I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3741
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require congressional approval
of civil aviation agreements.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 28, 1998
Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require
congressional approval of civil aviation agreements.
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 ‘‘Aviation Bilateral Ac-
countability Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. CIVIL AVIATION AGREEMENTS.
Section 40105 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A civil aviation agreement
that is entered into under this section after the date
of the enactment of this subsection shall enter into
force with respect to the United States only if—
‘‘(A) the Secretary involved transmits to
Congress a document containing a copy of the
final text of the agreement, together with an ex-
planation of the agreement; and
‘‘(B) the approval resolution introduced
under this subsection with respect to the agree-
ment is enacted into law.
‘‘(2) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND SENATE.—This subsection is enacted by Con-
gress—
‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking
power of the House of Representatives and the
Senate, respectively, and as such these provi-
sions are deemed a part of the rules of each
House, respectively, but applicable only with re-
spect to the procedure to be followed in that
House in the case of approval resolutions de-
scribed in paragraph (3); and they supersede
other rules only to the extent that they are in-
consistent therewith; and
‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitu-
tional right of either House to change the rules
(so far as relating to the procedure of that
House) at any time, in the same manner and
to the same extent as in the case of any other
rule of that House.
‘‘(3) APPROVAL
RESOLUTION
DEFINED.—The
term ‘approval resolution’ means only a joint resolu-
tion of the two Houses of Congress, the matter after
the resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘That
Congress approves the civil aviation agreement be-
tween the United States and llllllll
transmitted by llllllll to the Congress
on llllllll.’, the first blank space being
filled with the name of the country involved, the sec-
ond blank space being filled with the title of the Sec-
retary involved, and the third blank space being
filled with the appropriate date.
‘‘(4) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—On the
day on which a civil aviation agreement is transmit-
ted to the House of Representatives and the Senate
under this subsection, an approval resolution with
respect to such agreement shall be introduced (by
request) in the House by the majority leader of the
House, for himself and the minority leader of the
House, or by Members of the House designated by
the majority leader and minority leader of the
House; and shall be introduced (by request) in the
Senate by the majority leader of the Senate, for
himself and the minority leader of the Senate, or by
Members of the Senate designated by the majority
leader and minority leader of the Senate. If either
House is not in session on the day on which such
an agreement is transmitted, the approval resolution
with respect to such agreement shall be introduced
in that House, as provided in the proceeding sen-
tence, on the first day thereafter on which that
House is in session. The approval resolution intro-
duced in the House of Representatives shall be re-
ferred to the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure and the approval resolution introduced
in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
‘‘(5) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amend-
ment to an approval resolution shall be in order in
either the House of Representatives or the Senate;
and no motion to suspend the application of this
subsection shall be in order in either House, nor
shall it be in order in either House for the Presiding
Officer to entertain a request to suspend the appli-
cation of this paragraph by unanimous consent.
‘‘(6) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR CON-
SIDERATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), if the committee of either
House to which an approval resolution has been
referred has not reported it at the close of the
60th day after its introduction, such committee
shall be automatically discharged from further
consideration of the resolution and it shall be
placed on the appropriate calendar. A vote on
final passage of the resolution shall be taken in
each House on or before the close of the 30th
day after the resolution is reported by the com-
mittee of that House to which it was referred,
or after such committee have been discharged
from further consideration of the resolution. If
prior to the passage by one House of an ap-
proval resolution of that House, that House re-
ceives the same approval resolution from the
other House, then—
‘‘(i) the procedure in that House shall
be the same as if no approval resolution
had been received from the other House;
but
‘‘(ii) the vote on final passage shall be
on the approval resolution of the other
House.
‘‘(B) COMPUTING NUMBER OF DAYS.—For
the purpose of subparagraph (A), in computing
a number of days in either House, there shall
be excluded any day on which that House is not
in session.
‘‘(7) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE.—
‘‘(A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion in
the House of Representatives to proceed to the
consideration of an approval resolution shall be
highly privileged and not debatable. An amend-
ment to the motion shall not be in order, nor
shall it be in order to move to reconsider the
vote by which the motion is agreed to or dis-
agreed to.
‘‘(B) DEBATE.—Debate in the House of
Representatives on an approval resolution shall
be limited to not more than 5 hours, which
shall be divided equally between those favoring
and those opposing the resolution. A motion
further to limit debate shall not be debatable. It
shall not be in order to move to recommit an
approval resolution or to move to reconsider the
vote by which an approval resolution is agreed
to or disagreed to.
‘‘(C) MOTIONS TO POSTPONE.—Motions to
postpone, made in the House of Representatives
with respect to the consideration of an approval
resolution, and motions to proceed to the con-
sideration of other business, shall be decided
without debate.
‘‘(D) APPEALS.—All appeals from the deci-
sions of the Chair relating to the application of
the Rules of the House of Representatives to
the procedure relating to an approval resolution
shall be decided without debate.
‘‘(E) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER RULES.—
Except to the extent specifically provided in the
preceding provisions of this subsection, consid-
eration of an approval resolution shall be gov-
erned by the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives applicable to other bills and resolutions in
similar circumstances.
‘‘(8) FLOOR
CONSIDERATION
IN
THE
SEN-
ATE.—
‘‘(A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion in
the Senate to proceed to the consideration of an
approval resolution shall be privileged and not
debatable. An amendment to the motion shall
not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is
agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(B) DEBATE.—Debate in the Senate on
an approval resolution, and all debatable mo-
tions and appeals in connection therewith, shall
be limited to not more than 10 hours. The time
shall be equally divided between, and controlled
by, the majority leader and the minority leader
or their designees.
‘‘(C) APPEALS.—Debate in the Senate on
any debatable motion or appeal in connection
with an approval resolution shall be limited to
not more than 1 hour, to be equally divided be-
tween, and controlled by, the mover and the
manager of the resolution, except that in the
event the manager of the resolution is in favor
of any such motion or appeal, the time in oppo-
sition thereto, shall be controlled by the minor-
ity leader or his designee. Such leaders, or ei-
ther of them, may, from time under their con-
trol on the passage of an approval resolution,
allot additional time to any Senator during the
consideration of any debatable motion or ap-
peal.
‘‘(D) MOTION TO LIMIT DEBATE; MOTION
TO RECOMMIT.—A motion in the Senate to fur-
ther limit debate is not debatable. A motion to
recommit an approval resolution is not in
order.’’.
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