[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3923 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3923

    To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National 
Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions 
  to address the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft 
                               accidents.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1996

 Mr. Shuster (for himself, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. 
  Hutchinson, Mr. Baker of California, Mr. Franks of New Jersey, Mr. 
 Blute, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Bachus, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Latham, Mrs. 
  Kelly, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Mascara, Mr. Lazio of New York, and Mr. 
   LaHood) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National 
Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions 
  to address the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft 
                               accidents.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Aviation Disaster Family Assistance 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES 
              OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.

    (a) Authority To Provide Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
``Sec. 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft 
              accidents
    ``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being notified of 
an accident within the United States involving an aircraft of an air 
carrier and resulting in a significant loss of life, the Chairman of 
the National Transportation Safety Board shall--
            ``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of 
        a family advocate who shall be an employee of the Board and 
        shall be responsible for acting as a point of contact within 
        the Federal Government for the families of passengers involved 
        in the accident and a liaison between the air carrier and the 
        families; and
            ``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with 
        experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with 
        families, which shall have primary responsibility for 
        coordinating the care and support of the families of passengers 
        involved in the accident.
    ``(b) Responsibilities of the Board.--The Board shall have primary 
responsibility for coordinating the recovery and identification of 
passengers involved in an accident described in subsection (a).
    ``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The 
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 
have the following responsibilities with respect to the families of 
passengers involved in the accident:
            ``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in 
        coordination with the disaster response team of the air carrier 
        involved.
            ``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide 
        an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
            ``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the 
        location of the accident, to contact the families unable to 
        travel to such location, and to contact all affected families 
        periodically thereafter until such time as the organization 
        determines that further assistance is no longer needed.
            ``(4) To communicate with the families as to the roles of 
        the organization, government agencies, and the air carrier 
involved with respect to the accident and the post-accident activities.
            ``(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service in 
        consultation with the families.
    ``(d) Obtaining Passenger Lists.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall be the responsibility of the 
        family advocate designated for an accident under subsection 
        (a)(1), and the organization designated for the accident under 
        subsection (a)(2), to each request, as soon as practicable, 
        from the air carrier involved in the accident a list, which is 
        based on the best available information at the time of the 
        request, of the names of the passengers that were aboard the 
        aircraft involved in the accident.
            ``(2) Use of information.--The family advocate and the 
        organization shall each take such actions as may be necessary 
        to keep any list obtained under paragraph (1) confidential but 
        may provide information on the list about a passenger to the 
        family of the passenger to the extent that the family advocate 
        or the organization considers appropriate.
    ``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the course of 
its investigation of an accident described in subsection (a), the Board 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the families of 
passengers involved in the accident--
            ``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the 
        accident, its causes, and any other findings from the 
        investigation; and
            ``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend 
        any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the 
        accident.
    ``(f) Use of Air Carrier Resources.--To the extent practicable, the 
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 
use and coordinate the use of the resources and personnel of the air 
carrier involved in the accident in carrying out the organization's 
responsibilities under this section.
    ``(g) Prohibited Actions.--No person (including a State or 
political subdivision) may impede the ability of the Board (including 
the family advocate designated for an accident under subsection 
(a)(1)), or an organization designated for an accident under subsection 
(a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section or the 
ability of the families of passengers involved in the accident to have 
contact with one another.
    ``(h) Aircraft Accident Defined.--In this section, the term 
`aircraft accident' means any aviation disaster regardless of its cause 
or suspected cause.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for 
        chapter 11 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
        relating to section 1135 the following:

``1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft 
                            accidents.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 1155 of such title is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or 1134(b) or (f)(1)'' and inserting ``, 
        section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or section 1136(g)''; and
            (2) by striking ``either of'' and inserting ``any of''.

SEC. 3. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS 
              INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 411 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved 
              in aircraft accidents
    ``(a) Submission of Plans.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this section, each air carrier holding a 
certificate of public convenience and necessity under section 41102 of 
this title shall submit to the Secretary a plan for addressing the 
needs of the families of passengers involved in any accident involving 
an aircraft of the air carrier and resulting in a significant loss of 
life.
    ``(b) Contents of Plans.--A plan to be submitted by an air carrier 
under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
            ``(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free 
        telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle calls from 
        the families of the passengers.
            ``(2) A process for notifying the families of the 
        passengers, before providing any public notice of the names of 
        the passengers, either by utilizing the services of the 
        organization designated for the accident under section 
        1136(a)(2) of this title or the services of other suitably 
        trained individuals.
            ``(3) An assurance that the notice described in paragraph 
        (2) will be provided to the family of a passenger as soon as 
        the air carrier has verified that the passenger was aboard the 
        aircraft (whether or not the names of all of the passengers 
        have been verified) and, to the extent practicable, in person.
            ``(4) An assurance that the air carrier will provide to the 
        family advocate designated for the accident under section 
        1136(a)(1) of this title, and to the organization designated 
        for the accident under section 1136(a)(2) of this title, 
        immediately upon request, a list, which is based on the best 
available information at the time of the request, of the names of the 
passengers aboard the aircraft (whether or not such names have been 
verified), and will periodically update the list.
            ``(5) An assurance that the family of each passenger will 
        be consulted about the disposition of all remains and personal 
        effects of the passenger.
            ``(6) An assurance that if requested by the family of a 
        passenger, any possession of the passenger (regardless of its 
        condition) will be returned to the family unless the possession 
        is needed for the accident investigation or any criminal 
        investigation.
            ``(7) An assurance that any unclaimed possession of a 
        passenger will be retained by the air carrier for at least 2 
        years.
            ``(8) An assurance that the family of each passenger will 
        be consulted about construction by the air carrier of any 
        monument to the passengers, including any inscription on the 
        monument.
            ``(9) An assurance that the treatment of the families of 
        nonrevenue passengers (and any other victim of the accident) 
        will be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue 
        passengers.
            ``(10) An assurance that the air carrier will work with any 
        organization designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title 
        on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of passengers 
        receive an appropriate level of services and assistance 
        following each accident.
            ``(11) An assurance that the air carrier will provide 
        reasonable compensation to any organization designated under 
        section 1136(a)(2) of this title for services provided by the 
        organization.
    ``(c) Certificate Requirement.--After the date that is 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary may not 
approve an application for a certificate of public convenience and 
necessity under section 41102 of this title unless the applicant has 
included as part of such application a plan that meets the requirements 
of subsection (b).
    ``(d) Aircraft Accident Defined.--In this section, the term 
`aircraft accident' has the meaning such term has in section 1136 of 
this title.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in 
                            aircraft accidents.''.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.

    The Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the National 
Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families which have been 
involved in aircraft accidents shall establish a task force consisting 
of representatives of such entities and families to develop--
            (1) a model plan to assist air carriers in responding to 
        aircraft accidents; and
            (2) recommendations to Congress on methods to ensure that 
        attorneys and representatives of media organizations do not 
        intrude on the privacy of families of passengers involved in an 
        aircraft accident.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that each State bar association should 
adopt a rule providing that in the case of a transportation accident no 
unsolicited communication concerning a potential action for personal 
injury or wrongful death should be made to an individual injured in the 
accident, or a relative of an individual killed in the accident, before 
the 30th day following the date of the accident.

SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act may be 
construed as limiting the actions that an air carrier may take in 
providing assistance to the families of passengers involved in an 
aircraft accident.
                                 <all>