I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 220 

To establish the Office of Advanced Aviation within the Administration of 

the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. VAN DREW introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Office of Advanced Aviation within the Administration of 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Aviation 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF ADVANCED AVIATION; ASSOCIATE AD2 MINISTRATOR FOR ADVANCED AVIATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall re5 designate the Office of NextGen as the Office of Advanced 

6 Aviation. 

7 (b) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint 

9 an Associate Administrator for Advanced Aviation to head 

10 the Office of Advanced Aviation designated under sub11 section (a). 

12 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of the 

13 Associate Administrator for Advanced Aviation shall in14 clude the following: 

15 (1) Coordinate rulemaking and approval proc16 esses on matters relating to the standardization and 

17 certification of advanced aviation systems for use in 

18 the national airspace system. 

19 (2) Coordinate rulemaking and approval proc20 esses on matters relating to the safe operation and 

21 integration of advanced aviation systems in the na22 tional airspace system. 

23 (3) Coordinate activities and establish policies 

24 related to the integration of aeronautical radio fre25 quency spectrum designated by the National Tele26 communications and Information Administration of 


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1 the Department of Commerce for use in the national 

2 airspace system. 

3 (4) Coordinate workforce planning across rel4 evant offices of the Administration to— 

5 (A) hire and recruit personnel to— 

6 (i) research, develop, test, and evalu7 ate advanced aviation systems; and 

8 (ii) process applications related to ad9 vanced aviation systems in a timely man10 ner; 

11 (B) develop and submit a quarterly report 

12 to the Secretary and the Administrator, includ13 ing— 

14 (i) core workforce requirements re15 lated to the research, development, testing 

16 and evaluation of advanced aviation sys17 tems by the Administration; 

18 (ii) core workforce requirements re19 lated to the safety, certification, and oper20 ational approval of advanced aviation sys21 tems by the Administration; and 

22 (iii) recommendations on staffing and 

23 budgetary resources needed to address 

24 areas of concern. 


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1 (5) Coordinate rulemaking related to the inter2 national standardization and environmental effects 

3 of advanced aviation systems. 

4 (6) Advise the Administrator during internal 

5 and interagency coordination and rulemaking on 

6 counter-UAS systems and other matters related to 

7 advanced aviation systems. 

8 (7) Advise the Chief Technology Officer of the 

9 Administration on the development of enterprise ar10 chitecture. 

11 (8) Validate supporting system requirements 

12 proposed by the Chief Technology Officer. 

13 (9) Consult with the Director of the William J. 

14 Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aviation, as 

15 redesignated under section 5, to— 

16 (A) evaluate technologies related to ad17 vanced aviation systems; 

18 (B) inform processes and rulemaking re19 lated to advanced aviation systems; 

20 (C) identify new technologies that qualify 

21 as viable advanced aviation systems; and 

22 (D) coordinate referral of all technologies 

23 to the relevant office of the Administration. 

24 (10) Lead aviation rulemaking committees rel25 evant to advanced aviation systems. 


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1 (11) Consult with and assign tasks to the Ad2 vanced Aviation Advisory Committee. 

3 (12) Develop and implement a secure password4 protected online portal that allows stakeholders with 

5 a new or pending certification or approval applica6 tion to review the status of such application, receive 

7 notice of deadlines and major certification mile8 stones, and identify the Administration office review9 ing such application. 

10 (13) Implement pilot programs in partnership 

11 with advanced aviation stakeholders to provide data 

12 to support rulemaking and approval processes. 

13 (14) Serve as a representative of the Adminis14 tration during interagency coordination of policies 

15 related to advanced aviation systems. 

16 (15) Promote the safe and responsible integra17 tion of advanced aviation systems into the national 

18 airspace system. 

19 (d) NOTICE OF OBJECTION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the respon21 sibilities described in subsection (c), the Associate 

22 Administrator for Advanced Aviation may submit to 

23 the Administrator a notice of objection with respect 

24 to— 


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1 (A) a final rule of the Administration re2 lated to advanced aviation systems; 

3 (B) a determination by the Chief Tech4 nology Officer related to the establishment of 

5 enterprise architecture or supporting system re6 quirements; 

7 (C) an airworthiness or type certification 

8 determination that relates to an advanced avia9 tion system issued in accordance with section 

10 44701 or 44704 of title 49, United States 

11 Code, or a modification or reversal of such de12 termination; and 

13 (D) an waiver determination that relates to 

14 the operation of an advanced aviation system in 

15 the national airspace system issued in accord16 ance with section 44701 or 44807 of title 49, 

17 United States Code, or a modification or rever18 sal of such determination. 

19 (2) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—In each notice of 

20 objection submitted under this subsection, the Asso21 ciate Administrator shall include an explanation for 

22 the basis of each such objection. 

