770 
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS.—In exercising the author-
ity granted under subparagraph (A), the Board shall 
ensure that any action taken by the Board— 
‘‘(i) is consistent with the merit principles 
of section 2301 of title 5; and 
‘‘(ii) complies with the public notice re-
quirements of section 3327 of title 5.’’. 
SEC. 906. OVERTIME ANNUAL REPORT TERMINATION. 
Section 1113(g)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is 
repealed. 
SEC. 907. STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLAN. 
Section 1113 of title 49, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall develop a 
strategic workforce plan that addresses the immediate 
and long-term workforce needs of the Board with re-
spect to carrying out the authorities and duties of the 
Board under this chapter. 
‘‘(2) ALIGNING THE WORKFORCE TO STRATEGIC 
GOALS.—In developing the strategic workforce plan 
under paragraph (1), the Board shall take into con-
sideration— 
‘‘(A) the current state and capabilities of 
the Board, including a high-level review of mis-
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sion requirements, structure, workforce, and per-
formance of the Board; 
‘‘(B) the significant workforce trends, needs, 
issues, and challenges with respect to the Board 
and the transportation industry; 
‘‘(C) the workforce policies, strategies, per-
formance measures, and interventions to miti-
gate succession risks that guide the workforce in-
vestment decisions of the Board; 
‘‘(D) a workforce planning strategy that 
identifies workforce needs, including the knowl-
edge, skills, and abilities needed to recruit and 
retain skilled employees at the Board; 
‘‘(E) a workforce management strategy that 
is aligned with the mission, goals, and organiza-
tional objectives of the Board; 
‘‘(F) an implementation system for work-
force goals focused on addressing continuity of 
leadership and knowledge sharing across the 
Board; 
‘‘(G) an implementation system that ad-
dresses workforce competency gaps, particularly 
in mission-critical occupations; and 
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‘‘(H) a system for analyzing and evaluating 
the performance of the Board’s workforce man-
agement policies, programs, and activities. 
‘‘(3) PLANNING PERIOD.—The strategic workforce 
plan developed under paragraph (1) shall address a 
5-year forecast period, but may include planning for 
longer periods based on information about trends in 
the transportation sector. 
‘‘(4) PLAN UPDATES.—The Board shall update 
the strategic workforce plan developed under para-
graph (1) not less than once every 5 years. 
‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN.—The 
strategic workforce plan developed under paragraph 
(1) may be developed separately from, or incorporated 
into, the strategic plan required under section 306 of 
title 5. 
‘‘(6) AVAILABILITY.—The strategic workforce 
plan under paragraph (1) and the strategic plan re-
quired under section 306 of title 5 shall be— 
‘‘(A) submitted to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate; and 
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‘‘(B) made available to the public on a 
website of the Board.’’. 
SEC. 908. TRAVEL BUDGETS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113 of title 49, United 
States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(i) NONACCIDENT RELATED TRAVEL BUDGET.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 
annual fiscal year budgets for non accident-related 
travel expenditures for each Board member which 
shall be incorporated into the annual budget request 
of the Board. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—The Board shall notify the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
of any non accident-related travel budget overrun for 
any Board member not later than 30 days of such 
overrun becoming known to the Board.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9 of the Na-
tional Transportation Safety Board Amendments Act of 
2000 (49 U.S.C. 1113 note) is repealed. 
SEC. 909. RETENTION OF RECORDS. 
Section 1113 of title 49, United States Code, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(j) RETENTION
OF
RECORDS.—Notwithstanding 
chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33 of title 44, the Board may re-
tain investigative records for such periods as determined 
by the Board.’’. 
SEC. 910. NONDISCLOSURE OF INTERVIEW RECORDINGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1114 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the subsection heading by striking 
‘‘TRADE
SECRETS’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTAIN 
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and in-
serting ‘‘IN GENERAL.—The Board’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘information related to 
a trade secret referred to in section 1905 of 
title 18’’ and inserting ‘‘confidential infor-
mation described in section 1905 of title 18, 
including trade secrets,’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) INTERVIEW RECORDINGS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may not publicly 
disclose any part of any audio or video recording of 
an interview of participants in, or witnesses to, an 
accident or incident investigated by the Board. 
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‘‘(2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Paragraph (1) shall 
not be construed to apply to transcripts or summaries 
of such interviews.’’. 
