use of a satellite if the Administrator finds that the longer
contract period would be cost beneficial.’’.
SEC. 805. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PERSON-
NEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
(a) MEDIATION.—Section 40122(a)(2) is amended by
adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 60-day period shall
not include any period during which Congress has ad-
journed sine die.’’.
(b) RIGHT TO CONTEST ADVERSE PERSONNEL AC-
TIONS.—Section 40122 is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(g) RIGHT TO CONTEST ADVERSE PERSONNEL AC-
TIONS.—An employee of the Administration who is the sub-
ject of a major adverse personnel action may contest the
action either through any contractual grievance procedure
that is applicable to the employee as a member of the collec-
tive bargaining unit or through the Administration’s inter-
nal process relating to review of major adverse personnel
actions of the Administration, known as Guaranteed Fair
Treatment.’’.
(c) APPLICABILITY OF MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION
BOARD PROVISIONS.—Section 347(b) of the Department of
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1996 (109 Stat. 460) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(6);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) sections 1204, 1211–1218, 1221, and 7701–
7703, relating to the Merit Systems Protection
Board.’’.
(d) APPEALS
TO
MERIT
SYSTEMS
PROTECTION
BOARD.—Section 347(c) of the Department of Transpor-
tation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) APPEALS
TO
MERIT
SYSTEMS
PROTECTION
BOARD.—Under the new personnel management system de-
veloped and implemented under subsection (a), an employee
of the Federal Aviation Administration may submit an ap-
peal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and may seek
judicial review of any resulting final orders or decisions
of the Board from any action that was appealable to the
Board under any law, rule, or regulation as of March 31,
1996.’’.
(e) COSTS AND BENEFITS OF MERIT SYSTEMS PRO-
TECTION BOARD PROCEDURE.—
(1) STUDY.—The Inspector General of the De-
partment of Transportation shall conduct a study of
the costs and benefits to employees and the Federal
Aviation Administration of the procedures of the
Merit Systems Protection Board as compared to the
guaranteed fair treatment procedures of the Federal
Aviation Administration.
(2) SURVEY.—In conducting the study, the In-
spector General shall conduct a survey of the employ-
ees of the Federal Aviation Administration who are
not members of the union to determine which proce-
dures such employees prefer.
(3) REPORT.—Not later than May 15, 1999, the
Inspector General shall transmit to Congress a report
on the results of the study conducted under paragraph
(1), including the results of a survey conducted under
paragraph (2).
SEC. 806. GENERAL FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL AUTHOR-
ITY.
Section 44502(a) (as amended by section 114 of this
Act) is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) IMPROVEMENTS ON LEASED PROPERTIES.—
The Administrator may make improvements to real
property leased for an air navigation facility, regard-
less of whether the cost of making the improvements
exceeds the cost of leasing the real property, if—
‘‘(A) the property is leased for free or nomi-
nal rent;
‘‘(B) the improvements primarily benefit
the Government;
‘‘(C) the improvements are essential for ac-
complishment of the mission of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration; and
‘‘(D) the interest of the Government in the
improvements is protected.’’.
SEC. 807. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 83 BIS OF THE
CHICAGO CONVENTION.
Section 44701 is amended by—
(1) redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);
and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(e) BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVERSIGHT
RESPONSIBILITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi-
sions of this chapter, the Administrator, pursuant to
Article 83 bis of the Convention on International
Civil Aviation and by a bilateral agreement with the
aeronautical authorities of another country, may ex-
change with that country all or part of their respec-
tive functions and duties with respect to registered
aircraft under the following articles of the Conven-
tion: Article 12 (Rules of the Air); Article 31 (Certifi-
cates of Airworthiness); or Article 32a (Licenses of
Personnel).
‘‘(2) RELINQUISHMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF RE-
SPONSIBILITY.—The Administrator relinquishes re-
sponsibility with respect to the functions and duties
transferred by the Administrator as specified in the
bilateral agreement, under the Articles listed in para-
graph (1) for United States-registered aircraft de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(A) transferred abroad and
accepts responsibility with respect to the functions
and duties under those Articles for aircraft registered
abroad and described in paragraph (4)(B) that are
transferred to the United States.
