I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8727 
To establish an alternative fuel and low-emission aviation technology program, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 16, 2022 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. TITUS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LYNCH, and 
Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish an alternative fuel and low-emission aviation 
technology program, 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 ‘‘Aviation Emissions 
Reduction Opportunity Act’’ or the ‘‘AERO Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE FUEL AND LOW-EMISSION AVIATION 
TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency, shall establish a competi-
tive grant program to provide grants to eligible entities 
to carry out projects located in the United States that 
produce, transport, blend, or store sustainable aviation 
fuel, or develop, demonstrate, or apply low-emission avia-
tion technologies. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall consider, with respect to a pro-
posed project— 
(1) the capacity for the eligible entity to in-
crease the domestic production and deployment of 
sustainable aviation fuel or the use of low-emission 
aviation technologies among the United States com-
mercial aviation and aerospace industry; 
(2) the projected greenhouse gas emissions 
from such project, including emissions resulting 
from the development of the project, and the poten-
tial the project has to reduce or displace, on a 
lifecycle basis, United States greenhouse gas emis-
sions associated with air travel; 
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(3) the capacity to create new jobs and develop 
supply chain partnerships in the United States; 
(4) for projects related to the production of sus-
tainable aviation fuel, the projected lifecycle green-
house gas emissions benefits from the proposed 
project, which shall include feedstock and fuel pro-
duction and potential direct and indirect greenhouse 
gas emissions (including resulting from changes in 
land use); and 
(5) the benefits of ensuring a diversity of feed-
stocks for sustainable aviation fuel, including the use 
of waste carbon oxides and direct air capture. 
(c) FUEL EMISSIONS REDUCTION TEST.—For pur-
poses of clause (ii) of subsection (f)(7)(E), the Secretary 
shall, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this section, adopt at least 1 methodology for testing 
lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions that meets the require-
ments of such clause. 
(d) FUNDING.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Out 
of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated, there are authorized to be appropriated for 
each 
of 
fiscal 
years 
2023 
through 
2027, 
$200,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this sec-
tion, to remain available until expended. 
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(2) FUNDING DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to para-
graph (4), of any amount made available under 
paragraph (1)— 
(A) 30 percent of such amount shall be 
awarded for projects that develop, demonstrate, 
or apply low-emission aviation technologies; and 
(B) 70 percent of such amount shall be 
awarded for projects that produce, transport, 
blend, or store sustainable aviation fuel. 
(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 
the cost of a project carried out using a grant pro-
vided under this section may not exceed 90 percent 
of the total cost of the project. The Secretary shall 
consider the extent to which a proposed project 
meets the considerations described in subsection (b) 
in determining the Federal share under this para-
graph. 
(4) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may re-
serve not more than 2 percent of the amount appro-
priated under paragraph (1) for expenses related to 
administering this section. 
(e) APPLICATION OF LAW.— 
(1) BUY AMERICA.—None of the funds made 
available under this section may be obligated for a 
project unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured 
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products, and construction materials used in the 
project are produced in the United States, as such 
term is defined in section 70912 of the Infrastruc-
ture Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58). 
(2) WAIVER.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply in 
any case or category of cases in which the Secretary 
finds that— 
(A) applying paragraph (1) would be in-
consistent with the public interest; 
(B) types of iron, steel, manufactured 
products, or construction materials are not pro-
duced in the United States in sufficient and 
reasonably available quantities or of a satisfac-
tory quality, or 
(C) the inclusion of iron, steel, manufac-
tured products, or construction materials pro-
duced in the United States will increase the 
cost of the overall project by more than 25 per-
cent. 
(3) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION.—Before issuing 
a waiver under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall— 
(A) make publicly available in an easily ac-
cessible location on a website designated by the 
Office of Management and Budget and on the 
website of the Federal agency a detailed written 
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explanation for the proposed determination to 
issue the waiver; and 
(B) provide a period of not less than 15 
days for public comment on the proposed waiv-
er. 
(4) PREVAILING WAGES.—The Secretary shall 
take such action as may be necessary to ensure that 
all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 
or subcontractors on a project assisted in whole or 
in part by funding made available under this section 
shall be paid wages at rates not less than those pre-
vailing for the same type of work on similar projects 
in the locality as determined by the Secretary of 
Labor, in accordance with sections 3141–3144, 
3146, and 3147 of title 40. The Secretary of Labor 
shall have, with respect to the labor standards speci-
fied in this subsection, the authority and functions 
set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 
1950 (15 F.R. 3176; 64 Stat. 1267) and section 
3145 of title 40. 