23 (3) DETERMINATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Not 

24 later than 30 days after receiving a notice of objec25 tion under this subsection, the Administrator shall— 


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1 (A) determine whether to agree with or 

2 overrule such objection; and 

3 (B) if the Administrator determines that 

4 such objection should be overruled, submit to 

5 the Secretary a report explaining the reasons 

6 for overruling such objection. 

7 (4) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—Not 

8 later than 30 days after receiving a report submitted 

9 under paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary may deter10 mine whether to allow the rule, determination, modi11 fication, or reversal to which the report relates to 

12 proceed. If the Secretary fails to make a determina13 tion under this paragraph, the determination made 

14 by the Administrator under paragraph (3) shall pro15 ceed. 

16 (5) IMPLEMENTATION OF RULE.—Any rule or 

17 determination that is the subject of a notice of ob18 jection submitted under this subsection shall not 

19 take effect during the period beginning on the date 

20 on which such notice is submitted and ending on the 

21 last day of the 30-day period described in paragraph 

22 (4). 

23 (6) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) submit to Congress each notice of ob2 jection submitted under paragraph (1); 

3 (B) notify Congress of each determination 

4 of the Administrator under paragraph (3), and 

5 submit to Congress the report required under 

6 subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, if applica7 ble; and 

8 (C) notify Congress of any determination 

9 made by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph 

10 (4). 

11 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ADVANCED INTEGRATION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Associate Administrator 

13 for Advanced Aviation shall establish an Office of Ad14 vanced Integration within the Office of Advanced Aviation. 

15 (b) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Adminis17 trator, in consultation with the Administrator and Sec18 retary, shall appoint a Director of Advanced Integration 

19 to head the Office of Advanced Integration. 

20 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Associate Adminis21 trator shall delegate to the Director of Advanced Integra22 tion the responsibilities described in paragraphs (1) 

23 through (5) of section 2(c). 

24 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Director of Advanced In25 tegration shall collaborate with— 


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1 (1) the Executive Director of the Aircraft Cer2 tification Service of the Administration and the Ex3 ecutive Director of the Flight Standards Service of 

4 the Administration to carry out the responsibilities 

5 described in section 2(c)(1); 

6 (2) the Director for Air Traffic Services Oper7 ations Planning and Integration of the Administra8 tion to carry out the responsibilities described in sec9 tion 2(c)(2); 

10 (3) the Vice President of Technical Operations 

11 of the Air Traffic Organization to carry out the re12 sponsibilities described in section 2(c)(3); 

13 (4) the Assistant Administrator for Finance 

14 and Management of the Administration to carry out 

15 the responsibilities described in section 2(c)(4); and 

16 (5) the Director of the Office of International 

17 Affairs of the Administration and the Director of the 

18 Office of Environment and Energy of the Adminis19 tration to carry out the responsibilities described in 

20 section 2(c)(5). 

21 SEC. 4. ADVANCED AVIATION COORDINATION UNIT. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a coordination unit within the Administration to carry out 

24 the responsibilities described in subsection (d), to be 

25 known as the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit. 


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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advanced Aviation Coordi2 nation Unit shall consist of the head of each relevant office 

3 of the Administration, or an employee representing such 

4 office, including— 

5 (1) the Office of Advanced Integration estab6 lished under section 3; 

7 (2) the William J. Hughes Technical Center for 

8 Advanced Aviation, as redesignated under section 5; 

9 (3) the Office of Aviation Safety; 

10 (4) the Aircraft Certification Service; 

11 (5) the Flight Standards Service; 

12 (6) Air Traffic Organization; 

13 (7) the Program Management Organization; 

14 (8) Technical Operations Services for the Air 

15 Traffic Organization; 

16 (9) the Office of Airports; 

17 (10) the Office of the Chief Counsel; 

18 (11) the Office of Commercial Space Transpor19 tation; 

20 (12) the Office of Environment and Energy; 

21 (13) the office headed by the Chief Technology 

22 Officer; and 

23 (14) the Office of Finance and Management. 

24 (c) CHAIR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Advanced 

2 Integration shall serve as the Chair of the Advanced 

3 Aviation Coordination Unit, at the discretion of the 

4 Associate Administrator for Advanced Aviation. 

5 (2) AUTHORITY.—The Chair may— 

6 (A) schedule meetings of the members of 

7 the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit; 

8 (B) identify items for the members of the 

9 Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit to act on 

10 in fulfillment of the responsibilities described in 

11 subsection (d); and 

12 (C) submit to the Administrator, the Sec13 retary, and Congress a notice of noncompliance 

14 indicating that a member of the Advanced Avia15 tion Coordination Unit failed to participate in 

16 the Coordination Unit to the extent necessary 

17 to fulfill such responsibilities. 

