I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3484
To authorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s research, engineering,
and development programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 16, 1996
Mrs. MORELLA (for herself and Mr. WALKER) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To authorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s research,
engineering, and development programs, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FAA Research, Engi-
neering, and Development Reform Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(1)(J);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2)(J) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;
and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(3) for fiscal year 1997—
‘‘(A) $10,000,000 for system development
and infrastructure projects and activities;
‘‘(B) $39,911,000 for capacity and air
traffic management technology projects and ac-
tivities;
‘‘(C) $20,371,000 for communications,
navigation, and surveillance projects and activi-
ties;
‘‘(D) $6,411,000 for weather projects and
activities;
‘‘(E) $6,000,000 for airport technology
projects and activities;
‘‘(F) $37,978,000 for aircraft safety tech-
nology projects and activities;
‘‘(G) $36,045,000 for system security tech-
nology projects and activities;
‘‘(H) $23,682,000 for human factors and
aviation medicine projects and activities;
‘‘(I) $3,800,000 for environment and en-
ergy projects and activities;
‘‘(J) $1,500,000 for innovative/cooperative
research projects and activities; and
‘‘(K) such sums as may be necessary for
other research, engineering, and development
activities described in the President’s fiscal year
1997 budget request to the Congress under the
category ‘Engineering, development, test, and
evaluation’ of Facilities and Equipment.’’.
SEC. 3. RESEARCH PRIORITIES AND BUDGETING.
(a) Section 48102(b) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and
(2) by striking ‘‘AVAILABILITY
FOR
RE-
SEARCH.—(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘RE-
SEARCH PRIORITIES.—(1) The Administrator shall
consider the advice and recommendations of the re-
search advisory committee established by section
44508 of this title in establishing priorities among
major categories of research and development activi-
ties carried out by the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion.
‘‘(2)’’.
(b) Section 48102(c) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) 
DESIGNATION
OF
ACTIVITIES.—(1) 
The
amounts appropriated under subsection (a) are for the
support of all research and development activities carried
out by the Federal Aviation Administration that fall with-
in the categories of basic research, applied research, and
development, including the design and development of pro-
totypes, in accordance with the classifications of the Office
of Management and Budget Circular A–11 (Budget For-
mulation/Submission Process).
‘‘(2) The President’s annual budget request for the
Federal Aviation Administration shall include all research
and development activities within a single budget category.
All of the activities carried out by the Administration with-
in the categories of basic research, applied research, and
development, as classified by the Office of Management
and Budget Circular A–11, shall be placed in this single
budget category.’’.
(c) Section 44508(a)(1) of title 49, United States
Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (B);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (C) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’;
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(D) annually review the allocation made by the
Administrator of the amounts authorized by section
48102(a) of this title among the major categories of
research and development activities carried out by
the Administration and provide advice and rec-
ommendations to the Administrator on whether such
allocation is appropriate to meet the needs and ob-
jectives identified under subparagraph (A).’’.
