H. R. 658—128 
(1) Runway Incursion Reduction. 
(2) System Capacity, Planning, and Improvement. 
(3) Operations Concept Validation. 
(4) NAS Weather Requirements. 
(5) Airspace Management Program. 
(6) NextGen—Air Traffic Control/Technical Operations 
Human Factors. 
(7) NextGen—Environment and Energy—Environmental 
Management System and Advanced Noise and Emissions 
Reduction. 
(8) NextGen—New Air Traffic Management Requirements. 
(9) NextGen—Operations Concept Validation—Validation 
Modeling. 
(10) 
NextGen—System 
Safety 
Management 
Trans-
formation. 
(11) NextGen—Wake Turbulence—Recategorization. 
(12) NextGen—Operational Assessments. 
(13) NextGen—Staffed NextGen Towers. 
(14) Center for Advanced Aviation System Development. 
(15) Airports Technology Research Program—Capacity. 
(16) Airports Technology Research Program—Safety. 
(17) Airports Technology Research Program—Environment. 
(18) Airport Cooperative Research—Capacity. 
(19) Airport Cooperative Research—Environment. 
(20) Airport Cooperative Research—Safety. 
SEC. 902. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title, the following definitions apply: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the 
Administrator of the FAA. 
(2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Federal Aviation 
Administration. 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institu-
tion of higher education’’ has the same meaning given the 
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(4) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration. 
(5) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration. 
SEC. 903. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 
(a) RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—Section 44504(b) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (7) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) in conjunction with other Federal agencies, as appro-
priate, to develop technologies and methods to assess the risk 
of and prevent defects, failures, and malfunctions of products, 
parts, and processes for use in all classes of unmanned aircraft 
systems that could result in a catastrophic failure of the 
unmanned aircraft that would endanger other aircraft in the 
national airspace system.’’. 
(b) SYSTEMS, PROCEDURES, FACILITIES, AND DEVICES.—Section 
44505(b) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;
H. R. 658—129 
(2) in paragraph (5)(C) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) to develop a better understanding of the relationship 
between human factors and unmanned aircraft system safety; 
and 
‘‘(7) to develop dynamic simulation models for integrating 
all classes of unmanned aircraft systems into the national 
airspace system without any degradation of existing levels of 
safety for all national airspace system users.’’. 
SEC. 904. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON RUNWAYS. 
Using amounts made available under section 48102(a) of title 
49, United States Code, the Administrator shall continue to carry 
out a research program under which the Administrator may make 
grants to and enter into cooperative agreements with institutions 
of higher education and pavement research organizations for 
research and technology demonstrations related to— 
(1) the design, construction, rehabilitation, and repair of 
airfield pavements to aid in the development of safer, more 
cost effective, and more durable airfield pavements; and 
(2) engineered material restraining systems for runways 
at both general aviation airports and airports with commercial 
air carrier operations. 
SEC. 905. RESEARCH ON DESIGN FOR CERTIFICATION. 
Section 44505 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: 
‘‘(d) RESEARCH ON DESIGN FOR CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, 
the Administrator shall conduct research on methods and proce-
dures to improve both confidence in and the timeliness of 
certification of new technologies for their introduction into the 
national airspace system. 
‘‘(2) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 
of 2012, the Administrator shall develop a plan for the research 
under paragraph (1) that contains objectives, proposed tasks, 
milestones, and a 5-year budgetary profile. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Research Council to conduct 
an independent review of the plan developed under paragraph 
(2) and shall provide the results of that review to the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate not later than 18 months after the date 
of enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 
2012.’’. 
SEC. 906. AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
Section 44511(f) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘establish a 4-year pilot’’ 
and inserting ‘‘maintain an’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4)—
H. R. 658—130 
(A) by striking ‘‘Not later than 6 months after the 
expiration of the program under this subsection,’’ and 
inserting ‘‘Not later than September 30, 2012,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘program, including recommendations 
as to the need for establishing a permanent airport coopera-
tive research program’’ and inserting ‘‘program’’. 
