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(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the 
authority of the Administrator to issue hazard determina-
tions. 
SEC. 825. WIND TURBINE LIGHTING. 
(a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration shall conduct a study on wind turbine 
lighting systems. 
(b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Ad-
ministrator shall examine the following: 
(1) The effect of wind turbine lighting on resi-
dential areas. 
(2) The safety issues associated with alternative 
lighting strategies, technologies, and regulations. 
(3) Potential energy savings associated with al-
ternative lighting strategies, technologies, and regu-
lations. 
(4) The feasibility of implementing alternative 
lighting strategies or technologies. 
(5) Any other issue relating to wind turbine 
lighting. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
to Congress a report on the results of the study, including 
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information and recommendations concerning the issues 
examined under subsection (b). 
SEC. 826. PROHIBITION ON USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS. 
The Secretary may not use any funds authorized in 
this Act to name, rename, designate, or redesignate any 
project or program under this act for an individual then 
serving as a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, 
or Senator of the United States Congress. 
SEC. 827. LIMITING ACCESS TO FLIGHT DECKS OF ALL- 
CARGO AIRCRAFT. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration, in consultation with appropriate 
air carriers, aircraft manufacturers, and air carrier labor 
representatives, shall conduct a study to identify a phys-
ical means, or a combination of physical and procedural 
means, of limiting access to the flight decks of all-cargo 
aircraft to authorized flight crew members. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
to Congress a report on the results of the study. 
SEC. 828. WHISTLEBLOWERS AT FAA. 
It is the sense of Congress that whistleblowers at the 
Federal Aviation Administration be granted the full pro-
tection of the law. 
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SEC. 829. COLLEGE POINT MARINE TRANSFER STATION, 
NEW YORK. 
(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the Federal Avia-
tion Administration, in determining whether the proposed 
College Point Marine Transfer Station in New York City, 
New York, if constructed, would constitute a hazard to 
air navigation, has not followed published policy state-
ments of the Federal Aviation Administration, including— 
(1) Advisory Circular Number 150/5200–33B 
2, entitled ‘‘Hazardous Wildlife Attractants on or 
Near Airports’’; 
(2) Advisory Circular Number 150/5300–13, 
entitled ‘‘Airport Design’’; and 
(3) the publication entitled ‘‘Policies and Proce-
dures Memorandum—Airports Division’’, Number 
5300.1B, dated Feb. 5, 1999. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF TRANSFER STATION AS HAZ-
ARD TO AIR NAVIGATION.—The Administrator of the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration shall take such actions as 
may be necessary to designate the proposed College Point 
Marine Transfer Station in New York City, New York, 
as a hazard to air navigation. 
SEC. 830. PILOT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION. 
(a) INITIATION OF STUDY.—Not later than 3 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General shall initiate a study on commercial airline pilot 
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training and certification programs. The study shall in-
clude the data collected under subsection (b). 
(b) DATA COLLECTED.—In conducting the study, the 
Comptroller General shall collect data on— 
(1) commercial pilot training and certification 
programs at United States air carriers, including re-
gional and commuter air carriers; 
(2) the number of training hours required for 
pilots operating new aircraft types before assuming 
pilot in command duties; 
(3) how United States air carriers update and 
train pilots on new technologies in aircraft types in 
which they hold certifications; 
(4) what remedial actions are taken in cases of 
repeated unsatisfactory check-rides by commercial 
airline pilots; 
(5) what stall warning systems are included in 
flight simulator training compared to classroom in-
struction; and 
(6) the information required to be provided by 
pilots on their job applications and the ability of 
United States air carriers to verify the information 
provided. 
(c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study shall include, 
at a minimum— 
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(1) a review of Federal Aviation Administration 
and international standards regarding commercial 
airline pilot training and certification programs; 
(2) the results of interviews that the Comp-
troller General shall conduct with United States air 
carriers, pilot organizations, the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration, and such other parties as the Comptroller 
General determines appropriate; and 
(3) such other matters as the Comptroller Gen-
eral determines are appropriate. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 
date of initiation of the study, the Comptroller General 
shall submit to the Administrator, the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results 
of the study, together with the findings and recommenda-
tions of the Comptroller General regarding the study. 
