H. R. 1000—28
(2) by inserting ‘‘under new or existing contracts’’ after
‘‘including acquisition’’.
SEC. 154. AIRCRAFT NOISE PRIMARILY CAUSED BY MILITARY AIR-
CRAFT.
Section 47504(c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) AIRCRAFT NOISE PRIMARILY CAUSED BY MILITARY AIR-
CRAFT.—The Secretary may make a grant under this subsection
for a project even if the purpose of the project is to mitigate
the effect of noise primarily caused by military aircraft at
an airport.’’.
SEC. 155. COMPETITION PLANS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Major airports must be available on a reasonable basis
to all air carriers wishing to serve those airports.
(2) 15 large hub airports today are each dominated by
one air carrier, with each such carrier controlling more than
50 percent of the traffic at the hub.
(3) The General Accounting Office has found that such
levels of concentration lead to higher air fares.
(4) The United States Government must take every step
necessary to reduce those levels of concentration.
(5) Consistent with air safety, spending at these airports
must be directed at providing opportunities for carriers wishing
to serve such facilities on a commercially viable basis.
(b) IN GENERAL.—Section 47106 is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(f ) COMPETITION PLANS.—
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Beginning in fiscal year 2001, no pas-
senger facility fee may be approved for a covered airport under
section 40117 and no grant may be made under this subchapter
for a covered airport unless the airport has submitted to the
Secretary a written competition plan in accordance with this
subsection.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A competition plan under this subsection
shall include information on the availability of airport gates
and related facilities, leasing and sub-leasing arrangements,
gate-use requirements, patterns of air service, gate-assignment
policy, financial constraints, airport controls over air- and
ground-side capacity, whether the airport intends to build or
acquire gates that would be used as common facilities, and
airfare levels (as compiled by the Department of Transpor-
tation) compared to other large airports.
‘‘(3) COVERED AIRPORT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the
term ‘covered airport’ means a commercial service airport—
‘‘(A) that has more than .25 percent of the total number
of passenger boardings each year at all such airports; and
‘‘(B) at which one or two air carriers control more
than 50 percent of the passenger boardings.’’.
(c) CROSS REFERENCE.—Section 40117 (as amended by section
135(b) of this Act) is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(k) COMPETITION PLANS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year 2001, no eligible
agency may impose a passenger facility fee under this section
with respect to a covered airport (as such term is defined
in section 47106(f )) unless the agency has submitted to the
H. R. 1000—29
Secretary a written competition plan in accordance with such
section. This subsection does not apply to passenger facility
fees in effect before the date of the enactment of this subsection.
‘‘(2) SECRETARY
SHALL
ENSURE
IMPLEMENTATION
AND
COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall review any plan submitted
under paragraph (1) to ensure that it meets the requirements
of this section, and shall review its implementation from time-
to-time to ensure that each covered airport successfully imple-
ments its plan.’’.
(d) AVAILABILITY OF GATES AND OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES.—
The Secretary shall ensure that gates and other facilities are made
available at costs that are fair and reasonable to air carriers at
covered airports (as defined in section 47106(f )(4) of title 49, United
States Code) where a ‘‘majority-in-interest clause’’ of a contract
or other agreement or arrangement inhibits the ability of the local
airport authority to provide or build new gates or other facilities.
SEC. 156. ALASKA RURAL AVIATION IMPROVEMENT.
(a) APPLICATION
OF
FAA REGULATIONS.—Section 40113 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(f ) APPLICATION
OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS
TO ALASKA.—In
amending title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, in a manner
affecting intrastate aviation in Alaska, the Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration shall consider the extent to which
Alaska is not served by transportation modes other than aviation,
and shall establish such regulatory distinctions as the Adminis-
trator considers appropriate.’’.
(b) MIKE-IN-HAND WEATHER OBSERVATION.—The Administrator
and the Assistant Administrator of the National Weather Service,
in consultation with the National Transportation Safety Board and
the Governor of the State of Alaska, shall continue efforts to develop
and implement a ‘‘mike-in-hand’’ weather observation program in
Alaska under which Federal Aviation Administration employees,
National Weather Service employees, other Federal or State
employees sited at an airport, or persons contracted specifically
for such purpose (including part-time contract employees who are
not sited at such airport), will provide near-real time aviation
weather information via radio and otherwise to pilots who request
such information.
