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tive action to improve the efficiency of agency activi-
ties. 
(e) APPLICABLE LAW.—Public Law 92–463 shall not 
apply to the Task Force. 
(f) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 
on the earlier of— 
(1) the date on which the Task Force submits 
the report required under subsection (d); or 
(2) the date that is 18 months after the date 
on which the Task Force is established under sub-
section (a). 
SEC. 233. CENTRALIZED SAFETY GUIDANCE DATABASE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
the FAA shall establish a centralized safety guidance data-
base that will— 
(1) encompass all of the regulatory guidance 
documents of the FAA Office of Aviation Safety; 
(2) contain, for each such guidance document, 
a link to the Code of Federal Regulations provision 
to which the document relates; and 
(3) be publicly available in a manner that— 
(A) does not provide identifying informa-
tion regarding an individual or entity; and 
(B) protects proprietary information.
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(b) DATA ENTRY TIMING.— 
(1) EXISTING DOCUMENTS.—Not later than 14 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall begin entering into the database 
established under subsection (a) all of the regulatory 
guidance documents of the Office of Aviation Safety 
that are in effect and were issued before the date on 
which the Administrator begins such entry process. 
(2) NEW DOCUMENTS AND CHANGES.—On and 
after the date on which the Administrator begins the 
document entry process under paragraph (1), the 
Administrator shall ensure that all new regulatory 
guidance documents of the Office of Aviation Safety 
and any changes to existing documents are included 
in the database established under subsection (a). 
(c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In establishing 
the database under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 
consult and collaborate with appropriate stakeholders, in-
cluding labor organizations (including those representing 
aviation workers and FAA aviation safety inspectors) and 
industry stakeholders. 
(d) REGULATORY
GUIDANCE
DOCUMENTS
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘regulatory guidance 
documents’’ means all forms of written information issued 
by the FAA that an individual or entity may use to inter-
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pret or apply FAA regulations and requirements, includ-
ing information an individual or entity may use to deter-
mine acceptable means of compliance with such regula-
tions and requirements. 
SEC. 234. REGULATORY CONSISTENCY COMMUNICATIONS 
BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
the FAA shall establish a Regulatory Consistency Commu-
nications Board (in this section referred to as the 
‘‘Board’’). 
(b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In establishing 
the Board, the Administrator shall consult and collaborate 
with appropriate stakeholders, including FAA labor orga-
nizations (including labor organizations representing FAA 
aviation safety inspectors) and industry stakeholders. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 
FAA representatives, appointed by the Administrator, 
from— 
(1) the Flight Standards Service; 
(2) the Aircraft Certification Service; and 
(3) the Office of the Chief Counsel. 
(d) FUNCTIONS.—The Board shall carry out the fol-
lowing functions:
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(1) Establish, at a minimum, processes by 
which— 
(A) FAA personnel and regulated entities 
may submit anonymous regulatory interpreta-
tion questions without fear of retaliation; and 
(B) FAA personnel may submit written 
questions, and receive written responses, as to 
whether a previous approval or regulatory inter-
pretation issued by FAA personnel in another 
office or region is correct or incorrect. 
(2) Meet on a regular basis to discuss and re-
solve questions submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) 
and the appropriate application of regulations and 
policy with respect to each question. 
(3) Provide to an individual or entity that sub-
mitted a question pursuant to paragraph (1) a time-
ly response to the question. 
(4) Establish a process to make resolutions of 
common regulatory interpretation questions publicly 
available to FAA personnel and regulated entities 
without providing any identifying data of the indi-
viduals or entities that submitted the questions and 
in a manner that protects any proprietary informa-
tion.
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(5) Ensure the incorporation of resolutions of 
questions submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) into 
regulatory guidance documents. 
(e) PERFORMANCE
METRICS, TIMELINES, 
AND 
GOALS.—Not later than 180 days after the date on which 
the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Com-
mittee establishes performance metrics for the FAA and 
the regulated aviation industry under section 202, the Ad-
ministrator, in collaboration with the Advisory Committee, 
shall— 
(1) establish performance metrics, timelines, 
and goals to measure the progress of the Board in 
resolving regulatory interpretation questions sub-
mitted pursuant to subsection (d)(1); and 
(2) implement a process for tracking the 
progress of the Board in meeting the metrics, 
timelines, and goals established under paragraph 
(1). 