(d) Section 44501(c) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘15-year’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘5-year’’;
(2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as
follows:
‘‘(B) The plan shall—
‘‘(i) provide estimates by year of the schedule,
cost, and work force levels for each active and
planned major research and development project
under sections 40119, 44504, 44505, 44507, 44509,
44511–44513, and 44912 of this title, including ac-
tivities carried out under cooperative agreements
with other Federal departments and agencies;
‘‘(ii) specify the goals and the priorities for allo-
cation of resources among the major categories of
research and development activities, including the
rationale for the priorities identified;
‘‘(iii) identify the allocation of resources among
long-term research, near-term research, and develop-
ment activities; and
‘‘(iv) highlight the research and development
activities that address specific recommendations of
the research advisory committee established under
section 44508 of this title, and document the rec-
ommendations of the committee that are not accept-
ed, specifying the reasons for nonacceptance.’’; and
(3) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘, including
a description of the dissemination to the private sec-
tor of research results and a description of any new
technologies developed’’ after ‘‘during the prior fiscal
year’’.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM GUIDANCE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) considerable effort and expenditure has
been devoted since 1981 to the modernization of the
National Airspace System, with limited results;
(2) long-standing management, organizational,
and cultural impediments at the Federal Aviation
Administration have led to cost overruns, schedule
delays, program terminations, and other wasteful in-
efficiencies;
(3) a lack of coordination between the tech-
nology developers and operational sections of the
Federal Aviation Administration has led to research,
engineering, and development programs that are un-
balanced because they either are too technology driv-
en or have operational requirements that are unreal-
istic or unwarranted;
(4) the research, engineering, and development
functions of the Federal Aviation Administration
have been carried out without the benefit of critical
management education and competencies;
(5) the failure to employ contemporary manage-
ment techniques and industry best practices has led
to inadequate contractor oversight and poor risk
management; and
(6) significant improvements in modernizing the
National Airspace System will require fundamental
changes in the Federal Aviation Administration’s ac-
quisition management system and in the orientation
of the officials who implement the system.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
(1) the term ‘‘affordable’’ means having life-
cycle costs that are in consonance with the long-
range funding and operational design plans for the
National Airspace System;
(2) the term ‘‘evolutionary acquisition’’ means
an acquisition strategy in which a core capability is
fielded with a modular structure that allows for
changes as requirements are refined;
(3) the term ‘‘life-cycle costs’’ means the total
costs to the Federal Government of a system over its
useful life, including the costs of research, develop-
ment, acquisition, support, and disposal;
(4) the term ‘‘nondevelopmental’’ means not re-
quiring significant further development to be made
usefully operational; and
(5) the term ‘‘pre-planned product improve-
ment’’ means an acquisition strategy that defers
technically difficult or unknown system requirements
to mitigate risks or to field a system that incor-
porates design considerations that facilitate future
changes.
(c) OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES.—The Federal Avia-
tion Administration shall develop, implement, and main-
tain a disciplined acquisition management system that fa-
cilitates the transforming of broadly stated requirements
into affordable, operationally effective and suitable prod-
ucts and services to meet the needs of users of the Na-
tional Airspace System. Such acquisition management sys-
tem shall be based on and incorporate the following prin-
ciples:
(1) The employment and integration of—
(A) a process to establish and validate re-
quirements;
(B) full life-cycle acquisition management;
and
(C) planning, programming, and budget-
ing.
(2) Full involvement of both acquisition and
operational Federal Aviation Administration person-
nel in the processes described in paragraph (1) (A),
(B), and (C).
(3) Early and continuous involvement of Na-
tional Airspace System operators and users, advisory
committees, and industry vendors and experts in es-
tablishing and stabilizing sound, realistic operational
requirements.
(4) Assignment of acquisition officials based on
demonstrated leadership, professionalism, and prov-
en acquisition management competencies, consistent
with their positional responsibility and authority.
(5) Full life-cycle, event-driven acquisition
strategies which explicitly link major interim pro-
gram decisions and contractual commitments to
demonstrated accomplishments in research, engi-
neering, and development.
(6) The balancing of system design require-
ments and constraints based on cost-benefit sensitiv-
ity analysis.
(7) Consideration of maximum practicable use
of nonmaterial, nondevelopmental, or commercial so-
lutions before embarking on protracted research, en-
gineering, and development activities by the Federal
Aviation Administration.
(8) Consideration of evolutionary acquisition
and pre-planned product improvement strategies to
mitigate risks and expeditiously field products and
services.
(9) Use of contemporary management tech-
niques and industry best practices to—
(A) compare the current status of a pro-
gram to where it should be;
(B) reassess the goals of a program and
the plans for achieving those goals;
(C) assess program risks and strategies for
mitigating those risks; and
(D) assess whether the program is afford-
able.
(d) DOCUMENT OF APRIL 1, 1996.—The Congress
recognizes that the acquisition management system set
forth in the document dated April 1, 1996, issued by the
Federal Aviation Administration, is substantially compat-
ible with the principles stated in subsection (c) of this sec-
tion. The Federal Aviation Administration may implement
that proposed system as a suitable compliance with the
requirements of this section, and may modify elements of
that system to the extent that those modifications conform
with the principles stated in subsection (c) of this section.
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