H. R. 5076
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and six 
An Act 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 
2007 and 2008, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National 
Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2006’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Reports. 
Sec. 3. Investigation services. 
Sec. 4. Expenses of DOT Inspector General. 
Sec. 5. Evaluation and audit of the National Transportation Safety Board. 
Sec. 6. Audit procedures. 
Sec. 7. Implementation of NTSB’s ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improve-
ments, 2006’’. 
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 9. Technical corrections. 
Sec. 10. Safety review. 
Sec. 11. DOT Inspector General oversight and investigations related to Central Ar-
tery tunnel project.
SEC. 2. REPORTS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1117 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon; 
(B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘State.’’ and inserting 
‘‘State;’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) a description of the activities and operations of the 
National Transportation Safety Board Academy during the 
prior calendar year; 
‘‘(5) a list of accidents, during the prior calendar year, 
that the Board was required to investigate under section 1131 
but did not investigate and an explanation of why they were 
not investigated; and 
‘‘(6) a list of ongoing investigations that have exceeded 
the expected time allotted for completion by Board order and 
an explanation for the additional time required to complete 
each such investigation.’’. 
(2) UTILIZATION PLAN.—
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(A) PLAN.—Within 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Transportation Safety Board 
shall—
(i) develop a plan to achieve, to the maximum 
extent feasible, the self-sufficient operation of the 
National Transportation Safety Board Academy and 
utilize the Academy’s facilities and resources; 
(ii) submit a draft of the plan to the Comptroller 
General for review and comment; and 
(iii) submit a draft of the plan to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 
(B) PLAN DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATIONS.—The Board 
shall—
(i) give consideration in developing the plan under 
subparagraph (A)(i) to other revenue-generating meas-
ures, including subleasing the facility to another entity; 
and 
(ii) include in the plan a detailed financial state-
ment that covers current Academy expenses and reve-
nues and an analysis of the projected impact of the 
plan on the Academy’s expenses and revenues. 
(C) REPORT.—Within 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the National Transportation Safety Board 
shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives that includes—
(i) an updated copy of the plan developed pursuant 
to subparagraph (A)(i); 
(ii) any comments and recommendations made by 
the Comptroller General pursuant to the Government 
Accountability Office’s review of the draft plan; and 
(iii) a response to the Comptroller General’s com-
ments and recommendations, including a description 
of any modifications made to the plan in response 
to those comments and recommendations. 
(D) IMPLEMENTATION.—The plan developed pursuant 
to subparagraph (A)(i) shall be implemented within 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) DOT REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.—
Section 1135(d)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE REPORT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 
90 days after the date on which the Secretary submits a report 
under this subsection, the Board shall review the Secretary’s 
report and transmit comments on the report to the Secretary, 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives.’’. 
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the National Transportation 
Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–168; 
49 U.S.C. 1113 note) is amended by striking ‘‘From the date of
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enactment of this Act through September 30, 2006, the’’ and 
inserting ‘‘The’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Section 4(b) of such Act is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘On February 1, 2006,’’ and inserting ‘‘On 
July 1 of each year, as part of the annual report required 
by section 1117 of title 49, United States Code,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘for $25,000 or more’’. 
SEC. 4. EXPENSES OF DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL. 
Section 1137(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appropriated 
to the Secretary of Transportation for use by the Inspector 
General of the Department of Transportation such sums as 
may be necessary to cover expenses associated with activities 
pursuant to the authority exercised under this section. 
‘‘(2) REIMBURSABLE
AGREEMENT.—In the absence of an 
appropriation under this subsection for an expense referred 
to in paragraph (1), the Inspector General and the Board shall 
have a reimbursable agreement to cover such expense.’’. 
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND AUDIT OF THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 
SAFETY BOARD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 1138. Evaluation and audit of National Transportation Safety Board 
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—To promote economy, efficiency, and 
effectiveness in the administration of the programs, operations, 
and activities of the National Transportation Safety Board, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall evaluate and audit 
the programs and expenditures of the National Transportation 
Safety Board. Such evaluation and audit shall be conducted at 
least annually, but may be conducted as determined necessary 
by the Comptroller General or the appropriate congressional 
committees. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITY OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comp-
troller General shall evaluate and audit Board programs, oper-
ations, and activities, including—
‘‘(1) information management and security, including pri-
vacy protection of personally identifiable information; 
‘‘(2) resource management; 
‘‘(3) workforce development; 
‘‘(4) procurement and contracting planning, practices and 
policies; 
‘‘(5) the extent to which the Board follows leading practices 
in selected management areas; and 
‘‘(6) the extent to which the Board addresses management 
challenges in completing accident investigations. 
‘‘(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—For purposes 
of this section the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ 
means the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives.’’.
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1137 the 
following:
‘‘1138. Evaluation and audit of National Transportation Safety Board’’.
SEC. 6. AUDIT PROCEDURES. 
The National Transportation Safety Board, in consultation with 
the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation, shall 
continue to develop and implement comprehensive internal audit 
controls for its operations. The audit controls shall address, at 
a minimum, Board asset management systems, including systems 
for accounting management, debt collection, travel, and property 
and inventory management and control. 
SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION OF NTSB’S ‘‘MOST WANTED TRANSPOR-
TATION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS, 2006’’. 
Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit 
a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives explaining why the 
Federal Aviation Administration has not implemented the aviation 
recommendations in the ‘‘Most Wanted Transportation Safety 
Improvements, 2006’’ of the National Transportation Safety Board. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘2005,’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘2006.’’ and inserting ‘‘2006, $81,594,000 
for fiscal year 2007, and $92,625,000 for fiscal year 2008.’’. 
(b) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1118(c) of such title is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) FEES, REFUNDS, AND REIMBURSEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may impose and collect such 
fees, refunds, and reimbursements as it determines to be appro-
priate for services provided by or through the Board. 
‘‘(2) RECEIPTS CREDITED AS OFFSETTING COLLECTIONS.—Not-
withstanding section 3302 of title 31, any fee, refund, or 
reimbursement collected under this subsection—
‘‘(A) shall be credited as offsetting collections to the 
account that finances the activities and services for which 
the fee is imposed or with which the refund or reimburse-
ment is associated; 
‘‘(B) shall be available for expenditure only to pay 
the costs of activities and services for which the fee is 
imposed or with which the refund or reimbursement is 
associated; and 
‘‘(C) shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(3) REFUNDS.—The Board may refund any fee paid by 
mistake or any amount paid in excess of that required.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by paragraph 
(1) shall take effect on October 1, 2005. 
(c) REPORT.—Section 1118(d) of title 49, United States Code, 
is repealed.