[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1271 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 1271

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

     To authorize the Federal Aviation Administration's research, 
  engineering, and development programs for fiscal years 1998 through 
                     2000, and for other purposes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1271

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     To authorize the Federal Aviation Administration's research, 
  engineering, and development programs for fiscal years 1998 through 
                     2000, and for other purposes.

    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 ``FAA Research, Engineering, and 
Development Authorization Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (2)(J);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3)(J) 
        and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) for fiscal year 1998, $217,406,000, including--
                    ``(A) $75,550,000 for system development and 
                infrastructure projects and activities;
                    ``(B) $19,614,000 for capacity and air traffic 
                management technology projects and activities;
                    ``(C) $15,132,000 for communications, navigation, 
                and surveillance projects and activities;
                    ``(D) $9,982,000 for weather projects and 
                activities;
                    ``(E) $5,458,000 for airport technology projects 
                and activities;
                    ``(F) $26,625,000 for aircraft safety technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(G) $49,895,000 for system security technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(H) $10,737,000 for human factors and aviation 
                medicine projects and activities;
                    ``(I) $3,291,000 for environment and energy 
                projects and activities; and
                    ``(J) $1,122,000 for innovative/cooperative 
                research projects and activities;
            ``(5) for fiscal year 1999, $224,000,000; and
            ``(6) for fiscal year 2000, $231,000,000.''.

SEC. 3. BUDGET DESIGNATION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.

    Section 48102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Designation of Activities.--(1) The amounts appropriated 
under subsection (a) are for the support of all research and 
development activities carried out by the Federal Aviation 
Administration that fall within the categories of basic research, 
applied research, and development, including the design and development 
of prototypes, in accordance with the classifications of the Office of 
Management and Budget Circular A-11 (Budget Formulation/Submission 
Process).
    ``(2) The President's annual budget request for the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall include all research and development 
activities within a single budget category. All of the activities 
carried out by the Administration within the categories of basic 
research, applied research, and development, as classified by the 
Office of Management and Budget Circular A-11, shall be placed in this 
single budget category.''.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL AVIATION RESEARCH PLAN.

    Section 44501(c)(2)(B) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (iii);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iv) and 
        inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
            ``(v) highlight the research and development technology 
        transfer activities that promote technology sharing among 
        government, industry, and academia through the Stevenson-Wydler 
        Technology Innovation Act of 1980.''.

SEC. 5. RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.

    (a) Program.--Section 48102 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Research Grants Program Involving Undergraduate Students.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal 
        Aviation Administration shall establish a program for awarding 
        grants to researchers at primarily undergraduate institutions, 
        including primarily undergraduate Historically Black Colleges 
        and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, who involve 
        undergraduate students in their research on subjects of 
        relevance to the Federal Aviation Administration. Grants may be 
        awarded under this subsection for--
                    ``(A) research projects to be carried out at 
                primarily undergraduate institutions; or
                    ``(B) research projects that combine research at 
                primarily undergraduate institutions with other 
                research supported by the Federal Aviation 
                Administration.
            ``(2) Notice of criteria.--Within 6 months after the date 
        of the enactment of the FAA Research, Engineering, and 
        Development Authorization Act of 1997, the Administrator of the 
        Federal Aviation Administration shall establish and publish in 
        the Federal Register criteria for the submittal of proposals 
        for a grant under this subsection, and for the awarding of such 
        grants.
            ``(3) Principal criteria.--The principal criteria for the 
        awarding of grants under this subsection shall be--
                    ``(A) the relevance of the proposed research to 
                technical research needs identified by the Federal 
                Aviation Administration;
                    ``(B) the scientific and technical merit of the 
                proposed research; and
                    ``(C) the potential for participation by 
                undergraduate students in the proposed research.
            ``(4) Competitive, merit-based evaluation.--Grants shall be 
        awarded under this subsection on the basis of evaluation of 
        proposals through a competitive, merit-based process.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 48102(a) of title 49, 
United States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended--
            (1) by inserting ``, of which $500,000 shall be for 
        carrying out the grant program established under subsection 
        (h)'' after ``projects and activities'' in paragraph (4)(J);
            (2) by inserting ``, of which $500,000 shall be for 
        carrying out the grant program established under subsection 
        (h)'' after ``$224,000,000'' in paragraph (5); and
            (3) by inserting ``, of which $500,000 shall be for 
        carrying out the grant program established under subsection 
        (h)'' after ``$231,000,000'' in paragraph (6).

SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS.

    (a) Prohibition of Lobbying Activities.--None of the funds 
authorized by the amendments made by this Act shall be available for 
any activity whose purpose is to influence legislation pending before 
the Congress, except that this subsection shall not prevent officers or 
employees of the United States or of its departments or agencies from 
communicating to Members of Congress on the request of any Member or to 
Congress, through the proper channels, requests for legislation or 
appropriations which they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of 
the public business.
    (b) Limitation on Appropriations.--No sums are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration for fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000 for the Federal 
Aviation Administration Research, Engineering, and Development account, 
unless such sums are specifically authorized to be appropriated by the 
amendments made by this Act.
    (c) Eligibility for Awards.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration shall exclude from consideration for grant 
        agreements made by that Administration from the Research, 
        Engineering, and Development account after fiscal year 1997 any 
        person who received funds, other than those described in 
        paragraph (2), appropriated for a fiscal year after fiscal year 
        1997, under a grant agreement from any Federal funding source 
        for a project that was not subjected to a competitive, merit-
        based award process. Any exclusion from consideration pursuant 
        to this subsection shall be effective for a period of 5 years 
        after the person receives such Federal funds.
            (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
        receipt of Federal funds by a person due to the membership of 
        that person in a class specified by law for which assistance is 
        awarded to members of the class according to a formula provided 
        by law.
            (3) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
        ``grant agreement'' means a legal instrument whose principal 
        purpose is to transfer a thing of value to the recipient to 
        carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized 
        by a law of the United States, and does not include the 
        acquisition (by purchase, lease, or barter) of property or 
        services for the direct benefit or use of the United States 
        Government. Such term does not include a cooperative agreement 
        (as such term is used in section 6305 of title 31, United 
        States Code) or a cooperative research and development 
        agreement (as such term is defined in section 12(d)(1) of the 
        Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
        3710a(d)(1))).

SEC. 7. NOTICE.

    (a) Notice of Reprogramming.--If any funds authorized by the 
amendments made by this Act are subject to a reprogramming action that 
requires notice to be provided to the Appropriations Committees of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate, notice of such action shall 
concurrently be provided to the Committees on Science and 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
    (b) Notice of Reorganization.--The Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration shall provide notice to the Committees on 
Science, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives, and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate, not later than 15 days 
before any major reorganization of any program, project, or activity of 
the Federal Aviation Administration for which funds are authorized by 
this Act.

SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.

    With the year 2000 fast approaching, it is the sense of Congress 
that the Federal Aviation Administration should--
            (1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit date-
        related problems in its computer systems to ensure that those 
        systems continue to operate effectively in the year 2000 and 
        beyond;
            (2) assess immediately the extent of the risk to the 
        operations of the Federal Aviation Administration posed by the 
        problems referred to in paragraph (1), and plan and budget for 
        achieving Year 2000 compliance for all of its mission-critical 
        systems; and
            (3) develop contingency plans for those systems that the 
        Federal Aviation Administration is unable to correct in time.

SEC. 9. BUY AMERICAN.

    (a) Compliance With Buy American Act.--No funds appropriated 
pursuant to the amendments made by this Act may be expended by an 
entity unless the entity agrees that in expending the assistance the 
entity will comply with sections 2 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 
1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a-10c, popularly known as the ``Buy American Act'').
    (b) Sense of Congress.--In the case of any equipment or products 
that may be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance 
provided under the amendments made by this Act, it is the sense of 
Congress that entities receiving such assistance should, in expending 
the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.
    (c) Notice to Recipients of Assistance.--In providing financial 
assistance under the amendments made by this Act, the Administrator of 
the Federal Aviation Administration shall provide to each recipient of 
the assistance a notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) 
by the Congress.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.