Subtitle D—Safety Workforce 
SEC. 241. SAFETY WORKFORCE TRAINING STRATEGY. 
(a) SAFETY WORKFORCE TRAINING STRATEGY.— 
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of the FAA shall establish a safety 
workforce training strategy that—
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(1) allows employees participating in organiza-
tion management teams or conducting ODA pro-
gram audits to complete, in a timely fashion, appro-
priate training, including recurrent training, in au-
diting and a systems safety approach to oversight; 
(2) seeks knowledge-sharing opportunities be-
tween the FAA and the aviation industry regarding 
new equipment and systems, best practices, and 
other areas of interest; 
(3) functions within the current and anticipated 
budgetary environments; and 
(4) includes milestones and metrics for meeting 
the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of establishment of the strategy required under subsection 
(a), the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report on the imple-
mentation of the strategy and progress in meeting any 
milestones and metrics included in the strategy. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) ODA; ODA HOLDER.—The terms ‘‘ODA’’ 
and ‘‘ODA holder’’ have the meanings given those
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terms in section 44736 of title 49, United States 
Code, as added by this Act. 
(2) ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT TEAM.—The 
term ‘‘organization management team’’ means a 
team consisting of FAA aviation safety engineers, 
flight test pilots, and aviation safety inspectors over-
seeing an ODA holder and its certification activity. 
SEC. 242. WORKFORCE REVIEW. 
(a) WORKFORCE REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall conduct a review to as-
sess the workforce and training needs of the FAA Office 
of Aviation Safety in the anticipated budgetary environ-
ment. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The review required under sub-
section (a) shall include— 
(1) a review of current aviation safety inspector 
and aviation safety engineer hiring, training, and re-
current training requirements; 
(2) an analysis of the skills and qualifications 
required of aviation safety inspectors and aviation 
safety engineers for successful performance in the 
current and future projected aviation safety regu-
latory environment, including the need for a systems 
engineering discipline within the FAA to guide the
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engineering of complex systems, with an emphasis 
on auditing designated authorities; 
(3) a review of current performance incentive 
policies of the FAA, as applied to the Office of Avia-
tion Safety, including awards for performance; 
(4) an analysis of ways the FAA can work with 
industry and labor, including labor groups rep-
resenting FAA aviation safety inspectors and avia-
tion safety engineers, to establish knowledge-sharing 
opportunities between the FAA and the aviation in-
dustry regarding new equipment and systems, best 
practices, and other areas of interest; and 
(5) recommendations on the most effective 
qualifications, training programs (including e-learn-
ing training), and performance incentive approaches 
to address the needs of the future projected aviation 
safety regulatory system in the anticipated budg-
etary environment. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report on the results of the review required under 
subsection (a).
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Subtitle E—International Aviation 
SEC. 251. PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES AEROSPACE 
STANDARDS, 
PRODUCTS, 
AND 
SERVICES 
ABROAD. 
Section 40104 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES AEROSPACE 
STANDARDS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ABROAD.—The 
Administrator shall take appropriate actions to— 
‘‘(1) promote United States aerospace safety 
standards abroad; 
‘‘(2) facilitate and vigorously defend approvals 
of United States aerospace products and services 
abroad; 
‘‘(3) with respect to bilateral partners, utilize 
bilateral safety agreements and other mechanisms to 
improve validation of United States type certificated 
aeronautical products and appliances and enhance 
mutual 
acceptance 
in 
order 
to 
eliminate 
redundancies and unnecessary costs; and 
‘‘(4) with respect to foreign safety authorities, 
streamline validation and coordination processes.’’.
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SEC. 252. BILATERAL EXCHANGES OF SAFETY OVERSIGHT 
RESPONSIBILITIES. 
Section 44701(e) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) FOREIGN AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES.— 
‘‘(A) ACCEPTANCE.—The Administrator 
may accept an airworthiness directive issued by 
an aeronautical safety authority of a foreign 
country, and leverage that authority’s regu-
latory process, if— 
‘‘(i) the country is the state of design 
for the product that is the subject of the 
airworthiness directive; 
‘‘(ii) the United States has a bilateral 
safety agreement relating to aircraft cer-
tification with the country; 
‘‘(iii) as part of the bilateral safety 
agreement with the country, the Adminis-
trator has determined that such aero-
nautical safety authority has a certification 
system relating to safety that produces a 
level of safety equivalent to the level pro-
duced by the system of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration; 
‘‘(iv) the aeronautical safety authority 
of the country utilizes an open and trans-
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parent notice and comment process in the 
issuance of airworthiness directives; and 
‘‘(v) the airworthiness directive is nec-
essary to provide for the safe operation of 
the aircraft subject to the directive. 
‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS.— 
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Admin-
istrator may issue a Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration airworthiness directive instead of accept-
ing an airworthiness directive otherwise eligible 
for acceptance under such subparagraph, if the 
Administrator determines that such issuance is 
necessary for safety or operational reasons due 
to the complexity or unique features of the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration airworthiness di-
rective or the United States aviation system. 
‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVE
MEANS
OF
COMPLI-
ANCE.—The Administrator may— 
‘‘(i) accept an alternative means of 
compliance, with respect to an airworthi-
ness directive accepted under subpara-
graph (A), that was approved by the aero-
nautical safety authority of the foreign 
country that issued the airworthiness di-
rective; or
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‘‘(ii) notwithstanding subparagraph 
(A), and at the request of any person af-
fected by an airworthiness directive accept-
ed under such subparagraph, approve an 
alternative means of compliance with re-
spect to the airworthiness directive. 
‘‘(D) 
LIMITATION.—The 
Administrator 
may not accept an airworthiness directive 
issued by an aeronautical safety authority of a 
foreign country if the airworthiness directive 
addresses matters other than those involving 
the safe operation of an aircraft.’’. 
SEC. 253. FAA LEADERSHIP ABROAD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To promote United States aero-
space safety standards, reduce redundant regulatory activ-
ity, and facilitate acceptance of FAA design and produc-
tion approvals abroad, the Administrator of the FAA 
shall— 
(1) attain greater expertise in issues related to 
dispute resolution, intellectual property, and export 
control laws to better support FAA certification and 
other aerospace regulatory activities abroad; 
(2) work with United States companies to more 
accurately track the amount of time it takes foreign 
authorities, including bilateral partners, to validate
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United States type certificated aeronautical prod-
ucts; 
(3) provide assistance to United States compa-
nies that have experienced significantly long foreign 
validation wait times; 
(4) work with foreign authorities, including bi-
lateral partners, to collect and analyze data to deter-
mine the timeliness of the acceptance and validation 
of FAA design and production approvals by foreign 
authorities and the acceptance and validation of for-
eign-certified products by the FAA; 
(5) establish appropriate benchmarks and 
metrics to measure the success of bilateral aviation 
safety agreements and to reduce the validation time 
for United States type certificated aeronautical 
products abroad; and 
(6) work with foreign authorities, including bi-
lateral partners, to improve the timeliness of the ac-
ceptance and validation of FAA design and produc-
tion approvals by foreign authorities and the accept-
ance and validation of foreign-certified products by 
the FAA. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the FAA 
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In-
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frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report that— 
(1) describes the FAA’s strategic plan for inter-
national engagement; 
(2) describes the structure and responsibilities 
of all FAA offices that have international respon-
sibilities, including the Aircraft Certification Office, 
and all the activities conducted by those offices re-
lated to certification and production; 
(3) describes current and forecasted staffing 
and travel needs for the FAA’s international engage-
ment activities, including the needs of the Aircraft 
Certification Office in the current and forecasted 
budgetary environment; 
(4) provides recommendations, if appropriate, 
to improve the existing structure and personnel and 
travel policies supporting the FAA’s international 
engagement activities, including the activities of the 
Aviation Certification Office, to better support the 
growth of United States aerospace exports; and 
(5) identifies cost-effective policy initiatives, 
regulatory initiatives, or legislative initiatives needed 
to improve and enhance the timely acceptance of 
United States aerospace products abroad.
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(c) INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL.—The Administrator of 
the FAA, or the Administrator’s designee, may authorize 
international travel for any FAA employee, without the 
approval of any other person or entity, if the Adminis-
trator determines that the travel is necessary— 
(1) to promote United States aerospace safety 
standards; or 
(2) to support expedited acceptance of FAA de-
sign and production approvals. 
SEC. 254. REGISTRATION, CERTIFICATION, AND RELATED 
FEES. 
