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terminal radar approach control (TRACON) at Palm 
Beach International Airport. 
(b) REPLACEMENT OF TERMINAL RADAR APPROACH 
CONTROL AT PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.— 
The Administrator shall take such action as may be nec-
essary to ensure that any air traffic control tower or facil-
ity placed into operation at Palm Beach International Air-
port after September 30, 2007, to replace an air traffic 
control tower or facility placed into operation before Sep-
tember 30, 2007, includes an operating terminal radar ap-
proach control. 
SEC. 823. STUDY AND REPORT ON ALLEVIATING CONGES-
TION. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct a study 
and submit a report to Congress regarding effective strat-
egies to alleviate congestion in the national airspace at air-
ports during peak travel times, by evaluating the effective-
ness of reducing flight schedules and staggering flights, 
developing incentives for airlines to reduce the number of 
flights offered, and instituting slots and quotas at air-
ports. In addition, the Comptroller General shall compare 
the efficiency of implementing the strategies in the pre-
ceding sentence with redesigning airspace and evaluate 
any legal obstacles to implementing such strategies. 
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HR 2881 PCS
SEC. 824. AIRLINE PERSONNEL TRAINING ENHANCEMENT. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 
regulations under chapter 447 of title 49, United States 
Code, that require air carriers to provide initial and an-
nual recurring training for flight attendants and gate at-
tendants regarding serving alcohol, dealing with disruptive 
passengers, and recognizing intoxicated persons. The 
training shall include situational training on methods of 
handling an intoxicated person who is belligerent. 
SEC. 825. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPMENT OF A 
PUBLIC INTERNET WEB-BASED SEARCH EN-
GINE ON WIND TURBINE INSTALLATION OB-
STRUCTION. 
(a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration shall carry out a study on the feasi-
bility of developing a publicly searchable, Internet Web- 
based resource that provides information regarding the ac-
ceptable height and distance that wind turbines may be 
installed in relation to aviation sites and the level of ob-
struction such turbines may present to such sites. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study, the 
Administrator shall consult, if appropriate, with the Secre-
taries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Homeland Secu-
rity, and Energy to coordinate the requirements of each 
agency for future air space needs, determine what the ac-
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HR 2881 PCS
ceptable risks are to existing infrastructure of each agen-
cy, and define the different levels of risk for such infra-
structure. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a re-
port on the results of the study to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, Committee on Home-
land Security, Committee on Armed Services and Com-
mittee on Science and Technology in the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science 
and Transportation, Committee on Government Affairs 
and Homeland Security, and the Committee on Armed 
Services in the Senate. 
TITLE IX—FEDERAL AVIATION 
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
SEC. 901. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Aviation Re-
search and Development Reauthorization Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 902. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this title, the following definition apply: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration. 
(2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration. 
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HR 2881 PCS
(3) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
(4) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.—The term 
‘‘National Research Council’’ means the National 
Research Council of the National Academies of 
Science and Engineering. 
(5) NOAA.—The term ‘‘NOAA’’ means the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(6) NSF.—The term ‘‘NSF’’ means the Na-
tional Science Foundation. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Transportation. 
SEC. 903. INTERAGENCY RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON THE IM-
PACT OF AVIATION ON THE CLIMATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina-
tion with NASA and the United States Climate Change 
Science Program, shall establish a research initiative to 
assess the impact of aviation on the climate and, if war-
ranted, to evaluate approaches to mitigate that impact. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the participating Fed-
eral entities shall jointly develop a plan for the research 
program that contains the objectives, proposed tasks, mile-
stones, and 5-year budgetary profile. 
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HR 2881 PCS
SEC. 904. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON RUNWAYS. 
(a) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall 
maintain a program of research grants to universities and 
nonprofit research foundations for research and tech-
nology demonstrations related to— 
(1) improved runway surfaces; and 
(2) engineered material restraining systems for 
runways at both general aviation airports and air-
ports with commercial air carrier operations. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to 
carry out this section. 
SEC. 905. RESEARCH ON DESIGN FOR CERTIFICATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
FAA, in consultation with other agencies as appropriate, 
shall establish a research program on methods to improve 
both confidence in and the timeliness of certification of 
new technologies for their introduction into the national 
airspace system. 
