I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2988
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for the regulation of
flight schools and flight school applicants for the purposes of enhancing
national security and aviation safety, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 2, 2001
Mr. DEUTSCH (for himself, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. FORD, Mr. SIMMONS, and Mr.
FROST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for the
regulation of flight schools and flight school applicants
for the purposes of enhancing national security and avia-
tion safety, 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 ‘‘Flight School Security
Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. REGULATION OF FLIGHT SCHOOLS BY FAA.
Section 44707 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘The Administrator’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) REGULATION OF FLIGHT SCHOOLS AND FLIGHT
SCHOOL STUDENTS.—
‘‘(1) REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Admin-
istrator shall conduct a comprehensive review of
practices of schools described in subsection (a)(1)
that relate to eligibility for enrollment.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS
AND
REPORT.—Not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Administrator shall—
‘‘(A) issue regulations to prevent the pro-
viding of instruction in flying aircraft by
schools described in subsection (a)(1) to individ-
uals that the Administrator determines are a
threat to security; and
‘‘(B) transmit 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 a report on the schedule for implementation
of such regulations.
‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF FLIGHT SCHOOL CERTIFI-
CATION CARDS.—The regulations issued under this
subsection shall prohibit an individual from enrolling
or being enrolled in a school described in subsection
(a)(1) for instruction as a pilot of an aircraft unless
the individual has a card issued by the Adminis-
trator that certifies that the individual is eligible for
such instruction (in this subsection referred to as a
‘certification card’).
‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
FLIGHT
SCHOOL
CER-
TIFICATION
CARD.—Under the regulations issued
under this subsection, the Administrator may issue
a certification card to an individual only if—
‘‘(A) the individual submits to the Admin-
istrator a set of fingerprints and—
‘‘(i) proof of identity; and
‘‘(ii)(I) proof that the individual is a
citizen or national of the United States; or
‘‘(II) in any case in which the indi-
vidual is not a citizen or national of the
United States, proof that assists the Ad-
ministrator in carrying out subparagraph
(B);
‘‘(B) in any case in which the individual is
not a citizen or national of the United States,
the Administrator, in consultation with the At-
torney General, verifies that the individual—
‘‘(i) is, or on the date of proposed en-
rollment is expected to be, lawfully admit-
ted to the United States as an immigrant
or nonimmigrant;
‘‘(ii) is not, as of the date the
verification is made, described in section
212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1182(a)(3)) 
or
237(a)(4) 
of 
such 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C.
1227(a)(4)); and
‘‘(iii) is not, and on the date of pro-
posed enrollment is not expected to be,
otherwise ineligible to so enroll due to im-
migration status;
‘‘(C) the Administrator, in coordination
with the Attorney General, the Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency, and the Secretary
of State, conducts a background review of the
applicant and determines as a result of such re-
view that the individual is not a security threat;
and
‘‘(D) the Administrator forwards the fin-
gerprints submitted under subparagraph (A) to
the Criminal Justice Services Division of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
‘‘(5) FORM
OF
PROOF; SUPPORTING
DOCU-
MENTATION.—Proof to be submitted to the Adminis-
trator under paragraph (4)(A) shall be in such form
and contains such supporting documentation as the
Administrator may require, including documents de-
scribed in paragraphs (6), (7), and (8).
‘‘(6) CITIZENSHIP
OR
NATIONALITY
DOCU-
MENTS.—A document submitted as proof that an in-
dividual is a citizen or national of the United States
may include an individual’s—
‘‘(A) United States passport;
‘‘(B) original or certified copy of a birth
certificate issued by a State, county, municipal
authority, or outlying possession of the United
States bearing an official seal;
‘‘(C) certificate of naturalization;
‘‘(D) certificate of citizenship;
‘‘(E) certificate of noncitizen national sta-
tus; or
‘‘(F) such other document as the Attorney
General may designate as being appropriate.
‘‘(7) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING IDENTITY OF
INDIVIDUAL.—A document submitted as proof of the
identity 
of 
an 
individual 
may 
include 
the
individual’s—
‘‘(A) driver’s license or similar document
issued for the purpose of identification by a
State if it contains a photograph of the indi-
vidual or such other personal identifying infor-
mation relating to the individual as the Admin-
istrator, in consultation with the Attorney Gen-
eral, finds sufficient for purposes of this sub-
section; or
‘‘(B) in the case of individuals under 16
years of age or in a State that does not provide
for issuance of an identification document
(other than a driver’s license) referred to in
subparagraph (A), documentation of personal
identity of such other type as the Adminis-
trator, in consultation with the Attorney Gen-
eral, finds provides a reliable means of identi-
fication.
