[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1271 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 290

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1271

                          [Report No. 105-152]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                            November 9, 1997

        Reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute
                                                       Calendar No. 290
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1271

                          [Report No. 105-152]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 1997

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

                            November 9, 1997

Reported by Mr. McCain, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute
 [Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in 
                                italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. THIS ACT MAY BE CITED AS THE ``FAA 
              RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATION ACT 
              OF 1997''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>SEC. 3. BUDGET DESIGNATION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
              ACTIVITIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 48102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.'.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. NATIONAL AVIATION RESEARCH PLAN.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 44501(c)(2)(B) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause 
        (iii);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 
        (iv) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following new 
        clause:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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.'.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE 
              STUDENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Program.--Section 48102 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h) Research Gramts Program Involving Undergraduate 
Students.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) research projects to be carried out 
                at primarily undergraduate institutions; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) research projects that combine 
                research at primarily undergraduate institutions with 
                other research supported by the Federal Aviation 
                Administration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Principal criteria.--The principal criteria 
        for the awarding of grants under this subsection shall be--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the relevance of the proposed 
                research to technical research needs identified by the 
                Federal Aviation Administration;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the scientific and technical merit 
                of the proposed research; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the potential for participation by 
                undergraduate students in the proposed 
                research.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.'.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Authorization of Approproations.--Section 48102(a) of 
title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is further 
amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Eligibility for Awards.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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))).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. NOTICE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    With the year 2000 fast approaching, it is the sense of 
Congress that the Federal Aviation Administration should--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) develop contingency plans for those systems 
        that the Federal Aviation Administration is unable to correct 
        in time.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 9. BUY AMERICAN.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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'').</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

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, $229,673,000, including--
                    ``(A) $16,379,000 for system development and 
                infrastructure projects and activities;
                    ``(B) $27,089,000 for capacity and air traffic 
                management technology projects and activities;
                    ``(C) $23,362,000 for communications, navigation, 
                and surveillance projects and activities;
                    ``(D) $16,600,000 for weather projects and 
                activities;
                    ``(E) $7,854,000 for airport technology projects 
                and activities;
                    ``(F) $49,202,000 for aircraft safety technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(G) $56,045,000 for system security technology 
                projects and activities;
                    ``(H) $27,137,000 for human factors and aviation 
                medicine projects and activities;
                    ``(I) $2,891,000 for environment and energy 
                projects and activities; and
                    ``(J) $3,114,000 for innovative/cooperative 
                research projects and activities.''.

SEC. 3. 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 to utilize 
        undergraduate and technical colleges in 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 and technical 
                colleges;
                    ``(B) research projects that combine research at 
                primarily undergraduate institutions and technical 
                colleges with other research supported by the Federal 
                Aviation Administration; or
                    ``(C) research on future training requirements on 
                projected changes in regulatory requirements for 
                aircraft maintenance and power plant licensees.
            ``(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 by 
inserting ``, of which $750,000 shall be for carrying out the grant 
program established under subsection (h)'' after ``projects and 
activities'' in paragraph (4)(J).

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.

    No sums are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of 
the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal year 1998 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.

SEC. 5. 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.

SEC. 6. 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.