(b) RESEARCH PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, as part of the activity 
described in subsection (a), the FAA shall develop a plan 
for the research program that contains the objectives, pro-
posed tasks, milestones, and five-year budgetary profile. 
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(c) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall have the Na-
tional Research Council conduct an independent review of 
the research program plan and provide the results of that 
review to the Committee on Science and Technology and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 906. 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 
the center and all related research activities that grant 
recipients carry out shall not exceed 75 percent of the 
costs. The United States Government’s share of an indi-
vidual grant under this section shall not exceed 90 percent 
of the costs.’’. 
(b) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Administrator shall 
transmit annually to the Committee on Science and Tech-
nology and the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate at the time of the President’s budget request a re-
port that lists— 
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HR 2881 PCS
(1) the research projects that have been initi-
ated by each Center of Excellence in the preceding 
year; 
(2) the amount of funding for each research 
project and the funding source; 
(3) the institutions participating in each project 
and their shares of the overall funding for each re-
search project; and 
(4) the level of cost-sharing for each research 
project. 
SEC. 907. 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)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘expiration of the pro-
gram’’ and inserting ‘‘expiration of the pilot 
program’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘program, including rec-
ommendations as to the need for establishing a 
permanent airport cooperative research pro-
gram’’ and inserting ‘‘program’’. 
SEC. 908. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 
(a) RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—Section 44504(b) is 
amended— 
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HR 2881 PCS
(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 appropriate, 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 un-
manned aircraft that would endanger other aircraft 
in the national airspace system.’’. 
(b) SYSTEMS, PROCEDURES, FACILITIES, AND DE-
VICES.—Section 44505(b) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(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 systems safety; and 
‘‘(7) to develop dynamic simulation models for 
integrating all classes of unmanned aircraft systems 
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HR 2881 PCS
into the national airspace system without any deg-
radation of existing levels of safety for all national 
airspace system users.’’. 
SEC. 909. RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM INVOLVING UN-
DERGRADUATE STUDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
a program to utilize colleges and universities, including 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic 
serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and univer-
sities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving in-
stitutions in conducting research by undergraduate stu-
dents on subjects of relevance to the FAA. Grants may 
be awarded under this section for— 
(1) research projects to be carried out primarily 
by undergraduate students; 
(2) research projects that combine under-
graduate research with other research supported by 
the FAA; 
(3) research on future training requirements re-
lated to projected changes in regulatory require-
ments for aircraft maintenance and power plant li-
censees; and 
(4) research on the impact of new technologies 
and procedures, particularly those related to aircraft 
flight deck and air traffic management functions, 
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HR 2881 PCS
and on training requirements for pilots and air traf-
fic controllers. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 through 2011, for research grants under 
this section. 
SEC. 910. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON SPACE WEATHER AND 
AVIATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall, in 
coordination with the National Science Foundation, Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other rel-
evant agencies, initiate a research program to— 
(1) conduct or supervise research projects on 
impacts of space weather to aviation, including com-
munication, navigation, avionic systems, and on air-
line passengers and personnel; and 
(2) facilitate the transfer of technology from 
space weather research programs to Federal agen-
cies with operational responsibilities and to the pri-
vate sector. 
(b) USE
OF GRANTS
OR COOPERATIVE AGREE-
MENTS.—The Administrator may use grants or coopera-
tive agreements in carrying out this section. 
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HR 2881 PCS
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to amounts authorized to be appropriated by the 
amendments made by this Act, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 
through 2011 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 911. AVIATION GAS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) CONTINUATION
OF PROGRAM.—The Adminis-
trator, in coordination with the NASA Administrator, 
shall continue research and development activities into 
technologies for modification of existing general aviation 
piston engines to enable their safe operation using un-
leaded aviation fuel. 
(b) ROADMAP.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de-
velop a research and development roadmap for the pro-
gram continued in subsection (a), containing the specific 
research and development objectives and the anticipated 
timetable for achieving the objectives. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 130 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 
the roadmap specified in subsection (b) to the Committee 
on Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate. 
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HR 2881 PCS
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $750,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2008 through 2010 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 912. RESEARCH REVIEWS AND ASSESSMENTS. 
