I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3185 
To enhance flight options for consumers flying to and from Ronald Reagan 
Washington National Airport. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2023 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself and Mr. OWENS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To enhance flight options for consumers flying to and from 
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 
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 ‘‘Direct Capital Access 
Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DCA Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL WITHIN AND BEYOND PERIMETER 
SLOT 
EXEMPTIONS 
AT 
RONALD 
REAGAN 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT. 
(a) INCREASE IN NUMBER OF SLOT EXEMPTIONS.— 
Section 41718 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) ADDITIONAL SLOT EXEMPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) INCREASE
IN
SLOT
EXEMPTIONS.—Not 
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall grant, by order, 
56 exemptions from— 
‘‘(A) 
the 
application 
of 
sections 
49104(a)(5), 49109, and 41714 to air carriers 
to operate limited frequencies and aircraft on 
routes between Ronald Reagan Washington Na-
tional Airport and airports located within or be-
yond the perimeter described in section 49109; 
and 
‘‘(B) the requirements of subparts K, S, 
and T of part 93, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(2) INCREMENTAL DCA SLOT ALLOCATIONS.— 
Of the slot exemptions made available under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall make 40 available to 
incumbent air carriers qualifying for status as a 
non-limited incumbent carrier and 16 available to in-
cumbent carriers qualifying for status as a limited 
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incumbent carrier at Ronald Reagan Washington 
National Airport as of the date of enactment of this 
subsection. Each such air carrier— 
‘‘(A) may operate up to a maximum of 8 
of the newly authorized slot exemptions; 
‘‘(B) shall have sole discretion concerning 
the use of an exemption made available under 
paragraph (1), including the initial or any sub-
sequent within or beyond perimeter destinations 
to be served; and 
‘‘(C) shall file a notice of intent with the 
Secretary and subsequent notices of intent, 
when appropriate, to inform the Secretary of 
any change in circumstances concerning the use 
of any exemption made available under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(3) NOTICES OF INTENT.—Notices of intent 
under paragraph (2)(C) shall specify the within or 
beyond perimeter destinations to be served. 
‘‘(4) CONDITIONS.—Flight operations carried 
out by an air carrier using an exemption granted 
under this subsection shall be subject to the fol-
lowing conditions: 
‘‘(A) An air carrier granted an exemption 
under this subsection is prohibited from trans-
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ferring the rights to its slot exemptions pursu-
ant to section 41714(j). 
‘‘(B) The exemptions granted under sub-
section (2)— 
‘‘(i) may not be for operations be-
tween the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 
a.m.; and 
‘‘(ii) may not increase the number of 
operations at Ronald Reagan Washington 
National Airport in any 1-hour period dur-
ing the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 9:59 
p.m. by more than 8 operations.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 41718 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or 
(i)(2)’’ after ‘‘(g)(2)’’; and 
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and 
(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘(g), and (i)’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or 
(i)(2)’’ after ‘‘(g)(3)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting ‘‘or (i)’’ 
after ‘‘subsection (g)’’. 
Æ 
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