SEC. 831. ST. GEORGE, UTAH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 16 of the 
Federal Airport Act (as in effect on August 28, 1973) or 
sections 47125 and 47153 of title 49, United States Code, 
the Secretary of Transportation is authorized, subject to 
subsection (b), to grant releases from any of the terms, 
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conditions, reservations, and restrictions contained in the 
deed of conveyance dated August 28, 1973, under which 
the United States conveyed certain property to the city 
of St. George, Utah, for airport purposes. 
(b) CONDITION.—Any release granted by the Sec-
retary under the subsection (a) shall be subject to the fol-
lowing conditions: 
(1) The city of St. George shall agree that in 
conveying any interest in the property that the 
United States conveyed to the city by deed dated 
August 28, 1973, the city will receive an amount for 
such interest that is equal to the fair market value. 
(2) Any such amount so received by the city of 
St. George shall be used by the city for the develop-
ment, improvement, operation, or maintenance of a 
replacement public airport. 
SEC. 832. REPLACEMENT OF TERMINAL RADAR APPROACH 
CONTROL AT PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL 
AIRPORT. 
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration shall take such actions as may be necessary to en-
sure that any air traffic control tower or facility placed 
into operation at Palm Beach International Airport after 
September 30, 2009, to replace an air traffic control tower 
or facility placed into operation before September 30, 
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2009, includes an operating terminal radar approach con-
trol. 
SEC. 833. SANTA MONICA AIRPORT, CALIFORNIA. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 
of the Federal Aviation Administration should enter into 
good faith discussions with the city of Santa Monica, Cali-
fornia, to achieve runway safety area solutions consistent 
with Federal Aviation Administration design guidelines to 
address safety concerns at Santa Monica Airport. 
TITLE IX—FEDERAL AVIATION 
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Aviation Re-
search and Development Reauthorization Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 902. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this title, the following definition apply: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration. 
(2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration. 
(3) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
(4) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.—The term 
‘‘National Research Council’’ means the National 
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Research Council of the National Academies of 
Science and Engineering. 
(5) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(6) NSF.—The term ‘‘NSF’’ means the Na-
tional Science Foundation. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Transportation. 
SEC. 903. INTERAGENCY RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON THE IM-
PACT OF AVIATION ON THE CLIMATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina-
tion with NASA and the United States Climate Change 
Science Program, shall carry out a research initiative to 
assess the impact of aviation on the climate and, if war-
ranted, to evaluate approaches to mitigate that impact. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the participating Fed-
eral entities shall jointly develop a plan for the research 
program that contains the objectives, proposed tasks, mile-
stones, and 5-year budgetary profile. 
SEC. 904. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON RUNWAYS. 
(a) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall 
maintain a program of research grants to universities and 
nonprofit research foundations for research and tech-
nology demonstrations related to— 
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(1) improved runway surfaces; and 
(2) engineered material restraining systems for 
runways at both general aviation airports and air-
ports with commercial air carrier operations. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to 
carry out this section. 
SEC. 905. RESEARCH ON DESIGN FOR CERTIFICATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
FAA, in consultation with other agencies as appropriate, 
shall establish a research program on methods to improve 
both confidence in and the timeliness of certification of 
new technologies for their introduction into the national 
airspace system. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, as part of the activity 
described in subsection (a), the FAA shall develop a plan 
for the research program that contains the objectives, pro-
posed tasks, milestones, and five-year budgetary profile. 
(c) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall have the Na-
tional Research Council conduct an independent review of 
the research program plan and provide the results of that 
review to the Committee on Science and Technology and 
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the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 906. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 
(a) GOVERNMENT’S
SHARE
OF
COSTS.—Section 
44513(f) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE OF COSTS.—The United 
States Government’s share of establishing and operating 
the center and all related research activities that grant 
recipients carry out shall not exceed 75 percent of the 
costs. The United States Government’s share of an indi-
vidual grant under this section shall not exceed 90 percent 
of the costs.’’. 
(b) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Administrator shall 
transmit annually to the Committee on Science and Tech-
nology and the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate at the time of the President’s budget request a re-
port that lists— 
(1) the research projects that have been initi-
ated by each Center of Excellence in the preceding 
year; 
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radation of existing levels of safety for all national 
airspace system users.’’. 
