237 
(4) the Federal Government should consider the 
needs of men and women interested in pursuing ca-
reers in the aviation and aerospace industry, the 
long-term personnel needs of the aviation and aero-
space industry, and the role of aviation in the 
United States economy in the creation and adminis-
tration of educational and financial aid programs. 
SEC. 527. FUTURE AVIATION AND AEROSPACE WORKFORCE 
STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall conduct a study— 
(1) to identify the factors influencing the supply 
of individuals pursuing a career in the aviation or 
aerospace industry; and 
(2) to identify best practices or programs to 
incentivize, recruit, and retain young people in avia-
tion and aerospace professions. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—The Comptroller General shall 
conduct the study in consultation with— 
(1) appropriate Federal agencies; and 
(2) the aviation and aerospace industry, institu-
tions of higher education, and labor stakeholders. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
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General shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate a report on the results of the study and 
related recommendations. 
SEC. 528. FAA LEADERSHIP ON CIVIL SUPERSONIC AIR-
CRAFT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall exercise leadership in the 
creation of Federal and international policies, regulations, 
and standards relating to the certification and safe and 
efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft. 
(b) EXERCISE
OF LEADERSHIP.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Administrator shall— 
(1) consider the needs of the aerospace industry 
and other stakeholders when creating policies, regu-
lations, and standards that enable the safe commer-
cial deployment of civil supersonic aircraft tech-
nology and the safe and efficient operation of civil 
supersonic aircraft; and 
(2) obtain the input of aerospace industry 
stakeholders regarding— 
(A) the appropriate regulatory framework 
and timeline for permitting the safe and effi-
cient operation of civil supersonic aircraft with-
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in United States airspace, including updating or 
modifying existing regulations on such oper-
ation; 
(B) issues related to standards and regula-
tions for the type certification and safe oper-
ation of civil supersonic aircraft, including noise 
certification, including— 
(i) the operational differences between 
subsonic aircraft and supersonic aircraft; 
(ii) costs and benefits associated with 
landing and takeoff noise requirements for 
civil supersonic aircraft, including impacts 
on aircraft emissions; 
(iii) public and economic benefits of 
the operation of civil supersonic aircraft 
and associated aerospace industry activity; 
and 
(iv) challenges relating to ensuring 
that standards and regulations aimed at 
relieving and protecting the public health 
and welfare from aircraft noise and sonic 
booms are economically reasonable, techno-
logically practicable, and appropriate for 
civil supersonic aircraft; and 
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(C) other issues identified by the Adminis-
trator or the aerospace industry that must be 
addressed to enable the safe commercial deploy-
ment and safe and efficient operation of civil 
supersonic aircraft. 
(c) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The Adminis-
trator, in the appropriate international forums, shall take 
actions that— 
(1) demonstrate global leadership under sub-
section (a); 
(2) address the needs of the aerospace industry 
identified under subsection (b); and 
(3) protect the public health and welfare. 
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report detailing— 
(1) the Administrator’s actions to exercise lead-
ership in the creation of Federal and international 
policies, regulations, and standards relating to the 
certification and safe and efficient operation of civil 
supersonic aircraft; 
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(2) planned, proposed, and anticipated actions 
to update or modify existing policies and regulations 
related to civil supersonic aircraft, including those 
identified as a result of industry consultation and 
feedback; and 
(3) a timeline for any actions to be taken to up-
date or modify existing policies and regulations re-
lated to civil supersonic aircraft. 
SEC. 529. OKLAHOMA REGISTRY OFFICE. 
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration shall consider the aircraft registry office in Okla-
homa City, Oklahoma, as excepted during a Government 
shutdown or emergency (as it provides excepted services) 
to ensure that it remains open during any Government 
shutdown or emergency. 
SEC. 530. FOREIGN AIR TRANSPORTATION UNDER UNITED 
STATES-EUROPEAN UNION AIR TRANSPORT 
AGREEMENT. 
(a) CERTAIN FOREIGN AIR TRANSPORTATION PER-
MITS.—The Secretary of Transportation may not issue a 
permit under section 41302 of title 49, United States 
Code, or an exemption under section 40109 of such title, 
authorizing a person to provide foreign air transportation 
as a foreign air carrier under the United States-European 
Union Air Transport Agreement of April 2007 (as amend-
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ed) in a proceeding in which the applicability of Article 
17 bis of such Agreement has been raised by an interested 
person, unless the Secretary— 
(1) finds that issuing the permit or exemption 
would be consistent with the intent set forth in Arti-
cle 17 bis of the Agreement, that opportunities cre-
ated by the Agreement do not undermine labor 
standards or the labor-related rights and principles 
contained in the laws of the respective parties to the 
Agreement; and 
(2) imposes on the permit or exemption such 
conditions as may be necessary to ensure that the 
person complies with the intent of Article 17 bis. 
