109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5076
AN ACT 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appro-
priations for fiscal years 2007 and 2008, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization 
Act of 2006’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Reports. 
Sec. 3. Investigation services. 
Sec. 4. Expenses of DOT Inspector General. 
Sec. 5. Evaluation and audit of the National Transportation Safety Board. 
Sec. 6. Audit procedures. 
Sec. 7. Implementation of NTSB’s ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation Safety Im-
provements, 2006’’. 
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 9. Technical corrections. 
Sec. 10. Safety review. 
Sec. 11. DOT Inspector General oversight and investigations related to Central 
Artery tunnel project.
SEC. 2. REPORTS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 1117 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘State.’’ 
and inserting ‘‘State;’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) a description of the activities and oper-
ations of the National Transportation Safety Board 
Academy during the prior calendar year;
‘‘(5) a list of accidents, during the prior cal-
endar year, that the Board was required to inves-
tigate under section 1131 but did not investigate 
and an explanation of why they were not inves-
tigated; and 
‘‘(6) a list of ongoing investigations that have 
exceeded the expected time allotted for completion 
by Board order and an explanation for the addi-
tional time required to complete each such investiga-
tion.’’. 
(2) UTILIZATION PLAN.—
(A) PLAN.—Within 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the National Trans-
portation Safety Board shall—
(i) develop a plan to achieve, to the 
maximum extent feasible, the self-sufficient 
operation of the National Transportation 
Safety Board Academy and utilize the 
Academy’s facilities and resources; 
(ii) submit a draft of the plan to the 
Comptroller General for review and com-
ment; and 
(iii) submit a draft of the plan to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives. 
(B) 
PLAN
DEVELOPMENT
CONSIDER-
ATIONS.—The Board shall—
(i) give consideration in developing 
the plan under subparagraph (A)(i) to 
other revenue-generating measures, includ-
ing subleasing the facility to another enti-
ty; and 
(ii) include in the plan a detailed fi-
nancial statement that covers current 
Academy expenses and revenues and an 
analysis of the projected impact of the plan 
on the Academy’s expenses and revenues. 
(C) REPORT.—Within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the National 
Transportation Safety Board shall submit a re-
port to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives that includes—
(i) an updated copy of the plan devel-
oped pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i); 
(ii) any comments and recommenda-
tions made by the Comptroller General
pursuant to the Government Accountability 
Office’s review of the draft plan; and 
(iii) a response to the Comptroller 
General’s comments and recommendations, 
including a description of any modifica-
tions made to the plan in response to those 
comments and recommendations. 
(D) IMPLEMENTATION.—The plan devel-
oped pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) shall be 
implemented within 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
(b) DOT REPORT
ON COMPLIANCE WITH REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—Section 1135(d)(3) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) 
COMPLIANCE
REPORT
WITH
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—Within 90 days after the date on 
which the Secretary submits a report under this sub-
section, the Board shall review the Secretary’s re-
port and transmit comments on the report to the 
Secretary, the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate, and the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives.’’.
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the National 
Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2003 
(Public Law 108–168; 49 U.S.C. 1113 note) is amended 
by striking ‘‘From the date of enactment of this Act 
through September 30, 2006, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Section 4(b) of such Act is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘On February 1, 2006,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘On July 1 of each year, as part of the an-
nual report required by section 1117 of title 49, 
United States Code,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘for $25,000 
or more’’. 
SEC. 4. EXPENSES OF DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL. 
Section 1137(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 
use by the Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation such sums as may be necessary to 
cover expenses associated with activities pursuant to 
the authority exercised under this section. 
‘‘(2) REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT.—In the ab-
sence of an appropriation under this subsection for 
an expense referred to in paragraph (1), the Inspec-
tor General and the Board shall have a reimbursable 
agreement to cover such expense.’’. 
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND AUDIT OF THE NATIONAL TRANS-
PORTATION SAFETY BOARD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 11 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘§ 1138. Evaluation and audit of National Transpor-
tation Safety Board 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To promote economy, efficiency, 
and effectiveness in the administration of the programs, 
operations, and activities of the National Transportation 
Safety Board, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall evaluate and audit the programs and expendi-
tures of the National Transportation Safety Board. Such 
evaluation and audit shall be conducted at least annually, 
but may be conducted as determined necessary by the 
Comptroller General or the appropriate congressional com-
mittees. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITY
OF
COMPTROLLER
GEN-
ERAL.—The Comptroller General shall evaluate and audit 
Board programs, operations, and activities, including—
‘‘(1) information management and security, in-
cluding privacy protection of personally identifiable 
information;
‘‘(2) resource management; 
‘‘(3) workforce development; 
‘‘(4) procurement and contracting planning, 
practices and policies; 
‘‘(5) the extent to which the Board follows lead-
ing practices in selected management areas; and 
‘‘(6) the extent to which the Board addresses 
management challenges in completing accident inves-
tigations. 