‘‘(3) 
CONDITIONS.—The 
Administrator 
may
predicate, in the agreement, the transfer of functions
and duties under this subsection on any conditions
the Administrator deems necessary and prudent, ex-
cept that the Administrator may not transfer respon-
sibilities for United States registered aircraft de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(A) to a country that the Ad-
ministrator determines is not in compliance with its
obligations under international law for the safety
oversight of civil aviation.
‘‘(4) REGISTERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this
subsection, the term ‘registered aircraft’ means—
‘‘(A) aircraft registered in the United States
and operated pursuant to an agreement for the
lease, charter, or interchange of the aircraft or
any similar arrangement by an operator that
has its principal place of business or, if it has
no such place of business, its permanent resi-
dence in another country; or
‘‘(B) aircraft registered in a foreign country
and operated under an agreement for the lease,
charter, or interchange of the aircraft or any
similar arrangement by an operator that has its
principal place of business or, if it has no such
place of business, its permanent residence in the
United States.’’.
SEC. 808. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF AIRMEN RECORDS.
Section 44703 is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f)
as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(c) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2)
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
records of the contents (as prescribed in subsection
(b)) of any airman certificate issued under this sec-
tion shall be made available to the public after the
60th day following the date of enactment of the Air-
port Improvement Program Reauthorization Act of
1998.
‘‘(2) ADDRESSES
OF
AIRMEN.—Before making
the address of an airman available to the public
under paragraph (1), the airman shall be given an
opportunity to elect that the airman’s address not be
made available to the public.
‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
PROGRAM.—Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of the Airport Improvement Program Re-
authorization Act of 1998, the Administrator shall de-
velop and implement, in cooperation with representa-
tives of the aviation industry, a one-time written no-
tification to airmen to set forth the implications of
making the address of an airman available to the
public under paragraph (1) and to carry out para-
graph (2).’’.
SEC. 809. GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.
Section 44903 is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY CONSORTIA.—The
Administrator may establish at individual airports such
consortia of government and aviation industry representa-
tives as the Administrator may designate to provide advice
on matters related to aviation security and safety. Such
consortia shall not be considered Federal advisory commit-
tees.’’.
SEC. 810. PASSENGER MANIFEST.
Section 44909(a)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘shall’’
and inserting ‘‘should’’.
SEC. 811. COST RECOVERY FOR FOREIGN AVIATION SERV-
ICES.
Section 45301 is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2) by inserting before the
period ‘‘or to any entity obtaining inspection, testing,
authorization, permit, rating, approval, review, or
certification services outside the United States’’; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(B) by moving the sen-
tence beginning ‘‘Services’’ down 1 line and flush 2
ems to the left.
SEC. 812. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO CIVIL PENALTY
PROVISIONS.
Section 46301 is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘46302,
46303, or’’;
(2) in subsection (d)(7)(A) by striking ‘‘an indi-
vidual’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘a
person’’; and
(3) in subsection (g) by inserting ‘‘or the Admin-
istrator’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’.
SEC. 813. ENHANCED VISION TECHNOLOGIES.
(a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a study
of the feasibility of requiring United States airports to in-
stall enhanced vision technologies to replace or enhance con-
ventional landing light systems over the 10-year period fol-
lowing the date of completion of such study.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit
to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted
under subsection (a) with such recommendations as the Ad-
ministrator considers appropriate.
(c) INCLUSION OF INSTALLATION AS AIRPORT DEVEL-
OPMENT.—Section 47102 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3)(B)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause
(v);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
clause (vi) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by inserting after clause (vi) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(vii) enhanced visual technologies to
replace or enhance conventional landing
light systems.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(21) ENHANCED
VISION
TECHNOLOGIES.—The
term ‘enhanced vision technologies’ means laser guid-
ance, ultraviolet guidance, infrared, and cold cathode
technologies.’’.
(d) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall trans-
mit to Congress a schedule for certification of laser guidance
equipment for use as approach lighting at United States
airports and of cold cathode lighting equipment for use as
runway and taxiway lighting at United States airports and
as lighting at United States heliports.
SEC. 814. FOREIGN CARRIERS ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVER
UNDER AIRPORT NOISE AND CAPACITY ACT.
Section 47528(b)(1) is amended in the first sentence
by inserting ‘‘or foreign air carrier’’ after ‘‘air carrier’’.
SEC. 815. TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS.