‘‘(8) DOCUMENTS ASSISTING IMMIGRATION STA-
TUS VERIFICATION.—The documents submitted for
purposes of assisting the Administrator in carrying
out paragraph (4)(B) may include—
‘‘(A) one or more immigration documents
evidencing a current or prospective satisfactory
immigration status as the Administrator, in
consultation with the Attorney General, finds
sufficient 
for 
purposes 
of 
paragraph
(4)(A)(ii)(II); and
‘‘(B) an identity document that contains a
photograph of the individual and such other
personal identifying information relating to the
individual as the Administrator, in consultation
with the Attorney General, finds sufficient for
purposes of such paragraph.
‘‘(9) NATURE
AND
PERIOD
OF
VALIDITY
OF
CERTIFICATION
CARD.—Under 
the 
regulations
issued under this subsection, a certification card
shall—
‘‘(A) be a nonreproducible identification
card containing photo identification, a unique
personal certification number, and such perti-
nent identification information as the Adminis-
trator determines appropriate; and
‘‘(B) shall be valid for a period of 5 years,
and renewable for additional 5-year periods fol-
lowing an updated background review of an ap-
plicant for renewal.
‘‘(10) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOOLS.—Under
the regulations issued under this subsection, a school
described in subsection (a)(1) may not enroll an in-
dividual for instruction in flying an aircraft unless—
‘‘(A) the individual presents the individual’s
certification card (or a photostatic representa-
tion of the card) to the school;
‘‘(B) the school submits a copy of the card
or such other information as the Administrator
may 
require 
to 
the 
Administrator 
for
verification of its validity;
‘‘(C) the Administrator verifies that the
card is valid;
‘‘(D) the school retains a copy of the card
for a period not less than 5 years; and
‘‘(E) after verification of the validity of the
card, the school notifies the Administrator of
the date on which the individual will be so en-
rolled.
‘‘(11) DEADLINES.—The Administrator shall—
‘‘(A) issue a certification card under this
subsection not later than 30 days after the date
the Administrator receives an application for
issuance of the card; and
‘‘(B) determine the validity of a certifi-
cation card issued under this subsection, and
notify the school requesting the determination
of such validity, not later than 7 days after the
date of such request.
‘‘(12) DATABASE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator
shall maintain electronic database of individuals
to whom certification cards are issued under
this subsection and individuals enrolled in
schools described in subsection (a)(1) for in-
struction in flying aircraft. The database shall
include the dates and results of background re-
views conducted with respect to such individuals
under this subsection.
‘‘(B) UPDATING.—The Administrator, in
cooperation with the Attorney General, the Di-
rector of the Central Intelligence Agency, and
the Secretary of State, shall update and mon-
itor the database to prevent the enrollment of
an individual for instruction in flying aircraft
who are determined by the Administrator to be
a threat to security.
‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Administrator
shall establish an Internet based system to co-
ordinate reporting and review of certification
cards between the Administrator and schools
described in subsection (a)(1). The Adminis-
trator shall coordinate such system with the
database.
‘‘(13) DISQUALIFICATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator
may issue to an owner or operator of a school
that violates paragraph (10) more than 3 times
an order to disqualify the owner or operator
from owning and operating such a school.
‘‘(B) 
PROCEDURES
FOR
REINSTATE-
MENT.—The Administrator shall establish a
procedure for reinstating the authority, to own
or operate a school described in subsection
(a)(1), of an owner or operator that has been
disqualified under this paragraph.
‘‘(14) FEES
AND
CHARGES.—The Adminis-
trator shall establish reasonable fees and charges to
pay expenses incurred in issuing certification cards
and conducting background reviews under this sub-
section. Such fees and charges may not exceed $100
per card and review. Money collected under this sub-
section shall be credited to the account in the Treas-
ury from which expenses were incurred and are
available to the Administrator for those expenses.
‘‘(15) BACKGROUND
REVIEW
DEFINED.—In
this section, the term ‘background review’, commonly
known as an indices check, means a review of the
latest information available to and provided by the
Director of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of
State, the Attorney General, and the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding personal
background, including information relating to any
history of criminal activity or to any evidence of es-
pionage or terrorism and a fingerprint-based crimi-
nal history background check by the Criminal Jus-
tice Services Division of the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation.’’.
SEC. 3. CIVIL PENALTY.
Section 46301 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A) by striking ‘‘44717’’
and inserting ‘‘44707(b)(10), 44717,’’;
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the
following:
‘‘(8) OWNERS
AND
OPERATORS
OF
FLIGHT
SCHOOLS.—An owner or operator of a school is lia-
ble to the Government for a civil penalty of $3,000
for a first violation of section 44707(b)(10), $5,000
for a second violation of such section, and $7,000
for each violation of such section thereafter.’’; and
(3) in subsection (f)(1)(A)(i) by striking
‘‘44717’’ and inserting ‘‘44707(b)(10), 44717,’’.
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