18 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Chair shall consult 

19 with the Director of the William J. Hughes Tech20 nical Center for Advanced Aviation to identify new 

21 aviation-related technologies through the aviation in22 novation program established under section 5(c). 

23 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The members of the Ad24 vanced Aviation Coordination Unit shall collaborate to— 


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1 (1) promote the safe and responsible integration 

2 of advanced aviation systems into the national air3 space system; 

4 (2) establish or improve processes related to 

5 such integration; 

6 (3) establish or improve processes related to the 

7 certification of advanced aviation systems; 

8 (4) develop clear and consistent standards re9 lated to advanced aviation systems; 

10 (5) ensure that determinations of the Adminis11 tration related to advanced aviation systems are 

12 made in a timely manner; 

13 (6) proactively identify, discuss, and act on 

14 challenges related to the application and impact of 

15 radio frequency spectrum use in the national air16 space system; and 

17 (7) identify innovative aviation technologies 

18 that may be integrated into the national airspace 

19 system. 

20 (e) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary 

21 may facilitate coordination between interagency partners 

22 and the members of the Advanced Aviation Coordination 

23 Unit to fulfill the responsibilities described in subsection 

24 (d). 


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1 SEC. 5. WILLIAM J. HUGHES TECHNICAL CENTER FOR AD2 VANCED AVIATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall re6 designate the William J. Hughes Technical Center 

7 as the William J. Hughes Technical Center for Ad8 vanced Aviation. 

9 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the William J. 

10 Hughes Technical Center shall be known as Director 

11 of the William J. Hughes Technical Center for Ad12 vanced Aviation. 

13 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of the William 

14 J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aviation shall 

15 be responsible for— 

16 (1) assuming all roles and responsibilities pre17 viously held by the Director of William J. Hughes 

18 Technical Center, including— 

19 (A) managing the research and develop20 ment portfolio of the Administration and the 

21 Research and Development Advisory Com22 mittee; 

23 (B) preparing congressional reports rel24 evant to such research, including the National 

25 Aviation Research Plan and Annual Review; 


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1 (C) developing formal research partner2 ships with industry, academia, and other gov3 ernment agencies, and promoting the dissemi4 nation of federally funded research; 

5 (D) managing research grants and Centers 

6 of Excellence; 

7 (E) conducting aviation research, develop8 ment, testing, evaluation activities, and 

9 sustainment activities, including field support, 

10 for new and existing national airspace system 

11 applications and technologies related to— 

12 (i) aerospace performance and plan13 ning, including reducing aviation hazards 

14 and aircraft safety assurance; 

15 (ii) airports; 

16 (iii) digital systems and technologies, 

17 including spectrum management and evolv18 ing aerospace operations; 

19 (iv) safety and health; 

20 (v) aircraft, weather, or human fac21 tors; 

22 (vi) pre-implementation air traffic 

23 management, including NextGen; 


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1 (vii) testing during the development of 

2 air traffic control systems to verify per3 formance; and 

4 (viii) flight testing; 

5 (F) maintaining and upholding test meth6 ods, standards, and policies of the Administra7 tion and providing independent test and evalua8 tion to confirm products are operationally suit9 able and effective for use in the national air10 space system; 

11 (G) developing performance-based stand12 ards with industry and domestic or inter13 national partners for advanced aviation systems 

14 and other global aviation harmonization activi15 ties; and 

16 (H) facilitating interagency engagement 

17 through the research team process; 

18 (2) assisting the Associate Administrator for 

19 Advanced Aviation in fulfilling the responsibilities 

20 described in paragraphs (7) and (8) of section 2(c); 

21 (3) managing the campus of the William J. 

22 Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aviation, in23 cluding— 

24 (A) conducting operations and mainte25 nance, engineering design and construction, and 


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1 operational support services for campus facili2 ties owned by the Administration and Adminis3 tration personnel residing on properties that are 

4 owned by the Administration and located on the 

5 campus; 

6 (B) operating, maintaining, and enhancing 

7 the support infrastructure of the campus, in8 cluding buildings, roads, utilities, and land; 

9 (C) ensuring compliance with environ10 mental laws, policies, directives, and initiatives; 

11 (D) managing lease agreements and land 

12 permits that support the missions of all Fed13 eral, State, and local agencies on the campus; 

14 (E) managing, modernizing, and enhancing 

15 the activities of the national airspace system 

16 laboratories and supporting the physical and 

17 virtual laboratories through configuration man18 agement, test bed maintenance and enhance19 ment, laboratory scheduling, computer oper20 ations, documentation library services, and sys21 tems engineering; and 

22 (F) providing technical and engineering 

23 services for customers of such laboratories in 

24 support of research and development system in25 stallations and proof-of-concept testing; 


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1 (4) overseeing all research, development, test2 ing, evaluation, and sustainment activities related to 

3 advanced aviation systems; and 

4 (5) hosting domestic and international 

5 symposia, conferences, or technical interchange 

6 meetings with industry, academia, and other govern7 ment agencies. 

