109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3679

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National Transportation

Safety Board, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization

6 Act of 2006’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Reports.

Sec. 3. Contracting requirements for investigation services.

Sec. 4. Technical corrections.

Sec. 5. AMTRAK plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.

Sec. 6. Inspector General of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Sec. 7. Audit procedures.

Sec. 8. DOT Inspector General to investigate Central Artery project contractors

and oversight agencies.

Sec. 9. Implementation of NTSB’s ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements, 2006’’.

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations.

3 SEC. 2. REPORTS.

4 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1117 of title 49,

6 United States Code, is amended—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon

8 in paragraph (2);

9 (B) by striking ‘‘State.’’ in paragraph (3)

10 and inserting ‘‘State;’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(4) a description of the activities and oper13 ations of the National Transportation Safety Board

14 Academy during the prior calendar year;

15 ‘‘(5) a list of accidents during the prior cal16 endar year that the Board was required to inves17 tigate under section 1131 of this title but did not in18 vestigate, and an explanation of why they were not

19 investigated; and
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1 ‘‘(6) a list of ongoing investigations that have

2 exceeded the expected time allotted for completion

3 by Board order and an explanation for the addi4 tional time required to complete each such investiga5 tion.’’.

6 (2) UTILIZATION PLAN.—

7 (A) PLAN.—Within 90 days after the date

8 of enactment of this Act, the National Trans9 portation Safety Board shall—

10 (i) develop a plan to achieve the self11 sufficient operation of the National Trans12 portation Safety Board Academy and uti13 lize fully the Academy’s facilities and re14 sources;

15 (ii) submit a draft of the plan to the

16 Comptroller General for review and com17 ment; and

18 (iii) submit a draft of the plan to the

19 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,

20 and Transportation and the House of Rep21 resentatives Committee on Transportation

22 and Infrastructure.

23 (B) PLAN DEVELOPMENT CONSIDER24 ATIONS.—The Board shall—
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1 (i) give consideration in developing

2 the plan to subleasing the facility to an3 other entity or other revenue-generating

4 measures; and

5 (ii) include in the plan a detailed fi6 nancial statement that covers current

7 Academy expenses and revenues and an

8 analysis of the projected impact of the plan

9 on the Academy’s expenses and revenues.

10 (C) REPORT.—Within 180 days after the

11 date of enactment of this Act, the National

12 Transportation Safety Board shall submit a re13 port to the Senate Committee on Commerce,

14 Science, and Transportation and the House of

15 Representatives Committee on Transportation

16 and Infrastructure that includes—

17 (i) an updated copy of the plan;

18 (ii) any comments and recommenda19 tions made by the Comptroller General

20 pursuant to the Government Accountability

21 Office’s review of the draft plan; and

22 (iii) a response to the Comptroller

23 General’s comments and recommendations,

24 including a description of any modifica-
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1 tions made to the plan in response to those

2 comments and recommendations.

3 (D) IMPLEMENTATION.—The plan shall be

4 fully implemented within 2 years after the date

5 of enactment of this Act.

6 (b) DOT REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH REC7 OMMENDATIONS.—Within 90 days after the Secretary of

8 Transportation submits a report under section 1135(d) of

9 title 49, United States Code, the National Transportation

10 Safety Board shall review the Secretary’s report and

11 transmit comments on the report to the Secretary, the

12 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor13 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on

14 Transportation and Infrastructure.

15 (c) TRANSPORTATION SAFETY REAUTHORIZATION

16 RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Board shall, as appropriate,

17 provide recommendations and comments to the Congress

18 pertaining to pending transportation safety legislation.

19 SEC. 3. CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTIGA20 TION SERVICES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113(b) of title 49,

22 United States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

24 paragraph (1)(H);
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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as sub2 paragraph (J) in paragraph (1);

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (H) of

4 paragraph (1) the following:

5 ‘‘(I) for an investigation under section 1131, enter

6 into agreements or contracts without regard to any other

7 provision of law requiring competition, if necessary to ex8 pedite the investigation; and’’; and

9 (4) by striking ‘‘(1)(I)’’ each place it appears in

10 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘(1)(J)’’.

