tems acquisitions procedures utilized under the cur-
rent air traffic control modernization program as a 
basis for the NextGen System. 
(2) An assessment of the progress and chal-
lenges associated with collaboration and contribu-
tions of the partner agencies working with the Joint 
Planning and Development Office of the Federal 
Aviation Administration (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘JPDO’’) in planning and implementing the 
NextGen System. 
(3) The progress and challenges associated with 
coordinating government and industry stakeholders 
in activities relating to the NextGen System, includ-
ing an assessment of the contributions of the 
NextGen Institute. 
(4) An assessment of planning and implementa-
tion of the NextGen System against established 
schedules, milestones, and budgets. 
(5) An evaluation of the recently modified orga-
nizational structure of the JPDO. 
(6) An examination of transition planning by 
the Air Traffic Organization and the JPDO. 
(7) Any other matters or aspects of planning 
and coordination of the NextGen System by the
Federal Aviation Administration and the JPDO that 
the Comptroller General determines appropriate. 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PRIORITIES.— 
Not later than one year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall determine 
the priority of topics to be reviewed under this sec-
tion and report such priorities to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com-
mittee on Science and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 
(2) PERIODIC REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON RE-
SULTS OF THE REVIEW.—The Comptroller General 
shall periodically submit to the committees referred 
to in paragraph (1) a report on the results of the 
review conducted under this section. 
SEC. 207. GAO REVIEW OF NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANS-
PORTATION SYSTEM ACQUISITION AND PRO-
CEDURES DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 
a review of the progress made and challenges related to 
the acquisition of designated technologies and the develop-
ment of procedures for the Next Generation Air Transpor-
tation System (in this section referred to as the ‘‘NextGen 
System’’). 
(b) SPECIFIC SYSTEMS REVIEW.—The review shall 
include, at a minimum, an examination of the acquisition 
costs, schedule, and other relevant considerations for the 
following systems: 
(1) 
En 
Route 
Automation 
Modernization 
(ERAM). 
(2) Standard Terminal Automation Replace-
ment System/Common Automated Radar Terminal 
System (STARS/CARTS). 
(3) Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broad-
cast (ADS-B). 
(4) System Wide Information Management 
(SWIM). 
(5) Traffic Flow Management Modernization 
(TFM-M). 
(c) REVIEW.—The review shall include, at a min-
imum, an assessment of the progress and challenges re-
lated to the development of standards, regulations, and 
procedures that will be necessary to implement the 
NextGen System, including required navigation perform-
ance, area navigation, the airspace management program, 
and other programs and procedures that the Comptroller
General identifies as relevant to the transformation of the 
air traffic system. 
(d) PERIODIC REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON RESULTS 
OF THE REVIEW.—The Comptroller General shall periodi-
cally submit to the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure and the Committee on Science and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
a report on the results of the review conducted under this 
section. 
SEC. 208. DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW OF OPER-
ATIONAL AND APPROACH PROCEDURES BY A 
THIRD PARTY. 
(a) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the Depart-
ment of Transportation shall conduct a review regarding 
the effectiveness of the oversight activities conducted by 
the Federal Aviation Administration in connection with 
any agreement with or delegation of authority to a third 
party for the development of flight procedures for the na-
tional airspace system. 
(b) ASSESSMENTS.—The Inspector General shall in-
clude, at a minimum, in the review— 
(1) an assessment of the extent to which the 
Federal Aviation Administration is relying or in-
tends to rely on a third party for the development
of new procedures and a determination of whether 
the Administration has established sufficient mecha-
nisms and staffing to provide safety oversight of a 
third party; and 
(2) an assessment regarding whether the Ad-
ministration has sufficient existing personnel and 
technical resources or mechanisms to develop such 
flight procedures in a safe and efficient manner to 
meet the demands of the national airspace system 
without the use of third party resources. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
a report on the results of the review conducted under this 
section, including the assessments described in subsection 
(b). 
SEC. 209. EXPERT REVIEW OF ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE 
FOR 
NEXT 
GENERATION 
AIR 
TRANSPOR-
TATION SYSTEM. 
(a) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall enter into an arrangement 
with the National Research Council to review the enter-
prise architecture for the Next Generation Air Transpor-
tation System. 
(b) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the review to be 
conducted under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) highlight the technical activities, including 
human-system design, organizational design, and 
other safety and human factor aspects of the system, 
that will be necessary to successfully transition cur-
rent and planned modernization programs to the fu-
ture system envisioned by the Joint Planning and 
Development Office of the Administration; 
(2) assess technical, cost, and schedule risk for 
the software development that will be necessary to 
achieve the expected benefits from a highly auto-
mated air traffic management system and the impli-
cations for ongoing modernization projects; and 
(3) include judgments on how risks with auto-
mation efforts for the Next Generation Air Trans-
portation System can be mitigated based on the ex-
periences of other public or private entities in devel-
oping complex, software-intensive systems. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
to Congress a report containing the results of the review 
conducted pursuant to subsection (a).