(b) PUBLIC INTEREST TEST.—Section 41302(2) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘under an 
agreement with the United States Government; or’’ 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘the for-
eign air transportation’’ and inserting ‘‘after consid-
ering the totality of the circumstances, including the 
factors set forth in section 40101(a), the foreign air 
transportation’’. 
(c) PUBLIC INTEREST REQUIREMENTS.— 
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SEC. 531. TRAINING ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR CER-
TAIN STAFF. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 447 of title 49, United 
States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 44737. Training on human trafficking for certain 
staff 
‘‘In addition to other training requirements, each air 
carrier shall provide training— 
‘‘(1) to ticket counter agents, gate agents, and 
other air carrier workers whose jobs require regular 
interaction with passengers; and 
‘‘(2) on recognizing and responding to potential 
human trafficking victims.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 447 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘44737. Training on human trafficking for certain staff.’’. 
SEC. 532. PART 107 IMPLEMENTATION IMPROVEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration shall publish a direct 
final rule— 
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(1) revising section 107.205 of title 14, Code of 
Federal Regulations, by striking the second sentence 
of subsections (a) and (c); and 
(2) revising section 107.25 of such title by 
striking ‘‘and is not transporting another person’s 
property for compensation or hire’’. 
(b) DETERMINATION OF WAIVER.—In determining 
whether to grant a waiver under part 107 of title 14, Code 
of Federal Regulations, to authorize transportation of an-
other’s property for compensation or hire beyond the vis-
ual line of sight of the remote pilot, from a moving vehicle, 
or over people, the Administrator shall consider the tech-
nological capabilities of the unmanned aircraft system, the 
qualifications of the remote pilot, and the operational envi-
ronment. 
SEC. 533. PART 107 TRANSPARENCY AND TECHNOLOGY IM-
PROVEMENTS. 
(a) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
the Federal Aviation Administration shall publish on the 
Federal Aviation Administration website a representative 
sample of the safety justifications, offered by applicants 
for small unmanned aircraft system waivers and airspace 
authorizations, that have been approved by the Adminis-
tration for each regulation waived or class of airspace au-
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thorized, except that any published justification shall not 
reveal proprietary or commercially sensitive information. 
(b) TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator shall revise the online waiver and certificates 
of authorization processes— 
(1) to provide real time confirmation that an 
application filed online has been received by the Ad-
ministration; and 
(2) to provide an applicant with an opportunity 
to review the status of the applicant’s application. 
SEC. 534. PROHIBITIONS AGAINST SMOKING ON PAS-
SENGER FLIGHTS. 
Section 41706 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES.— 
‘‘(1) INCLUSION.—The use of an electronic cig-
arette shall be treated as smoking for purposes of 
this section. 
‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC
CIGARETTE
DEFINED.—In 
this section, the term ‘electronic cigarette’ means a 
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device that delivers nicotine to a user of the device 
in the form of a vapor that is inhaled to simulate 
the experience of smoking.’’. 
SEC. 535. CONSUMER PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS RELAT-
ING TO LARGE TICKET AGENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall issue a final rule to require large ticket agents 
to adopt minimum customer service standards. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the final rule shall be 
to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, there 
is a consistent level of consumer protection regardless of 
where consumers purchase air fares and related air trans-
portation services. 
(c) STANDARDS.—In issuing the final rule, the Sec-
retary shall consider, at a minimum, establishing stand-
ards for— 
(1) providing prompt refunds when ticket re-
funds are due, including fees for optional services 
that consumers purchased but were not able to use 
due to a flight cancellation or oversale situation; 
(2) providing an option to hold a reservation at 
the quoted fare without payment, or to cancel with-
out penalty, for 24 hours; 
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(3) disclosing cancellation policies, seating con-
figurations, and lavatory availability with respect to 
flights; 
(4) notifying customers in a timely manner of 
itinerary changes; and 
(5) responding promptly to customer com-
plaints. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following shall 
apply: 
(1) TICKET AGENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term ‘‘ticket agent’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 40102(a) of 
title 49, United States Code. 
(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘ticket agent’’ 
includes a person who acts as an intermediary 
involved in the sale of air transportation di-
rectly or indirectly to consumers, including by 
operating an electronic airline information sys-
tem, if the person— 
(i) holds the person out as a source of 
information about, or reservations for, the 
air transportation industry; and 
(ii) receives compensation in any way 
related to the sale of air transportation. 
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