11 (b) REPORT ON USAGE.—Section 1117 of title 49,

12 United States Code, as amended by section 2, is further

13 amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in

15 paragraph (5);

16 (2) by striking ‘‘investigation.’’ in paragraph

17 (6) and inserting ‘‘investigation; and’’; and

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

19 ‘‘(7) a description of each contract executed

20 during the preceding calendar year under the au21 thority of section 1113(b)(1)(I), and the rationale

22 for dispensing with competition requirements with

23 respect to each such contract.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

2 (a) FUNCTIONAL UNIT FOR MARINE INVESTIGA3 TIONS.—Section 1111(g) of title 49, United States Code,

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(5) marine.’’.

6 (b) MARINE CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS.—Section

7 1131(a)(1)(E) of title 49, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘on the navigable waters or ter10 ritorial sea of the United States,’’ and inserting ‘‘on

11 the navigable waters, all internal waters, and the

12 territorial sea of the United States,’’; and

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘(as defined in section

14 2101(46))’’ after ‘‘vessel of the United States’’.

15 (c) REFERENCE TO DEPARTMENTAL AUTHORITY.—

16 Section 1131(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting ‘‘or the Secretary of the department

18 in which the Coast Guard is operating’’ after ‘‘Transpor19 tation’’.

20 (d) APPOINTMENT OF MANAGING DIRECTOR.—Sec21 tion 1111 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—

22 (1) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (e)

23 and inserting the following:

24 ‘‘(1) appoint and supervise officers and employ25 ees, other than regular and fulltime employees in the
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1 immediate offices of another member, necessary to

2 carry out this chapter;’’;

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) of

4 subsection (e) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec5 tively, and inserting after paragraph (1) the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘(2) fix the pay of officers and employees nec8 essary to carry out this chapter;’’;

9 (3) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection

10 (k); and

11 (4) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(i) MANAGING DIRECTOR.—The Board shall have a

14 Managing Director who shall be—

15 ‘‘(1) appointed by the Chairman, in consulta16 tion with the Board; and

17 ‘‘(2) approved by the Board, pursuant to a pro18 cedure developed and adopted by the Board.

19 ‘‘(j) BOARD MEMBER STAFF.—Each member of the

20 Board shall appoint and supervise regular and fulltime

21 employees in his or her immediate office as long as any

22 such employee has been approved for employment by the

23 designated agency ethics official under the same guidelines

24 that apply to all employees of the Board. The appointment

25 authority provided by this subsection is limited to the
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1 number of fulltime equivalent positions, in addition to 1

2 senior professional staff at the GS–15 level and 1 adminis3 trative staff, allocated each member through the Board’s

4 annual budget and allocation process.’’.

5 (e) BOARD APPROVAL.—Section 1113(c) of title 49,

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘The Board

7 shall develop and approve a process for the Board’s review

8 and comment or approval of documents submitted to the

9 President, Director of the Office of Management and

10 Budget, or the Congress under this subsection.’’ after

11 ‘‘Congress.’’.

12 (f) INVESTIGATION TRACKING SYSTEM.—Within 6

13 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Na14 tional Transportation Safety Board shall develop and im15 plement a process or system available to all Board mem16 bers that tracks the status and activities associated with

17 all ongoing and pending investigations undertaken by the

18 Board, including the expected completion date, staff as19 signments, and such other information as the Board may

20 require for the investigations.

21 (g) INVESTIGATIVE OFFICERS.—Section 1113 of title

22 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

23 thereof the following:

24 ‘‘(h) INVESTIGATIVE OFFICERS.—The Board shall

25 maintain at least 1 fulltime employee in each State located
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1 more than 1,000 miles from the nearest Board regional

2 office to provide initial investigative response to accidents

3 the Board is empowered to investigate under this chapter

4 that occur in those States.’’.

5 SEC. 5. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS6 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC7 CIDENTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United

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

11 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas12 sengers involved in rail passenger acci13 dents

14 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6

15 months after the date of the enactment of the National

16 Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of

17 2006, Amtrak shall submit to the Chairman of the Na18 tional Transportation Safety Board, the Secretary of

19 Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security

20 a plan for addressing the needs of the families of pas21 sengers involved in any rail passenger accident involving

22 an Amtrak intercity train and resulting in a loss of life.