8 (c) AVIATION INNOVATION PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the 

10 William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced 

11 Aviation shall establish and manage a program to 

12 evaluate new aviation-related technologies proposed 

13 to be used in the national airspace system and facili14 tate the integration of such technologies into the na15 tional airspace system. 

16 (2) COMPONENTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

18 program established under paragraph (1), the 

19 Director shall— 

20 (i) encourage aviation industry stake21 holders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to 

22 present to the Director aviation-related 

23 technologies for proposed use in the na24 tional airspace system; 


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1 (ii) examine the effects of each such 

2 technology proposed under the program on 

3 the national airspace system and the po4 tential benefits and risks of such tech5 nology, including the potential safety, so6 cial, economic, and workforce effects, and 

7 methods to safely integrate such tech8 nology into the national airspace system; 

9 and 

10 (iii) determine whether such tech11 nology could feasibly be integrated into the 

12 national airspace system. 

13 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—After exam14 ining a technology and making the determina15 tion required under subparagraph (A), the Di16 rector shall submit to the Associate Adminis17 trator for Advanced Aviation recommendations 

18 on— 

19 (i) whether such technology could fea20 sibly and safely be integrated into the na21 tional airspace system; 

22 (ii) which office or offices should be 

23 responsible for designing and implementing 

24 policies, processes, and procedures related 

25 to such technology; and 


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1 (iii) whether such technology may be 

2 considered an advanced aviation system. 

3 (C) REFERRAL.—Upon receipt of a rec4 ommendation related to an aviation-related 

5 technology under subparagraph (B), the Asso6 ciate Administrator for Advanced Aviation 

7 shall— 

8 (i) submit a summary of such rec9 ommendation to the Administrator and the 

10 Secretary; 

11 (ii) refer such technology to the rel12 evant office of the Administration; and 

13 (iii) in the case of a recommendation 

14 by the Director that a technology be con15 sidered an advanced aviation system, refer 

16 such technology to the Advanced Aviation 

17 Coordination Unit established under sec18 tion 4. 

19 (3) COLLABORATION.—In examining each tech20 nology proposed under the program established 

21 under this subsection, the Director shall collaborate 

22 with subject matter experts from relevant offices of 

23 the Administration in an expeditious and thorough 

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1 velopment, demonstration, and adoption of such 

2 technology. 

3 (4) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Director may enter 

4 into partnerships with stakeholders to participate in 

5 the program established under this subsection. 

6 (d) AUTHORITY.—The Director may establish cooper7 ative research and development agreements and make 

8 grants to carry out this section. 

9 (e) PRESERVATION.—The redesignation of the Wil10 liam J. Hughes Technical Center under this section shall 

11 not affect any agreement between the William J. Hughes 

12 Technical Center and another entity that was in effect on 

13 the day before such redesignation occurs. 

14 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 44507 of 

15 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) CIVIL AEROMEDICAL INSTI17 TUTE’’ and all that follows through ‘‘The Civil 

18 Aeromedical Institute established’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘The Civil Aeromedical Institute established’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subsection (b). 

21 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

25 Aviation Administration. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra2 tion’’ means the Federal Aviation Administration. 

3 (3) ADVANCED AVIATION SYSTEM.—The term 

4 ‘‘advanced aviation system’’ means— 

5 (A) an unmanned aircraft system; 

6 (B) a counter-UAS system; 

7 (C) a powered lift aircraft; 

8 (D) a technology related to— 

9 (i) advanced air mobility; 

10 (ii) the ability of an aircraft to detect 

11 surroundings and avoid impacts; 

12 (iii) autonomous functioning of air13 craft; 

14 (iv) supersonic aircraft capabilities; 

15 (v) electric or hydrogen based aircraft 

16 propulsion; or 

17 (vi) evolving aerospace operations in18 cluding new aircraft, airport, weather, or 

19 digital systems; 

20 (E) a technology that— 

21 (i) relates to the telecommunication 

22 capabilities of aircraft; or 

23 (ii) functions in the 5G band, 6G 

24 band, or other high-frequency spectrum 

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1 communications and Information Adminis2 tration for use as aeronautical radio fre3 quency spectrum; or 

4 (F) any other aviation-related technology 

5 that the Associate Administrator for Advanced 

6 Aviation determines qualifies as an advanced 

7 aviation system that could feasibly be inte8 grated into the national airspace system. 

9 (4) COUNTER-UAS SYSTEM; UNMANNED AIR10 CRAFT SYSTEM.—The terms ‘‘counter-UAS system’’ 

11 and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the meanings 

12 given such terms in section 44801 of title 49, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Transportation. 

Æ 


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