SEC. 909. RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM INVOLVING UN-
DERGRADUATE STUDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
a program to utilize colleges and universities, including 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic 
serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and univer-
sities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving in-
stitutions in conducting research by undergraduate stu-
dents on subjects of relevance to the FAA. Grants may 
be awarded under this section for— 
(1) research projects to be carried out primarily 
by undergraduate students; 
(2) research projects that combine under-
graduate research with other research supported by 
the FAA; 
(3) research on future training requirements re-
lated to projected changes in regulatory require-
ments for aircraft maintenance and power plant li-
censees; and 
(4) research on the impact of new technologies 
and procedures, particularly those related to aircraft 
flight deck and air traffic management functions, 
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and on training requirements for pilots and air traf-
fic controllers. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2010 through 2012, for research grants under 
this section. 
SEC. 910. AVIATION GAS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) CONTINUATION
OF PROGRAM.—The Adminis-
trator, in coordination with the NASA Administrator, 
shall continue research and development activities into 
technologies for modification of existing general aviation 
piston engines to enable their safe operation using un-
leaded aviation fuel. 
(b) ROADMAP.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de-
velop a research and development roadmap for the pro-
gram continued in subsection (a), containing the specific 
research and development objectives and the anticipated 
timetable for achieving the objectives. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 130 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 
the roadmap specified in subsection (b) to the Committee 
on Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
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tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $750,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 911. REVIEW OF FAA’S ENERGY- AND ENVIRONMENT- 
RELATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 
(a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Research Council for a re-
view of the FAA’s energy- and environment-related re-
search programs. The review shall assess whether— 
(1) the programs have well-defined, prioritized, 
and appropriate research objectives; 
(2) the programs are properly coordinated with 
the energy- and environment-related research pro-
grams of NASA, NOAA, and other relevant agen-
cies; 
(3) the programs have allocated appropriate re-
sources to each of the research objectives; and 
(4) 
there 
exist 
suitable 
mechanisms 
for 
transitioning the research results into the FAA’s 
operational technologies and procedures and certifi-
cation activities. 
(b) REPORT.—A report containing the results of the 
review shall be provided to the Committee on Science and 
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Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate within 18 months of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 912. REVIEW OF FAA’S AVIATION SAFETY-RELATED RE-
SEARCH PROGRAMS. 
(a) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Research Council for an 
independent review of the FAA’s aviation safety-related 
research programs. The review shall assess whether— 
(1) the programs have well-defined, prioritized, 
and appropriate research objectives; 
(2) the programs are properly coordinated with 
the safety research programs of NASA and other 
relevant Federal agencies; 
(3) the programs have allocated appropriate re-
sources to each of the research objectives; and 
(4) 
there 
exist 
suitable 
mechanisms 
for 
transitioning the research results from the programs 
into the FAA’s operational technologies and proce-
dures and certification activities in a timely manner. 
(b) AVIATION SAFETY-RELATED RESEARCH PRO-
GRAMS TO BE ASSESSED.—The FAA aviation safety-re-
lated research programs to be assessed under the review 
shall include, at a minimum, the following: 
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(1) Air traffic control/technical operations 
human factors. 
(2) Runway incursion reduction. 
(3) Flightdeck/maintenance system integration 
human factors. 
(4) Airports technology research—safety. 
(5) Airport cooperative research program—safe-
ty. 
(6) Weather program. 
(7) Atmospheric hazards/digital system safety. 
(8) Fire research and safety. 
(9) Propulsion and fuel systems. 
(10) Advanced materials/structural safety. 
(11) Aging aircraft. 
(12) Aircraft catastrophic failure prevention re-
search. 
(13) Aeromedical research. 
(14) Aviation safety risk analysis. 
(15) Unmanned aircraft systems research. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 14 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on the results of the review. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to amounts authorized to be appropriated by the 
amendments made by this Act, there is authorized to be 
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(ii) by inserting ‘‘or the FAA Reau-
thorization Act of 2009’’ before the semi-
colon at the end of subparagraph (A). 
(B) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS TO TRUST 
FUND.—Paragraph (2) of section 9502(e) of 
such Code is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 
2009’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2012’’. 
(2) TRANSFERS
TO
TRUST
FUND.—Subpara-
graph (C) of section 9502(b)(1) of such Code is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(C) section 4081 with respect to aviation 
gasoline and aviation-grade kerosene, and’’. 
(3) TRANSFERS ON ACCOUNT OF CERTAIN RE-
FUNDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of sec-
tion 9502 of such Code is amended— 
(i) by striking ‘‘(other than subsection 
(l)(4) thereof)’’ in paragraph (2), and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘(other than payments 
made by reason of paragraph (4) of section 
6427(l))’’ in paragraph (3). 
(B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(i) Section 9503(b)(4) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 
subparagraph (C), by striking the period 
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