23 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub24 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at

25 a minimum, the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain

2 and provide to the National Transportation Safety

3 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme4 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the

5 best available information at the time of the request)

6 of the names of the passengers aboard the train

7 (whether or not such names have been verified), and

8 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in9 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains

10 and passengers not holding reservations on other

11 trains, for Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascer12 tain the number and names of passengers aboard a

13 train involved in an accident.

14 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli15 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after

16 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to

17 handle calls from the families of the passengers.

18 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the

19 passengers, before providing any public notice of the

20 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ21 uals.

22 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de23 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas24 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas-
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1 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the

2 names of all of the passengers have been verified).

3 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas4 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all

5 remains and personal effects of the passenger within

6 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas7 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to

8 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac9 cident investigation or any criminal investigation;

10 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger

11 within Amtrak’s control will be retained by the rail

12 passenger carrier for at least 18 months.

13 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the

14 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same

15 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas16 sengers.

17 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide

18 adequate training to its employees and agents to

19 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol20 lowing an accident.

21 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans22 portation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation,

23 and Amtrak may not release any personal information on

24 a list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide

25 information on the list about a passenger to the family
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1 of the passenger to the extent that the Board or Amtrak

2 considers appropriate.

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not

4 be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal

5 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak

6 in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing

7 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a

8 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless

9 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct.

10 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

11 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the

12 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am13 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of

14 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident.

15 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—There shall be made available to the

16 Secretary of Transportation for the use of Amtrak

17 $500,000 for fiscal year 2007 to carry out this section.

18 Amounts made available pursuant to this subsection shall

19 remain available until expended.’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal21 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is

22 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘24316. Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL TRANS2 PORTATION SAFETY BOARD.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1137 of title 49, United

4 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘§ 1137. Designation of the Department of Transpor6 tation Inspector General as Inspector

7 General of the National Transportation

8 Safety Board

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OF

10 THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD.—In

11 order to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in

12 the administration of, and to prevent and detect fraud and

13 abuse in the programs, operations, and activities of the

14 National Transportation Safety Board, the Inspector Gen15 eral of the Department of Transportation shall serve as

16 the Inspector General of the National Transportation

17 Safety Board.

18 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.—

19 ‘‘(1) The Inspector General shall exercise such

20 authority as provided by the Inspector General Act

21 of 1978, and other applicable laws, over Board pro22 grams, operations and activities not directly associ23 ated with specific accident investigations or adju24 dications, including—

25 ‘‘(A) financial management, property man26 agement, and business operations, including in-
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1 ternal accounting and administrative control

2 systems;

3 ‘‘(B) information management and secu4 rity, including privacy protection of personally

5 identifiable information;

6 ‘‘(C) resource management;

7 ‘‘(D) workforce development;

8 ‘‘(E) procurement and contracting plan9 ning, practices and policies;

10 ‘‘(F) malfeasance in office by Board em11 ployees and contractors; and

12 ‘‘(G) allegations of false statements, fraud,

13 and other criminal activity within the jurisdic14 tion of the Board.

15 ‘‘(2) In consultation with the Senate Committee

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation or the

17 House Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc18 ture Committee, the Inspector General may conduct

19 an audit, investigation, or other review on matters

20 not described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of

21 paragraph (1).

22 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—In carrying out this section, the In23 spector General shall—

24 ‘‘(1) report directly to the Chairman of the

25 Committee and ensure that the Chairman is kept
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1 fully and currently informed concerning fraud and

2 other serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies re3 lating to the administration of programs, operations,

4 and activities of the Board;

5 ‘‘(2) recommend to the Chairman corrective ac6 tion concerning such problems, abuses, and defi7 ciencies;

8 ‘‘(3) report to the Chairman on the progress

9 made in implementing such corrective action; and

10 ‘‘(4) promptly notify the Chairman on any

11 problems related to access for information or car12 rying out an audit or investigation.

13 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO BOARD MEM14 BERS.—The Inspector General and Chairman shall ensure

15 that all members of the Board are informed of major work

16 in progress through regular and periodic briefings and, as

17 appropriate, on a timelier basis for matters of a significant

18 nature.