Section 45305 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Subject to 
subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection 
(c)’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 
subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION SERVICES.—Subject to sub-
section (c), and notwithstanding section 45301(a), the Ad-
ministrator may establish and collect a fee from a foreign 
government or entity for services related to certification, 
regardless of where the services are provided, if the fee—
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‘‘(1) is established and collected in a manner 
consistent with aviation safety agreements; and 
‘‘(2) does not exceed the estimated costs of the 
services.’’. 
TITLE III—SAFETY 
Subtitle A—General Provisions 
SEC. 301. FAA TECHNICAL TRAINING. 
(a) E-LEARNING TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM.—Not 
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 
in collaboration with the exclusive bargaining representa-
tives of covered FAA personnel, shall establish an e-learn-
ing training pilot program in accordance with the require-
ments of this section. 
(b) CURRICULUM.—The pilot program shall— 
(1) include a recurrent training curriculum for 
covered FAA personnel to ensure that the personnel 
receive instruction on the latest aviation tech-
nologies, processes, and procedures; 
(2) focus on providing specialized technical 
training for covered FAA personnel, as determined 
necessary by the Administrator; 
(3) include training courses on applicable regu-
lations of the Federal Aviation Administration; and
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(4) consider the efficacy of instructor-led online 
training. 
(c) PILOT PROGRAM TERMINATION.—The pilot pro-
gram shall terminate 1 year after the date of establish-
ment of the pilot program. 
(d) E-LEARNING TRAINING PROGRAM.—Upon termi-
nation of the pilot program, the Administrator shall estab-
lish an e-learning training program that incorporates les-
sons learned for covered FAA personnel as a result of the 
pilot program. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) COVERED
FAA
PERSONNEL.—The term 
‘‘covered FAA personnel’’ means airway transpor-
tation systems specialists and aviation safety inspec-
tors of the Federal Aviation Administration. 
(2) E-LEARNING
TRAINING.—The term ‘‘e- 
learning training’’ means learning utilizing electronic 
technologies to access educational curriculum outside 
of a traditional classroom. 
SEC. 302. SAFETY CRITICAL STAFFING. 
(a) UPDATE OF FAA’S SAFETY CRITICAL STAFFING 
MODEL.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration shall update the safety critical staff-
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ing model of the Administration to determine the number 
of aviation safety inspectors that will be needed to fulfill 
the safety oversight mission of the Administration. 
(b) AUDIT BY DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date on which the Administrator has updated 
the safety critical staffing model under subsection 
(a), the Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation shall conduct an audit of the staffing 
model. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The audit shall include, at a 
minimum— 
(A) a review of the assumptions and meth-
odologies used in devising and implementing the 
staffing model to assess the adequacy of the 
staffing model in predicting the number of avia-
tion safety inspectors needed— 
(i) to properly fulfill the mission of 
the Administration; and 
(ii) to meet the future growth of the 
aviation industry; and 
(B) a determination on whether the staff-
ing model takes into account the Administra-
tion’s authority to fully utilize designees. 
(3) REPORT ON AUDIT.—
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(A) REPORT
TO
SECRETARY.—Not later 
than 30 days after the date of completion of the 
audit, the Inspector General shall submit to the 
Secretary a report on the results of the audit. 
(B) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later 
than 60 days after the date of receipt of the re-
port, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a copy of the report, to-
gether with, if appropriate, a description of any 
actions taken or to be taken to address the re-
sults of the audit. 
SEC. 303. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS REGARDING TRACK-
ING OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT. 
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration shall exercise leadership on creating a global ap-
proach to improving aircraft tracking by working with— 
(1) foreign counterparts of the Administrator in 
the International Civil Aviation Organization and its 
subsidiary organizations; 
(2) other international organizations and fora; 
and 
(3) the private sector.
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SEC. 304. AIRCRAFT DATA ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL SYS-
TEMS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Aviation Administration shall initiate an assess-
ment of aircraft data access and retrieval systems for part 
121 air carrier aircraft that are used in extended 
overwater operations to— 
(1) determine if the systems provide improved 
access and retrieval of aircraft data and cockpit 
voice recordings in the event of an aircraft accident; 
and 
(2) assess the cost effectiveness of each system 
assessed. 
(b) SYSTEMS TO BE EXAMINED.—The systems to be 
examined under this section shall include, at a minimum— 
(1) automatic deployable flight recorders; 
(2) emergency locator transmitters; and 
(3) satellite-based solutions. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of initiation of the assessment, the Administrator shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report on the results of the assessment.