SEC. 907. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 
(a) GOVERNMENT’S
SHARE
OF
COSTS.—Section 44513(f) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) GOVERNMENT’S
SHARE
OF
COSTS.—The United States 
Government’s share of establishing and operating a center and 
all related research activities that grant recipients carry out shall 
not exceed 50 percent of the costs, except that the Administrator 
may increase such share to a maximum of 75 percent of the costs 
for a fiscal year if the Administrator determines that a center 
would be unable to carry out the authorized activities described 
in this section without additional funds.’’. 
(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 44513 is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Administrator shall transmit 
annually to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate at the time of the Presi-
dent’s budget request a report that lists— 
‘‘(1) the research projects that have been initiated by each 
center in the preceding year; 
‘‘(2) the amount of funding for each research project and 
the funding source; 
‘‘(3) the institutions participating in each research project 
and their shares of the overall funding for each research project; 
and 
‘‘(4) the level of cost-sharing for each research project.’’. 
SEC. 908. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR AVIATION HUMAN RESOURCE 
RESEARCH. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Using amounts made available under sec-
tion 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator 
may establish a center of excellence to conduct research on— 
(1) human performance in the air transportation environ-
ment, including among air transportation personnel such as 
air traffic controllers, pilots, and technicians; and 
(2) any other aviation human resource issue pertinent to 
developing and maintaining a safe and efficient air transpor-
tation system. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this section may 
include the following: 
(1) Research, development, and evaluation of training pro-
grams for air traffic controllers, aviation safety inspectors, air-
way transportation safety specialists, and engineers. 
(2) Research and development of best practices for recruit-
ment of individuals into the aviation field for mission critical 
positions. 
(3) Research, in consultation with other relevant Federal 
agencies, to develop a baseline of general aviation employment 
statistics and an analysis of future needs in the aviation field.
H. R. 658—131 
(4) Research and the development of a comprehensive 
assessment of the airframe and power plant technician certifi-
cation process and its effect on employment trends. 
(5) Evaluation of aviation maintenance technician school 
environments. 
(6) Research and an assessment of the ability to develop 
training programs to allow for the transition of recently 
unemployed and highly skilled mechanics into the aviation 
field. 
SEC. 909. INTERAGENCY RESEARCH ON AVIATION AND THE ENVIRON-
MENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts made available under section 
48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator, in 
coordination with NASA and after consultation with other relevant 
agencies, may maintain a research program to assess the potential 
effect of aviation activities on the environment and, if warranted, 
to evaluate approaches to address any such effect. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordination with 
NASA and after consultation with other relevant agencies, shall 
jointly develop a plan to carry out the research under subsection 
(a). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall contain an inventory of 
current interagency research being undertaken in this area, 
future research objectives, proposed tasks, milestones, and a 
5-year budgetary profile. 
(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan— 
(A) shall be completed not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act; 
(B) shall be submitted to Congress for review; and 
(C) shall be updated, as appropriate, every 3 years 
after the initial submission. 
SEC. 910. AVIATION FUEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts made available under section 
48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, the Administrator, in 
coordination with the Administrator of NASA, shall continue 
research and development activities into the qualification of an 
unleaded aviation fuel and safe transition to this fuel for the fleet 
of piston engine aircraft. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the program under sub-
section (a), the Administrator shall, at a minimum— 
(1) not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, develop a research and development plan containing 
the specific research and development objectives, including 
consideration of aviation safety, technical feasibility, and other 
relevant factors, and the anticipated timetable for achieving 
the objectives; 
(2) assess the methods and processes by which the FAA 
and industry may expeditiously certify and approve new aircraft 
and recertify existing aircraft with respect to unleaded aviation 
fuel; 
(3) assess technologies that modify existing piston engine 
aircraft to enable safe operation of the aircraft using unleaded 
aviation fuel and determine the resources necessary to certify 
those technologies; and