19 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

21 Transportation for use by the Inspector General of the De22 partment of Transportation such sums as may be nec23 essary to cover expenses associated with activities pursu24 ant to the authority exercised as the Inspector General

25 of the Board. In the absence of an appropriation, the In-
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1 spector General and the Board shall have a reimbursable

2 agreement to cover such expenses.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal4 ysis for chapter 11 of title 49, United States Code, is

5 amended by striking the item relating to section 1137 and

6 inserting the following:

‘‘1137. Designation of the Department of Transportation Inspector General as

Inspector General of the National Transportation Safety

Board’’.

7 SEC. 7. AUDIT PROCEDURES.

8 The National Transportation Safety Board, in con9 sultation with the Inspector General, shall continue to de10 velop and implement comprehensive internal audit controls

11 for its operations. The audit controls shall, at a minimum,

12 address Board asset management systems, including sys13 tems for accounting management, debt collection, travel,

14 and property and inventory management and control.

15 SEC. 8. DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL TO INVESTIGATE CEN16 TRAL ARTERY PROJECT CONTRACTORS AND

17 OVERSIGHT AGENCIES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De19 partment of Transportation shall investigate the contrac20 tors involved in the development and construction of the

21 Central Artery tunnel project in Boston, Massachusetts,

22 and the public agencies that oversaw their work, including

23 the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Federal

24 Highway Administration.
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1 (b) PRIORITIES AND PROCEDURE.—In carrying out

2 the mandate provided by subsection (a), the Inspector

3 General shall—

4 (1) oversee any investigations related to the col5 lapse of ceiling plates in the tunnel on July 10,

6 2006;

7 (2) oversee a comprehensive review of the safety

8 of the Central Artery project; and

9 (3) audit and investigate parties involved in the

10 construction, maintenance, and oversight of the Cen11 tral Artery project, including the Massachusetts

12 Turnpike Authority and the Federal Highway Ad13 ministration, in order to determine whether the col14 lapse of ceiling plates in the tunnel on July 10,

15 2006, resulted from whether poor planning, develop16 ment, construction, or other factors.

17 SEC. 9. IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB’S ‘‘MOST WANTED

18 TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS,

19 2006’’.

20 Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this

21 Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis22 tration shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on

23 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of

24 Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infra25 structure explaining why the Federal Aviation Administra-
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1 tion has not implemented the aviation recommendations

2 in the NTSB’s ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation Safety Im3 provements, 2006’’.

4 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(a) of title 49,

6 United States Code, is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘2005,’’; and

8 (2) by striking ‘‘2006.’’ and inserting ‘‘2006,

9 $79,594,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $84,382,432

10 for fiscal year 2008.’’.

11 (b) EMERGENCY FUND.—Section 1118(b) of title 49,

12 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(b) EMERGENCY FUND.—There are authorized to

14 be appropriated for necessary expenses of the Board, not

15 otherwise provided for, for accident investigations

16 amounts sufficient to maintain the emergency fund at a

17 level not to exceed $4,000,000, such sums to remain avail18 able until expended.’’.

19 (c) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(c) of title 49,

21 United States Code, is amended—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘ACADEMY.—’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSE24 MENTS.—’’;
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1 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and redesig2 nating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as para3 graphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, and reset4 ting each such paragraph 2 ems from the left

5 margin;

6 (C) by striking paragraph (1), as redesig7 nated, and inserting the following:

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may impose

9 and collect such fees, refunds, and reimbursements

10 as it determines to be appropriate for services pro11 vided by or through the Board.’’;

12 (D) by striking ‘‘fee’’ the first place it ap13 pears in paragraph (2), as redesignated, and in14 serting ‘‘fee, refund, or reimbursement’’; and

15 (E) by striking ‘‘imposed;’’ in subpara16 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2), as redes17 ignated, and inserting ‘‘imposed or with which

18 the refund or reimbursement is associated;’’.

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

20 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,

21 2005.
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1 (d) REPORT.—Section 1118(d) of title 49, United

2 States Code, is repealed.

Passed the Senate September 25, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3679

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National

poses.Transportation Safety Board, and for other pur-