Topic: Transportation — Air Travel
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2007-06-13 00:00:00

Federal Aviation Research and Development Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2011 for specified Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) civil aviation research and development (R&D) projects and activities. Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to: (1) provide for a Director to head the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office (Office), to serve as Associate Administrator for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, and to co-chair the Joint Resources Council; (2) revise Office responsibilities, including to require the creation of a transition plan for implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System; and (3) reauthorize the Office through FY2011. Requires each one of specified federal agencies to: (1) designate a senior official to implement its agency's Next Generation Air Transportation System activities with the Office; and (2) execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office. Requires: (1) the integrated plan for a Next Generation Air Transportation System to include date-specific timetables for implementation of Next Generation Air Transportation System capabilities; and (2) the Director of the Office to annually report to Congress on the progress in carrying out such plan. Requires the Senior Policy Committee to meet at least four times each year. Requires each federal agency participating in the Office to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifying its portion of responsibility which contributes to the Next Generation Air Transportation System and stating the portion of its requests for appropriations. Requires the Director of the Office to: (1) develop contingency plans for dealing with the degradation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System in the event of a natural disaster, major equipment failure, or act of terrorism; and (2) establish environmental requirements for noise, emissions, and energy consumption for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) assess the effectiveness of the Office in meeting the deadlines and milestones of the integrated plan, as well as the adequacy of the MOU executed by the federal agencies; and (2) report to Congress on the Comptroller General's findings, conclusions and recommendations. Authorizes the conduct of developmental work and service testing to improve unmanned aircraft for eventual integration into the national airspace system. Directs the FAA Administrator to: (1) develop, and submit to Congress, an unmanned aircraft systems research, development, demonstration and implementation roadmap; and (2) enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council to assess, and report to the FAA Administrator and Congress on, the status of unmanned aircraft systems. Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) establish pilot projects for the tests of unmanned aircraft systems' integration into the national airspace system; and (2) report to Congress on project findings and conclusions. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 and FY2009. Directs the FAA Administrator to establish: (1) a research initiative to assess the impact of aviation on the climate and to evaluate approaches to mitigate such impact; (2) a program of research grants to universities and non-profit research foundations for research and technology demonstrations to improve runway surfaces; (3) a joint research program on methods to improve certification of new technologies for introduction into the national airspace system; (4) a permanent airport cooperative research program; (5) a research grant program involving colleges and universities to conduct research by undergraduate students on subjects of relevance to the FAA; and (6) a research program on the impact of space weather on aviation. Requires the FAA Administrator to continue R&D into technologies to modify aviation piston engines to operate using leaded aviation fuel. Authorizes appropriations. Increases the federal share of costs of establishing and operating regional centers of air transportation excellence and related research activities. Sets the federal share of costs for individual grants to institutions of higher education to establish and operate such centers at no more than 90%. Requires: (1) the FAA's annual budget request to identify all FAA activities that fall within categories of basic research, applied research, and development; and (2) such request be submitted to Congress. Requires the FAA Administrator to arrange for the National Research Council to conduct: (1) a review of the FAA's energy- and environment-related research programs; (2) a study evaluating the impacts of space weather on the U.S. aviation industry, in particular for the Over-The-Pole (OTP) and Ultra-Long-Range (ULR) operations; and (3) a review of the FAA's aviation safety-related research programs. Requires the results of such reviews and assessment to be reported to Congress. Authorizes appropriations.