. PREFERRED ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 417 of 

20 title 49, United States Code, as amended by section 4, 

21 is further amended by adding after section 41749 the fol22 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 41750. Preferred essential air service 

2 ‘‘(a) PROPOSALS.—A State or local government may 

3 submit a proposal to the Secretary of Transportation for 

4 compensation for a preferred air carrier described in sub5 section (b) to provide air transportation to an eligible 

6 place. 

7 ‘‘(b) PREFERRED AIR CARRIER DESCRIBED.—A pre8 ferred air carrier described in this subsection is an air car9 rier that— 

10 ‘‘(1) submits an application under section 

11 41733(c) to provide air transportation to an eligible 

12 place; 

13 ‘‘(2) is not the air carrier that submits the low14 est cost bid to provide air transportation to the eligi15 ble place; and 

16 ‘‘(3) is an air carrier that the affected commu17 nity prefers to provide air transportation to the eligi18 ble place instead of the air carrier that submits the 

19 lowest cost bid. 

20 ‘‘(c) DECISIONS.—Not later than 90 days after re21 ceiving a proposal under subsection (a) for compensation 

22 for a preferred air carrier described in subsection (b) to 

23 provide air transportation to an eligible place, the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) decide whether to provide compensation 

2 for the preferred air carrier to provide air transpor3 tation to the eligible place; and 

4 ‘‘(2) approve the proposal if the State or local 

5 government or a person is willing and able to pay 

6 the difference between— 

7 ‘‘(A) the rate of compensation the Sec8 retary would provide to the air carrier that sub9 mits the lowest cost bid to provide air transpor10 tation to the eligible place; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the rate of compensation the pre12 ferred air carrier estimates to be necessary to 

13 provide air transportation to the eligible place. 

14 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION PAYMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay 

16 compensation under this section at such time and in 

17 such manner as the Secretary determines is appro18 priate. 

19 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

20 shall continue to pay compensation under this sec21 tion only as long as— 

22 ‘‘(A) the State or local government or per23 son agreeing to pay compensation under sub24 section (c)(2) continues to pay such compensa25 tion; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary decides the compensa2 tion is necessary to maintain air transportation 

3 to the eligible place. 

4 ‘‘(e) REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall peri6 odically review the type and level of air service pro7 vided under this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

9 make appropriate adjustments in the type and level 

10 of air service to an eligible place under this section 

11 based on the review under paragraph (1) and con12 sultation with the affected community and the State 

13 or local government or person agreeing to pay com14 pensation under subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(f) ENDING, SUSPENDING, AND REDUCING AIR

16 TRANSPORTATION.—A preferred air carrier providing air 

17 transportation to an eligible place under this section may 

18 end, suspend, or reduce such air transportation if, not 

19 later than 30 days before ending, suspending, or reducing 

20 such air transportation, the preferred air carrier provides 

21 notice of the intent of the preferred air carrier to end, 

22 suspend, or reduce such air transportation to— 

23 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(2) the affected community; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the State or local government or person 

2 agreeing to pay compensation under subsection 

3 (c)(2).’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap5 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 

6 section 4, is further amended by adding after the item re7 lating to section 41749 the following new item: 

‘‘41750. Preferred essential air service.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY TO A PLACE DETER9 MINED BY THE SECRETARY TO BE INELI10 GIBLE FOR SUBSIDIZED ESSENTIAL AIR 

11 SERVICE. 

12 Section 41733 of title 49, United States Code, is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(f) RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSIDIZED

16 ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Trans18 portation terminates the eligibility of an otherwise 

19 eligible place to receive basic essential air service by 

20 an air carrier for compensation under subsection (c), 

21 a State or local government may submit to the Sec22 retary a proposal for restoring such eligibility. 

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—If the 

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1 graph (1) does not exceed the per passenger subsidy 

2 cap provided under section 41742(c), the Secretary 

3 shall issue an order restoring the eligibility of the 

4 otherwise eligible place to receive basic essential air 

5 service by an air carrier for compensation under 

6 subsection (c).’’. 

7 SEC. 7. CALCULATION OF HIGHWAY MILEAGE TO MEDIUM 

8 AND LARGE HUB AIRPORTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41731 of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF HIGHWAY MILEAGE TO ME13 DIUM AND LARGE HUB AIRPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any determination under 

15 this subchapter of compensation or eligibility for 

16 compensation for essential air service based on the 

17 highway mileage of an eligible place from the nearest 

18 medium hub airport or large hub airport, the high19 way mileage shall be that of the most commonly 

20 used route, as identified under paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) MOST COMMONLY USED ROUTE.—The Sec22 retary of Transportation shall identify the most com23 monly used route between an eligible place and the 

24 nearest medium hub airport or large hub airport 

25 by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) consulting with the Governor or a 

2 designee of the Governor in the State in which 

3 the eligible place is located; and 

4 ‘‘(B) considering the certification of the 

5 Governor or a designee of the Governor as to 

6 the most commonly used route. 

7 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall 

8 apply only to eligible places in the 48 contiguous 

9 States and the District of Columbia.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 409 of Vi11 sion 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Pub12 lic Law 108–176; 49 U.S.C. 41731 note) is repealed. 

13 SEC. 8. OFFICE OF RURAL AVIATION. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

15 the Office of the Secretary of Transportation the Office 

16 of Rural Aviation (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Of17 fice’’). 

18 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are— 

19 (1) to develop a uniform 4-year contract for air 

20 carriers providing essential air service to commu21 nities under subchapter II of chapter 417 of title 49, 

22 United States Code; 

23 (2) to develop a mechanism for comparing ap24 plications submitted by air carriers under section 


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1 41733(c) to provide essential air service to commu2 nities, including comparing— 

3 (A) estimates from air carriers on— 

4 (i) the cost of providing essential air 

5 service; and 

6 (ii) the revenues air carriers expect to 

7 receive when providing essential air service; 

8 and 

9 (B) estimated schedules for air transpor10 tation; and 

11 (3) to select an air carrier from among air car12 riers applying to provide essential air service, based 

13 on the criteria described in paragraph (2). 

14 SEC. 9. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO MAKE AGREEMENTS 

15 UNDER THE ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE PRO16 GRAM. 

17 Section 41743(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

19 SEC. 10. ADJUSTMENTS TO COMPENSATION FOR SIGNIFI20 CANTLY INCREASED COSTS. 

21 Section 41737 of title 49, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

25 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

2 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(D) provide for an adjustment in com5 pensation to account for significant increases in 

6 fuel costs, in accordance with subsection (e).’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) in subsection (e)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘may’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘may’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

13 SEC. 11. CHARTER AIR CARRIER PASSENGER BOARDINGS. 

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec15 retary of Transportation shall treat passenger boardings 

16 on aircraft operated by charter air carriers at airports re17 ceiving essential air service under subchapter II of chapter 

18 417 of title 49, United States Code, as passenger 

19 boardings for purposes of section 47114(c)(1)(E) of such 

20 title. 

21 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ESSEN22 TIAL AIR SERVICE. 

23 (a) ADJUSTMENT TO AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO24 PRIATIONS.—Section 41742 of title 49, United States 

25 Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking 

2 ‘‘$77,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$33,000,000’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Notwith4 standing section 47114’’ and all that follows. 

5 (b) FUNDS FROM AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST

6 FUND.—Section 41737(d)(2) of title 49, United States 

7 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) In addition to amounts authorized to be 

9 appropriated under section 41742(a), not more than 

10 $50,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary out 

11 of the Fund for each of the fiscal years 2008 

12 through 2011 to incur obligations under this section. 

13 Amounts made available under this section remain 

14 available until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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