(5) PROJECT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘‘project’’ means construction, alteration, main-
tenance, or repair. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State or local government, including 
the District of Columbia and any territory of 
the United States, other than an airport spon-
sor; 
(B) an air carrier; 
(C) an airport sponsor; 
(D) an accredited institution of higher edu-
cation; 
(E) a research institution; 
(F) a person or entity engaged in the pro-
duction, transportation, blending, or storage of 
sustainable aviation fuel in the United States or 
feedstocks in the United States that could be 
used to produce sustainable aviation fuel; 
(G) a person or entity engaged in the de-
velopment, demonstration, or application of low- 
emission aviation technologies; or 
(H) nonprofit entities or nonprofit con-
sortia with experience in sustainable aviation 
fuels, low-emission aviation technologies, or 
other clean transportation research programs. 
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(2) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 
sources of hydrogen and carbon not originating from 
unrefined or refined petrochemicals. 
(3) INDUCED
LAND-USE
CHANGE
VALUES.— 
The term ‘‘induced land-use change values’’ means 
the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the con-
version of land to the production of feedstocks and 
from the conversion of other land due to the dis-
placement of crops or animals for which the original 
land was previously used, as calculated using appro-
priate modeling techniques such as the methods 
adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organi-
zation for fuels eligible for the Carbon Offsetting 
and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. 
(4) 
LIFECYCLE
GREENHOUSE
GAS
EMIS-
SIONS.—The term ‘‘lifecycle greenhouse gas emis-
sions’’ means the combined greenhouse gas emis-
sions from feedstock production, collection of feed-
stock, transportation of feedstock to fuel production 
facilities, conversion of feedstock to fuel, transpor-
tation and distribution of fuel, and fuel combustion 
in an aircraft engine, as well as from induced land- 
use change values, as calculated using appropriate 
modeling techniques such as the methods adopted by 
the International Civil Aviation Organization for 
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fuels eligible for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduc-
tion Scheme for International Aviation. 
(5) LOW-EMISSION AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES.— 
The term ‘‘low-emission aviation technologies’’ 
means technologies, produced in the United States, 
that significantly— 
(A) improve aircraft fuel efficiency; 
(B) increase utilization of sustainable avia-
tion fuel; or 
(C) reduce greenhouse gas emissions pro-
duced during operation of civil aircraft. 
(6) SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL.—The term 
‘‘sustainable aviation fuel’’ means liquid fuel, pro-
duced in the United States, that— 
(A) consists of synthesized hydrocarbons; 
(B) meets the requirements of— 
(i) ASTM International Standard 
D7566; or 
(ii) the co-processing provisions of 
ASTM International Standard D1655, 
Annex A1 (or such successor standard); 
(C) is derived from biomass (in a similar 
manner as such term is defined in section 
45K(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
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1986), 
waste 
streams, 
renewable 
energy 
sources, or gaseous carbon oxides; 
(D) is not derived from palm fatty acid 
distillates; and 
(E) achieves at least a 50 percent lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions reduction in compari-
son with petroleum-based jet fuel, as deter-
mined by a test that shows— 
(i) 
the 
fuel 
production 
pathway 
achieves at least a 50 percent reduction of 
the aggregate attributional core lifecycle 
emissions and the induced land use change 
values under a lifecycle methodology for 
sustainable aviation fuels similar to that 
adopted by the International Civil Aviation 
Organization with the agreement of the 
United States; or 
(ii) the fuel production pathway 
achieves at least a 50 percent reduction of 
the aggregate attributional core lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions values and the 
induced land-use change values under an-
other methodology that the Secretary de-
termines is— 
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(I) reflective of the latest sci-
entific 
understanding 
of 
lifecycle 
greenhouse gas emissions; and 
(II) as stringent as the require-
ment under clause (i). 
SEC. 3. CONTINUOUS LOWER ENERGY, EMISSIONS, AND 
NOISE PROGRAM. 
Section 47511 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans-
portation $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
through 2027 to carry out this section. Such sums shall 
remain available until expended.’’. 
Æ 
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