I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 907
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Trans-
portation to implement a pilot program to improve access to the national
transportation system for small communities, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 2, 1999
Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize the
Secretary of Transportation to implement a pilot pro-
gram to improve access to the national transportation
system for small communities, 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; REFERENCES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Air Service Restoration Act’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise specifically
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal
is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of,
a section or other provision of law, the reference shall be
considered to be made to a section or other provision of
title 49, United States Code.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) a national transportation system providing
safe, high quality service to all areas of the United
States is essential to interstate commerce and the
economic well-being of cities and towns throughout
the United States;
(2) taxpayers throughout the United States
have supported and helped to fund the United
States aviation infrastructure and have a right to
expect that aviation services will be provided in an
equitable and fair manner to every region of the
country;
(3) some communities have not benefited from
airline deregulation and access to essential airports
and air services has been limited;
(4) air service to a number of small commu-
nities has suffered since deregulation;
(5) studies by the Department of Transpor-
tation have documented that, since the airline indus-
try was deregulated in 1978—
(A) 34 small communities have lost service
and many small communities have had jet air-
craft service replaced by turboprop aircraft
service;
(B) out of a total of 320 small commu-
nities, the number of small communities being
served by major air carriers declined from 213
in 1978 to 33 in 1995;
(C) the number of small communities re-
ceiving service to only one major hub airport in-
creased from 79 in 1978 to 134 in 1995; and
(D) the number of small communities re-
ceiving multiple-carrier service decreased from
136 in 1978 to 122 in 1995; and
(6) improving air service to small and medium-
sized communities that have not benefited from fare
reductions and improved service since deregulation
will likely entail a range of Federal, State, regional,
local, and private sector initiatives.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to facilitate, through a
pilot program, incentives and projects that will help com-
munities to improve their access to the essential airport
facilities of the national air transportation system through
public-private partnerships and to identify and establish
ways to overcome the unique policy, economic, geographic,
and marketplace factors that may inhibit the availability
of quality, affordable air service to small communities.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL COMMUNITY AVIATION
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
Section 102 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(g) SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE DEVELOP-
MENT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a 5-year pilot aviation development program
to be administered by a program director designated
by the Secretary.
‘‘(2) 
FUNCTIONS.—The 
program 
director
shall—
‘‘(A) function as a facilitator between
small communities and air carriers;
‘‘(B) carry out section 41743 of this title;
‘‘(C) carry out the airline service restora-
tion program under sections 41744, 41745, and
41746 of this title;
‘‘(D) ensure that the Bureau of Transpor-
tation Statistics collects data on passenger in-
formation to assess the service needs of small
communities;
‘‘(E) work with and coordinate efforts with
other Federal, State, and local agencies to in-
crease the viability of service to small commu-
nities and the creation of aviation development
zones; and
‘‘(F) provide policy recommendations to
the Secretary and the Congress that will ensure
that small communities have access to quality,
affordable air transportation services.
‘‘(3) REPORTS.—The program director shall
provide an annual report to the Secretary and Con-
gress beginning in 2000 that—
‘‘(A) analyzes the availability of air trans-
portation services in small communities, includ-
ing, but not limited to, an assessment of the air
fares charged for air transportation services in
small communities compared to air fares
charged for air transportation services in larger
metropolitan areas and an assessment of the
levels of service, measured by types of aircraft
used, the availability of seats, and scheduling of
flights, provided to small communities;
‘‘(B) identifies the policy, economic, geo-
graphic, and marketplace factors that inhibit
the availability of quality, affordable air trans-
portation services to small communities; and
‘‘(C) provides policy recommendations to
address the policy, economic, geographic, and
marketplace factors inhibiting the availability of
quality, affordable air transportation services to
small communities.’’.
SEC. 5. COMMUNITY-CARRIER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 417 is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 41743. Air service program for small communities
‘‘(a) COMMUNITIES
PROGRAM.—Under advisory
guidelines prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation,
a small community or a consortia of small communities
or a State may develop an assessment of its air service
requirements, in such form as the program director des-
ignated by the Secretary under section 102(g) may re-
quire, and submit the assessment and service proposal to
the program director.
‘‘(b) SELECTION
OF PARTICIPANTS.—In selecting
community programs for participation in the communities
program under subsection (a), the program director shall
apply criteria, including geographical diversity and the
presentation of unique circumstances, that will dem-
onstrate the feasibility of the program. For purposes of
this subsection, the application of geographical diversity
criteria means criteria that—
‘‘(1) will promote the development of a national
air transportation system; and
‘‘(2) will involve the participation of commu-
nities in all regions of the country.