(a) IN TITLE 49.—Title 49 is amended—
(1) in section 5108(f) by striking ‘‘section
552(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 552(b)’’.
(2) in section 15904(c)(1) by inserting ‘‘section’’
before ‘‘15901(b)’’.
(3) in section 49106(b)(1)(F) by striking ‘‘1996’’
and inserting ‘‘1986’’;
(4) in section 49106(c)(3) by striking ‘‘by the
board’’ and inserting ‘‘to the board’’;
(5) in section 49107(b) by striking ‘‘subchapter
II’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapter III’’; and
(6) in section 49111(b) by striking ‘‘retention of’’
and inserting ‘‘retention by’’.
(b) CODIFICATION REPEAL TABLE.—The Schedule of
Laws Repealed in section 5(b) the Act of November 20, 1997
(Public Law 105–102; 111 Stat. 2217), is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘1996’’ the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘1986’’.
(c) CODIFICATION REFERENCES.—Effective October
11, 1996, section 5(45)(A) of the Act of October 11, 1996
(Public Law 104–287, 110 Stat. 3393), is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘ENFORCEMENT;’’ and inserting ‘‘ENFORCE-
MENT:’’.
SEC. 816. ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
Section 348 of the Department of Transportation and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (49 U.S.C. 106
note; 109 Stat. 460) is amended by striking subsection (c)
and inserting the following:
‘‘(c) CONTRACTS EXTENDING INTO
A SUBSEQUENT
FISCAL YEAR.—Notwithstanding subsection (b)(3), the Ad-
ministrator may enter into contracts for procurement of
severable services that begin in one fiscal year and end in
another if (without regard to any option to extend the pe-
riod of the contract) the contract period does not exceed 1
year.’’.
SEC. 817. INDEPENDENT VALIDATION OF FAA COSTS AND
ALLOCATIONS.
(a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—
(1) INITIATION.—Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector Gen-
eral of the Department of Transportation shall initi-
ate the analyses described in paragraph (2). In con-
ducting the analyses, the Inspector General shall en-
sure that the analyses are carried out by 1 or more
entities that are independent of the Federal Aviation
Administration. Except as provided by paragraph
(2)(A)(iv), the Inspector General may use the staff
and resources of the Inspector General or may con-
tract with independent entities to conduct the analy-
ses.
(2) ASSESSMENT OF ADEQUACY AND ACCURACY
OF FAA COST DATA AND ATTRIBUTIONS.—To ensure
that the method for calculating overall costs of the
Federal Aviation Administration and attributing
such costs to specific users is appropriate, reasonable,
and understandable to the users, the Inspector Gen-
eral shall conduct an assessment that includes the fol-
lowing:
(A)(i) Validation of Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration cost input data, including an audit
of the reliability of Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration source documents and the integrity and
reliability of the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion’s data collection process.
(ii) An assessment of the reliability of the
Federal Aviation Administration’s system for
tracking assets.
(iii) An assessment of the reasonableness of
the Federal Aviation Administration’s bases for
establishing asset values and depreciation rates.
(iv) An audit of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration’s system of internal controls for en-
suring the consistency and reliability of reported
data.
(B) A review and validation (including the
opportunity for public and user comments) of the
Federal Aviation Administration’s definition of
the services to which the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration ultimately attributes its costs.
(C) An assessment and validation of the
cost pools used by the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration, including the rationale for and reliabil-
ity of the bases on which the Federal Aviation
Administration proposes to allocate costs of serv-
ices to users and the integrity of the cost pools
as well as any other factors considered important
by the Inspector General. Appropriate statistical
tests shall be performed to assess relationships be-
tween costs in the various cost pools and activi-
ties and services to which the costs are attributed
by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(D) For costs that cannot reliably be attrib-
uted to specific Federal Aviation Administration
services or activities (called ‘‘common and fixed
costs’’ in the Federal Aviation Administration
Cost Allocation Study), the Inspector General
shall contract with an entity that is independent
of the Federal Aviation Administration to apply
and show the results from at least 3 generally ac-
cepted methodologies for allocating such costs.