‘‘(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—
For purposes of this section the term ‘appropriate con-
gressional committees’ means the Committee on Com-
merce, Science and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 1137 the following:
‘‘1138. Evaluation and audit of National Transportation Safety Board’’.
SEC. 6. AUDIT PROCEDURES. 
The National Transportation Safety Board, in con-
sultation with the Inspector General of the Department 
of Transportation, shall continue to develop and imple-
ment comprehensive internal audit controls for its oper-
ations. The audit controls shall address, at a minimum, 
Board asset management systems, including systems for
accounting management, debt collection, travel, and prop-
erty and inventory management and control. 
SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB’S ‘‘MOST WANTED 
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, 
2006’’. 
Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration shall submit a report to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives explaining why the Federal 
Aviation Administration has not implemented the aviation 
recommendations in the ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation 
Safety Improvements, 2006’’ of the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(a) of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘2005,’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘2006.’’ and inserting ‘‘2006, 
$81,594,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $92,625,000 
for fiscal year 2008.’’. 
(b) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(c) of such title 
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Board may impose 
and collect such fees, refunds, and reimbursements 
as it determines to be appropriate for services pro-
vided by or through the Board. 
‘‘(2) RECEIPTS CREDITED AS OFFSETTING COL-
LECTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 
31, any fee, refund, or reimbursement collected 
under this subsection—
‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collec-
tions to the account that finances the activities 
and services for which the fee is imposed or 
with which the refund or reimbursement is as-
sociated; 
‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure only 
to pay the costs of activities and services for 
which the fee is imposed or with which the re-
fund or reimbursement is associated; and 
‘‘(C) shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(3) REFUNDS.—The Board may refund any 
fee paid by mistake or any amount paid in excess of 
that required.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 
2005.
(c) REPORT.—Section 1118(d) of title 49, United 
States Code, is repealed. 
SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 
(a) FUNCTIONAL UNIT
FOR MARINE INVESTIGA-
TIONS.—Section 1111(g) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) marine.’’. 
(b) MARINE CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 
1131(a)(1)(E) of such title is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘on the navigable waters or ter-
ritorial sea of the United States,’’ and inserting ‘‘on 
or under the navigable waters, internal waters, or 
the territorial sea of the United States as described 
in Presidential Proclamation No. 5928 of December 
27, 1988,’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(as defined in section 
2101(46) of title 46)’’ after ‘‘vessel of the United 
States’’. 
(c) REFERENCE TO DEPARTMENTAL AUTHORITY.—
Section 1131(c)(1) of such title is amended by inserting 
‘‘or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 
Guard is operating’’ after ‘‘Transportation’’. 
(d) APPOINTMENT OF STAFF.—Section 1111 of such 
title is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (e) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) appoint and supervise officers and employ-
ees, other than regular and full-time employees in 
the immediate offices of another member, necessary 
to carry out this chapter;’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
subsection (e) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec-
tively; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) of sub-
section (e) the following: 
‘‘(2) fix the pay of officers and employees nec-
essary to carry out this chapter;’’; 
(4) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
(j); and 
(5) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) BOARD MEMBER STAFF.—Each member of the 
Board shall select and supervise regular and full-time em-
ployees in his or her immediate office as long as any such 
employee has been approved for employment by the des-
ignated agency ethics official under the same guidelines 
that apply to all employees of the Board. Except for the 
Chairman, the appointment authority provided by this 
subsection is limited to the number of full-time equivalent
positions, in addition to 1 senior professional staff at a 
level not to exceed the GS 15 level and 1 administrative 
staff, allocated to each member through the Board’s an-
nual budget and allocation process.’’. 
(e) SPELLING CORRECTION.—Section 1113(a) of 
such title is amended in paragraphs (3) and (4) by strik-
ing ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting ‘‘subpoena’’. 
(f) BOARD REVIEW.—Section 1113(c) of such title is 
amended by inserting after the period at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The Board shall develop and approve a process 
for the Board’s review and comment or approval of docu-
ments submitted to the President, Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget, or Congress under this sub-
section.’’. 
(g) INVESTIGATIVE OFFICERS.—Section 1113 of 
such title is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) INVESTIGATIVE OFFICERS.—The Board shall 
maintain at least 1 full-time employee in each State lo-
cated more than 1,000 miles from the nearest Board re-
gional office to provide initial investigative response to ac-
cidents the Board is empowered to investigate under this 
chapter that occur in that State.’’. 
SEC. 10. SAFETY REVIEW. 
(a) SAFETY AREA ALTERNATIVES.—With regard to 
an environmental review of a project to improve runway