I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 586
To enable the United States to maintain its leadership in aeronautics and 
aviation by instituting an initiative to develop technologies that will 
enable future aircraft with significantly lower noise, emissions, and fuel 
consumption; to reinvigorate basic and applied research in aeronautics 
and aviation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. FORBES, Mr. WELDON of Penn-
sylvania, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS 
of Virginia, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. SIMMONS, and Ms. WOOLSEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science 
A BILL 
To enable the United States to maintain its leadership in 
aeronautics and aviation by instituting an initiative to 
develop technologies that will enable future aircraft with 
significantly lower noise, emissions, and fuel consump-
tion; to reinvigorate basic and applied research in aero-
nautics and aviation, 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 ‘‘Aeronautics Research 
and Development Revitalization Act of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) It is in the national interest of the United 
States to maintain international leadership in aero-
nautics and aviation. 
(2) The United States is in danger of losing its 
leadership in aeronautics and aviation to inter-
national competitors. 
(3) Past Federal investments in aeronautics re-
search and development have benefited the economy 
and national security of the United States, and the 
quality of life of its citizens. 
(4) Future growth in aviation increasingly will 
be constrained by concerns related to aircraft noise, 
emissions, fuel consumption, and air transportation 
system congestion. 
(5) Current and projected levels of Federal in-
vestment in aeronautics research and development 
are not sufficient to address concerns related to the 
growth of aviation. 
(6) International competitors have recognized 
the importance of noise, emissions, fuel consump-
tion, and air transportation system congestion in 
limiting the future growth of aviation and have es-
tablished aggressive agendas for addressing each of 
those concerns.
(7) An aggressive initiative by the Federal Gov-
ernment to develop technologies that would signifi-
cantly reduce aircraft noise, harmful emissions, and 
fuel consumption would benefit the United States 
by—
(A) improving the competitiveness of the 
United States aviation industry through the de-
velopment of new markets for aviation services 
and the development of superior aircraft for ex-
isting markets; 
(B) improving the quality of life for our 
citizens by drastically reducing the level of noise 
due to aircraft operations; 
(C) reducing the congestion of the air 
transportation system by allowing departures 
and arrivals at currently underutilized airports 
through the use of environmentally compatible 
aircraft; 
(D) reducing the rate at which fossil fuels 
are consumed; 
(E) reducing the rate at which greenhouse 
gases and other harmful gases and particulates 
are added to the atmosphere by aircraft; and 
(F) reinvigorating the human capital need-
ed to maintain international leadership in aero-
nautics and aviation by providing a set of ex-
tremely challenging and socially beneficial goals 
to the next generation of engineers and sci-
entists. 
(8) Long-term progress in aeronautics and avia-
tion will require continued Federal investment in 
fundamental aeronautical research. 
(9) The Commission on the Future of the 
United States Aerospace Industry has recommended 
that ‘‘the Federal government significantly increase 
its investment in basic aerospace research, which en-
hances U.S. national security, enables breakthrough 
capabilities, and fosters an efficient, secure, and safe 
aerospace transportation system’’. 
(10) Continued research is needed into the 
flight crew and controller training needed to accom-
modate new aircraft and air transportation system 
technologies and procedures. 
(11) It is in the interest of the United States 
to maintain a vigorous capability in basic and ap-
plied research and development of technologies re-
lated to rotorcraft. 
(12) Maintenance of United States leadership 
in aeronautics and aviation will require the produc-
tive collaboration of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration, the aviation industry, and the Nation’s 
universities. 
(13) Improvements to our understanding of 
convective weather phenomena and of aircraft wake 
turbulence would significantly improve the perform-
ance of the Nation’s air transportation system. 
(14) The report entitled ‘‘The NASA Aero-
nautics Blueprint-Toward a Bold New Era of Avia-
tion’’ provides an excellent statement of the prob-
lems facing aviation today, and presents an exciting 
vision of what can be achieved by investments in 
aeronautics research and technology. It does not, 
however, provide a program plan to actually achieve 
the vision, nor does it address the huge mismatch 
between current National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration aeronautics funding and what is re-
quired to achieve the vision. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Federal Avia-
tion Administration; 
(2) the term ‘‘FAA Administrator’’ means the 
Administrator of the FAA;
(3) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 
has the meaning given that term by section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001); 
(4) the term ‘‘NASA’’ means the National Aer-
onautics and Space Administration; and 
(5) the term ‘‘NASA Administrator’’ means the 
Administrator of NASA. 
TITLE I—NASA AERONAUTICS 
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
SEC. 101. OFFICE OF AERONAUTICS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The NASA Administrator 
shall establish an Office of Aeronautics, which shall be 
headed by an Associate Administrator reporting directly 
to the NASA Administrator. 
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Aeronautics shall be 
responsible for planning, budgeting, and managing all aer-
onautics research, development, and demonstration activi-
ties undertaken by NASA. 
SEC. 102. ENVIRONMENTAL AIRCRAFT RESEARCH AND DE-
VELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 
(a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es-
tablish an initiative with the objective of developing, and 
demonstrating in a relevant environment, within 10 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, technologies
to enable the following commercial aircraft performance 
characteristics: 
(1) NOISE.—Noise levels on takeoff and on air-
port approach and landing that do not exceed ambi-
ent noise levels in the absence of flight operations in 
the vicinity of airports from which such commercial 
aircraft would normally operate. 
(2) FUEL EFFICIENCY.—Ten percent improve-
ment, compared to aircraft in commercial service as 
of the date of the enactment of this Act, in each of 
the following: 
(A) Specific fuel consumption. 
(B) Lift to drag ratio. 
(C) Structural weight fraction. 
(3) EMISSIONS.—Nitrogen oxides at less than 
five grams per kilogram of fuel burned. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Within 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the NASA Adminis-
trator shall provide to the Committee on Science of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a plan 
for the implementation of the initiative described in sub-
section (a). Such implementation plan shall include—
(1) technological roadmaps for achieving each 
of the performance characteristics specified in sub-
section (a); 
(2) an estimate of the ten-year funding profile 
required to achieve the objective specified in sub-
section (a); 
(3) a plan for carrying out a formal quantifica-
tion of the estimated costs and benefits of each tech-
nological option selected for development beyond the 
initial concept definition phase; and 
(4) a plan for transferring the technologies to 
industry, including the identification of requirements 
for prototype demonstrations, as appropriate. 
(c) REVIEW.—The NASA Administrator shall enter 
into an arrangement with the National Research Council 
for the review, within one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, of the adequacy of the implementation 
plan provided under subsection (b) to achieve the objective 
described in subsection (a). In addition, the NASA Admin-
istrator shall enter into an arrangement with the National 
Research Council for the review, every three years subse-
quent to the initial review under this subsection, of 
NASA’s progress in achieving the objective described in 
subsection (a), including recommendations for changes to 
NASA’s research and development program as needed.
The results of each review shall be provided to the Com-
mittee on Science of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate within 30 days after completion of the review. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Except 
as provided in section 109(b), there are authorized to be 
appropriated to the NASA Administrator to carry out this 
section—
(1) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 
(2) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 
(3) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
(4) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 
(5) $225,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 
Of these amounts, at least fifty percent of the annual 
funding shall be for research and development conducted 
at universities, industrial research entities, and not-for-
profit research consortia. 
SEC. 103. ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
INITIATIVE. 
(a) OBJECTIVE.—The NASA Administrator shall es-
tablish a rotorcraft initiative with the objective of devel-
oping, and demonstrating in a relevant environment, with-
in ten years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
technologies to enable rotorcraft with the following im-