‘‘(c) CARRIERS PROGRAM.—The program director
shall invite part 121 air carriers and regional/commuter
carriers (as such terms are defined in section 41715(d)
of this title) to offer service proposals in response to, or
in conjunction with, community aircraft service assess-
ments submitted to the office under subsection (a). A serv-
ice proposal under this subsection shall include—
‘‘(1) an assessment of potential daily passenger
traffic, revenues, and costs necessary for the carrier
to offer the service;
‘‘(2) a forecast of the minimum percentage of
that traffic the carrier would require the community
to garner in order for the carrier to start up and
maintain the service; and
‘‘(3) the costs and benefits of providing jet serv-
ice by regional or other jet aircraft.
‘‘(d) PROGRAM SUPPORT FUNCTION.—The program
director shall work with small communities and air car-
riers, taking into account their proposals and needs, to
facilitate the initiation of service. The program director—
‘‘(1) may work with communities to develop in-
novative means and incentives for the initiation of
service;
‘‘(2) may obligate funds authorized under sec-
tion 6 of the Air Service Restoration Act to carry
out this section;
‘‘(3) shall continue to work with both the car-
riers and the communities to develop a combination
of community incentives and carrier service levels
that—
‘‘(A) are acceptable to communities and
carriers; and
‘‘(B) do not conflict with other Federal or
State programs to facilitate air transportation
to the communities;
‘‘(4) designate an airport in the program as an
Air Service Development Zone and work with the
community on means to attract business to the area
surrounding the airport, to develop land use options
for the area, and provide data, working with the De-
partment of Commerce and other agencies; and
‘‘(5) take such other action under this sub-
chapter as may be appropriate.
‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) COMMUNITY SUPPORT.—The program di-
rector may not provide financial assistance under
subsection (c)(2) to any community unless the pro-
gram director determines that—
‘‘(A) a public-private partnership exists at
the community level to carry out the commu-
nity’s proposal;
‘‘(B) the community will make a substan-
tial financial contribution that is appropriate
for that community’s resources, but of not less
than 25 percent of the cost of the project in
any event;
‘‘(C) the community has established an
open process for soliciting air service proposals;
and
‘‘(D) the community will accord similar
benefits to air carriers that are similarly situ-
ated.
‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The program director may not
obligate more than $100,000,000 of the amounts au-
thorized under section 6 of the Air Service Restora-
tion Act over the 5 years of the program.
‘‘(3) NUMBER
OF
PARTICIPANTS.—The pro-
gram established under subsection (a) shall not in-
volve more than 40 communities or consortia of
communities.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—The program director shall report
through the Secretary to Congress annually on the
progress made under this section during the preceding
year in expanding commercial aviation service to smaller
communities.
‘‘§ 41744. Pilot program project authority
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The program director designated
by the Secretary of Transportation under section
102(g)(1) shall establish a 5-year pilot program—
‘‘(1) to assist communities and States with in-
adequate access to the national transportation sys-
tem to improve their access to that system; and
‘‘(2) to facilitate better air service link-ups to
support the improved access.
‘‘(b) PROJECT AUTHORITY.—Under the pilot pro-
gram established pursuant to subsection (a), the program
director may—
‘‘(1) out of amounts authorized under section 6
of the Air Service Restoration Act, provide financial
assistance by way of grants to small communities or
consortia of small communities under section 41743
of up to $500,000 per year; and
‘‘(2) take such other action as may be appro-
priate.
‘‘(c) OTHER ACTION.—Under the pilot program es-
tablished pursuant to subsection (a), the program director
may facilitate service by—
‘‘(1) working with airports and air carriers to
ensure that appropriate facilities are made available
at essential airports;
‘‘(2) collecting data on air carrier service to
small communities; and
‘‘(3) providing policy recommendations to the
Secretary to stimulate air service and competition to
small communities.
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL ACTION.—Under the pilot program
established pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall
work with air carriers providing service to participating
communities and major air carriers serving large hub air-
ports (as defined in section 41731(a)(3)) to facilitate joint
fare arrangements consistent with normal industry prac-
tice.
‘‘§ 41745. Assistance to communities for service
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance provided
under section 41743 during any fiscal year as part of the
pilot program established under section 41744(a) shall be
implemented for not more than—
‘‘(1) 4 communities within any State at any
given time; and
‘‘(2) 40 communities in the entire program at
any time.
For purposes of this subsection, a consortium of commu-
nities shall be treated as a single community.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to participate in a pilot
project under this subchapter, a State, community, or
group of communities shall apply to the Secretary in such
form and at such time, and shall supply such information,
as the Secretary may require, and shall demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the Secretary that—
‘‘(1) the applicant has an identifiable need for
access, or improved access, to the national air trans-
portation system that would benefit the public;
‘‘(2) the pilot project will provide material bene-
fits to a broad section of the travelling public, busi-
nesses, educational institutions, and other enter-
prises whose access to the national air transpor-
tation system is limited;
‘‘(3) the pilot project will not impede competi-
tion; and
‘‘(4) the applicant has established, or will estab-
lish, public-private partnerships in connection with
the pilot project to facilitate service to the public.