(a) REVIEW OF FAA’S ENERGY- AND ENVIRONMENT- 
RELATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into 
an arrangement with the National Research Council 
for a review of the FAA’s energy- and environment- 
related research programs. The review shall assess 
whether— 
(A) 
the 
programs 
have 
well-defined, 
prioritized, and appropriate research objectives; 
(B) the programs are properly coordinated 
with the energy- and environment-related re-
search programs of NASA, NOAA, and other 
relevant agencies; 
(C) the programs have allocated appro-
priate resources to each of the research objec-
tives; and 
(D) there exist suitable mechanisms for 
transitioning the research results into the 
FAA’s operational technologies and procedures 
and certification activities. 
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(2) REPORT.—A report containing the results 
of the review shall be provided to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate within 18 months of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(b) ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF SPACE WEATH-
ER ON AVIATION.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Administrator shall enter into 
an arrangement with the National Research Council 
for a study of the impacts of space weather on the 
current and future United States aviation industry, 
and in particular, to examine the risks for Over-The- 
Pole (OTP) and Ultra-Long-Range (ULR) oper-
ations. The study shall— 
(A) examine space weather impacts on at 
least the following areas: communications, navi-
gation, avionics, and human health in flight; 
(B) assess the benefits of space weather in-
formation and services to reduce aviation costs 
and maintain safety; 
(C) provide recommendations on how 
NASA, NOAA, and the NSF can most effec-
tively carry out research and monitoring activi-
ties related to space weather and aviation; and 
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HR 2881 PCS
(D) provide recommendations on how to 
integrate space weather information into the 
Next Generation Air Transportation System. 
(2) REPORT.—A report containing the results 
of the study shall be provided to the Committee on 
Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 913. REVIEW OF FAA’S AVIATION SAFETY-RELATED RE-
SEARCH PROGRAMS. 
(a) REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Research Council for an 
independent review of the FAA’s aviation safety-related 
research programs. The review shall assess whether— 
(1) the programs have well-defined, prioritized, 
and appropriate research objectives; 
(2) the programs are properly coordinated with 
the safety research programs of NASA and other 
relevant Federal agencies; 
(3) the programs have allocated appropriate re-
sources to each of the research objectives; and 
(4) 
there 
exist 
suitable 
mechanisms 
for 
transitioning the research results from the programs 
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into the FAA’s operational technologies and proce-
dures and certification activities in a timely manner. 
(b) AVIATION SAFETY-RELATED RESEARCH PRO-
GRAMS TO BE ASSESSED.—The FAA aviation safety-re-
lated research programs to be assessed under the review 
shall include, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) Air traffic control/technical operations 
human factors. 
(2) Runway incursion reduction. 
(3) Flightdeck/maintenance system integration 
human factors. 
(4) Airports technology research—safety. 
(5) Airport cooperative research program—safe-
ty. 
(6) Weather program. 
(7) Atmospheric hazards/digital system safety. 
(8) Fire research and safety. 
(9) Propulsion and fuel systems. 
(10) Advanced materials/structural safety. 
(11) Aging aircraft. 
(12) Aircraft catastrophic failure prevention re-
search. 
(13) Aeromedical research. 
(14) Aviation safety risk analysis. 
(15) Unmanned aircraft systems research. 
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(16) Safe Flight 21—Alaska Capstone. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 14 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on the results of the review. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to amounts authorized to be appropriated by the 
amendments made by this Act, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $700,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry out 
this section. 
SEC. 914. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON ALTERNATIVE JET 
FUEL TECHNOLOGY FOR CIVIL AIRCRAFT. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 
Using amounts made available under section 48102(a) of 
title 49, United States Code, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall establish a research program related to devel-
oping jet fuel from alternative sources (such as coal, nat-
ural gas, biomass, ethanol, butanol, and hydrogen) 
through grants or other measures authorized under sec-
tion 106(l)(6) of such title, including reimbursable agree-
ments with other Federal agencies. 
(b) PARTICIPATION
BY
EDUCATIONAL
AND
RE-
SEARCH INSTITUTIONS.—In conducting the program, the 
Secretary shall provide for participation by educational 
and research institutions that have existing facilities and 
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