(b) AVIATION ENFORCEMENT.—Section 1151 of title 
49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—If the Board or 
Attorney General carry out such civil actions described in 
subsection (a) or (b) of this section against an airman em-
ployed at the time of the accident or incident by an air 
carrier operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the Board shall immediately notify the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate of such civil ac-
tions, including— 
‘‘(1) the labor union representing the airman in-
volved, if applicable; 
‘‘(2) the air carrier at which the airman is em-
ployed; 
‘‘(3) the docket information of the incident or ac-
cident in which the airman was involved; 
‘‘(4) the date of such civil actions taken by the 
Board or Attorney General; and 
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‘‘(5) a description of why such civil actions were 
taken by the Board or Attorney General. 
‘‘(e) SUBSEQUENT NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not 
later than 15 days after the notification described in sub-
section (d), the Board shall submit a report to or brief the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate describing the 
status of compliance with the civil actions taken.’’. 
SEC. 911. CLOSED UNACCEPTABLE RECOMMENDATIONS. 
Section 1116(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (6) 
as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) a list of each recommendation made by the 
Board to the Secretary of Transportation or the Com-
mandant of the Coast Guard that was closed in an 
unacceptable status in the preceding 12 months;’’. 
SEC. 912. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF OVERSIGHT, AC-
COUNTABILITY, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 
49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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‘‘§ 1120. Office of Oversight, Accountability, and Qual-
ity Assurance 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Board shall establish 
in the National Transportation Safety Board an Office of 
Oversight, Accountability, and Quality Assurance to pro-
vide oversight of the duties and responsibilities of the Board. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The head of the Office of 
Oversight, Accountability, and Quality Assurance 
shall be the Director, who shall be appointed by the 
Chairman of the Board and shall be approved by the 
Board. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall have 
demonstrated ability in investigations. 
‘‘(3) TERM.—The Director shall be appointed for 
a term of 5 years. 
‘‘(4) VACANCIES.—Any individual approved to 
fill a vacancy in the position of the Director occur-
ring before the expiration of the term for which the 
predecessor of the individual was approved shall be 
approved for the remainder of the term or for a new 
term. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 
‘‘(1) establish and ensure policies that promote 
integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness; 
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‘‘(2) prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse 
in programs and operations; 
‘‘(3) provide policy direction related to the con-
duct, supervision, and coordination of audits and in-
vestigations relating to the activities of the Board; 
‘‘(4) identify trends and systemic issues within 
the agency and create strategies and recommendations 
to address such issues; 
‘‘(5) conduct impartial information gathering 
about complaints or concerns, and ensure the Board 
is meeting any quality and timeliness standards; and 
‘‘(6) not conduct any of the duties under this 
subsection in a manner that interferes with an ongo-
ing safety investigation of the Board. 
‘‘(d) REPORTING CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS TO DEPART-
MENT OF JUSTICE.—If the Director has reasonable grounds 
to believe that there has been a violation of Federal criminal 
law, the Director shall refer the matter to the Department 
of Justice. 
‘‘(e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to interfere or give the Office jurisdiction over 
any active investigation by the Board or the content of 
products approved by a vote of the Board. 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall submit to 
the Board, the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate an annual report on the activi-
ties, investigations, findings, and recommendations of 
the Director. 
‘‘(2) SUNSET.—This subsection shall cease to 
have effect on October 1, 2028.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 
11 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
after the item relating to section 1119 the following: 
‘‘1120. Office of Oversight, Accountability, and Quality Assurance.’’. 
(c) PEER REVIEW.—Not earlier than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act and not later than 5 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Office of Oversight, Accountability, and Quality Assurance 
of the National Transportation Safety Board shall enter 
into the necessary arrangements with an inspector general, 
or similar Federal entity, to perform a peer review of the 
Office. 
SEC. 913. MISCELLANEOUS INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITIES. 
(a) 
HIGHWAY
INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 
1131(a)(1)(B) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘selects in cooperation with a State’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘selects, concurrent with any State investigation’’. 
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(b) RAIL INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 1131(a)(1)(C) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘acci-
dent in which there is a fatality or substantial property 
damage, or that involves a passenger train’’ and inserting 
‘‘accident, including a railroad grade crossing or trespasser 
accident that the Board selects, or in which there is other-
wise a fatality or substantial property damage, or that in-
volves a passenger train’’. 
SEC. 914. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF ACCIDENT REPORTS. 
Section 1131(e) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ‘‘public at reasonable cost.’’ and in-
serting the following: ‘‘public 
‘‘(1) in printed form at reasonable cost; and 
‘‘(2) in electronic form at no cost in a publicly 
accessible database on a website of the Board.’’. 
SEC. 915. ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TIMELINESS OF 
REPORTS. 
Section 1131 of title 49, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) TIMELINESS OF REPORTS.—If any accident re-
port under subsection (e) is not completed within 2 years 
from the date of the accident, the Board 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 identi-
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