SEC. 157. USE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS.
(a) STUDY.—The Administrator shall conduct a study of the
use of recycled materials (including recycled pavements, waste
materials, and byproducts) in pavement used for runways, taxiways,
and aprons and the specification standards in tests necessary for
the use of recycled materials in such pavement. The primary focus
of the study shall be on the long-term physical performance, safety
implications, and environmental benefits of using recycled materials
in aviation pavement.
(b) CONTRACTING.—The Administrator may carry out the study
by entering into a contract with a university of higher education
with expertise necessary to carry out the study.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to Congress
a report on the results of the study, together with recommendations
concerning the use of recycled materials in aviation pavement.
H. R. 1000—30
(d) FUNDING.—Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to section
106(k) of title 49, United States Code, not to exceed $1,500,000
may be used to carry out this section.
SEC. 158. CONSTRUCTION OF RUNWAYS.
Notwithstanding any provision of law that specifically restricts
the number of runways at a single international airport, the Sec-
retary may obligate funds made available under chapters 471 and
481 of title 49, United States Code, for any project to construct
a new runway at such airport, unless this section is expressly
repealed.
SEC. 159. NOTICE OF GRANTS.
(a) TIMELY ANNOUNCEMENT.—The Secretary shall announce a
grant to be made with funds made available under section 48103
of title 49, United States Code, in a timely fashion after receiving
necessary documentation concerning the grant from the Adminis-
trator.
(b) NOTICE
TO COMMITTEES.—If the Secretary provides any
committee of Congress advance notice of a grant to be made with
funds made available under section 48103 of title 49, United States
Code, the Secretary shall provide, on the same date, such notice
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
SEC. 160. AIRFIELD PAVEMENT CONDITIONS.
(a) EVALUATION OF OPTIONS.—The Administrator shall evaluate
options for improving the quality of information available to the
Federal Aviation Administration on airfield pavement conditions
for airports that are part of the national air transportation system,
including—
(1) improving the existing runway condition information
contained in the airport safety data program by reviewing
and revising rating criteria and providing increased training
for inspectors;
(2) requiring such airports to submit pavement condition
index information as part of their airport master plan or as
support in applications for airport improvement grants; and
(3) requiring all such airports to submit pavement condition
index information on a regular basis and using this information
to create a pavement condition database that could be used
in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of project applications and
forecasting anticipated pavement needs.
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 12 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
transmit a report containing an evaluation of the options described
in subsection (a) to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure.
H. R. 1000—31
SEC. 161. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAPACITY ENHANCE-
MENTS.
Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives a report on efforts by the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion to implement capacity enhancements and improvements, both
technical and procedural, such as precision runway monitoring sys-
tems, and the timeframe for implementation of such enhancements
and improvements.
SEC. 162. PRIORITIZATION OF DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS.
Section 47120 is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘In’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) DISCRETIONARY
FUNDING
TO
BE
USED
FOR
HIGHER
PRIORITY PROJECTS.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall discourage airport sponsors and airports from
using entitlement funds for lower priority projects by giving lower
priority to discretionary projects submitted by airport sponsors and
airports that have used entitlement funds for projects that have
a lower priority than the projects for which discretionary funds
are being requested.’’.
SEC. 163. CONTINUATION OF REPORTS.
Section 3003(a)(1) of the Federal Reports Elimination and
Sunset Act of 1995 (31 U.S.C. 1113 note) does not apply to any
report required to be submitted under any of the following provi-
sions of law:
(1) Section 44501 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Section 47103 of such title.
(3) Section 47131 of such title.
TITLE II—AIRLINE SERVICE
IMPROVEMENTS
Subtitle A—Small Communities
SEC. 201. POLICY FOR AIR SERVICE TO RURAL AREAS.
Section 40101(a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(16) ensuring that consumers in all regions of the United
States, including those in small communities and rural and
remote areas, have access to affordable, regularly scheduled
air service.’’.
SEC. 202. WAIVER OF LOCAL CONTRIBUTION.
Section 41736(b) is amended by inserting after paragraph (4)
the following:
‘‘Paragraph (4) does not apply to any community approved for
service under this section during the period beginning October
1, 1991, and ending December 31, 1997.’’.