(3) COST
EFFECTIVENESS.—To assist the Ad-
ministrator, Congress, and users in evaluating and
improving the cost effectiveness of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration in providing and delivering its
services to the public, the Inspector General shall con-
tract with an entity independent of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration to assess or benchmark the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration’s efficiency and effec-
tiveness based on certain internal and external com-
parisons. The assessment shall include the following:
(A) INTERNAL BENCHMARKING STUDIES.—
Detailed, activity-based studies of work process
throughout the Federal Aviation Administration
to assess the most efficient and effective units, to
identify the reasons for superior performance or
‘‘best practices’’, and to consider how such prac-
tices can be used by other units of the Federal
Aviation Administration to improve their per-
formance and efficiency.
(B) EXTERNAL BENCHMARKING STUDIES.—
An evaluation of the efficiency of the Federal
Aviation Administration in comparison to at
least 3 other providers of air traffic control serv-
ices in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness
in the key activities and functions required to
provide air traffic control services. The Inspector
General shall identify the activities and func-
tions to be included in such analysis. There shall
also be conducted an assessment of the cost effec-
tiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration
in the procurement and management of critical
functions and activities, including telecommuni-
cations, real estate, maintenance, and other
areas to be specified by the Inspector General
based on comparisons of how these functions are
handled by other large, complex organizations in
the public and private sectors.
(b) DEADLINE.—The independent analyses described
in this section shall be completed not later than 270 days
after the contracts are awarded to the outside independent
contractors. The Inspector General shall submit a final re-
port combining the analyses done by its staff with those
of the outside independent contractors to the Secretary of
Transportation, the Administrator, the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives. The final report shall be submit-
ted by the Inspector General not later than 300 days after
the award of contracts. Until the final report is completed
and submitted, the Federal Aviation Administration shall
not implement a user fee structure, except for the overflight
fees authorized by section 45301 of title 49, United States
Code.
SEC. 818. ELIMINATION OF BACKLOG OF EQUAL EMPLOY-
MENT OPPORTUNITY COMPLAINTS.
(a) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—For fiscal
year 1999, the Secretary of Transportation may hire or
contract for such additional personnel as may be necessary
to eliminate the backlog of pending equal employment op-
portunity complaints to the Department of Transportation
and to ensure that investigations of complaints are com-
pleted not later than 180 days after the date of initiation
of the investigation.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999. Such sums shall remain
available until expended.
SEC. 819. NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA.
(a) AUTHORITY TO GRANT WAIVERS.—Notwithstand-
ing section 16 of the Federal Airport Act (as in effect on
May 14, 1947), the Secretary shall, subject to section 47153
of title 49, United States Code (as in effect on June 1,
1998), and subsection (b) of this section, waive with respect
to airport property parcels that, according to the airport
layout plan for Newport News/Williamsburg International
Airport, are no longer required for airport purposes from
any term contained in the deed of conveyance dated May
14, 1947, under which the United States conveyed such
property to the Peninsula Airport Commission for airport
purposes of the Commission.
(b) CONDITIONS.—Any waiver granted by the Sec-
retary under subsection (a) shall be subject to the following
conditions:
(1) The Peninsula Airport Commission shall
agree that, in leasing or conveying any interest in the
property with respect to which waivers are granted
under subsection (a), the Commission will receive an
amount that is equal to the fair lease value or the fair
market value, as the case may be (as determined pur-
suant to regulations issued by the Secretary).
(2) Peninsula Airport Commission shall use any
amount so received only for the development, improve-
ment, operation, or maintenance of Newport News/
Williamsburg International Airport.
SEC. 820. GRANT OF EASEMENT, LOS ANGELES, CALIFOR-
NIA.
The City of Los Angeles Department of Airports may
grant an easement to the California Department of Trans-
portation to lands required to provide sufficient right-of-
way to facilitate the construction of the California State
Route 138 bypass, as proposed by the California Depart-
ment of Transportation.
SEC. 821. REGULATION OF ALASKA AIR GUIDES.
The Administrator shall reissue the notice to operators
originally published in the Federal Register on January 2,
1998, which advised Alaska guide pilots of the applicability
of part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to guide
pilot operations. In reissuing the notice, the Administrator
shall provide for not less than 60 days of public comment
on the Federal Aviation Administration action. If, notwith-
standing the public comments, the Administrator decides to
proceed with the action, the Administrator shall publish in
the Federal Register a notice justifying the Administrator’s
decision and providing at least 90 days for compliance.