[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1516

             To improve the Federal contract tower program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 10, 1997

   Mr. Ford introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
             To improve the Federal contract tower program.

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

SECTION 1. FAA AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PILOT PROGRAM FOR SMALL AIRPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 418 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
``Sec. 41743. Air traffic control services pilot program
    ``(a) In General.--To further facilitate the use of, and to improve 
the level of safety at, small airports, the Secretary of Transportation 
shall establish a pilot program to contract for Level I air traffic 
control services at 20 facilities not eligible for participation in the 
Federal Contract Tower Program.
    ``(b) Program Components.--In carrying out the pilot program 
established under subsection (a), the Secretary may--
            ``(1) utilize current, actual, site-specific data, forecast 
        estimates, or airport system plan data provided by a facility 
        owner or operator;
            ``(2) take into consideration unique aviation safety, 
        weather, strategic national interest, disaster relief, medical 
        and other emergency management relief services, status of 
        regional airline service, and related factors at the facility; 
        and
            ``(3) approve for participation any facility willing to 
        fund a pro rata share of the operating costs used by the 
        Federal Aviation Administration to calculate, and, as 
        necessary, a 1:1 benefit-to-cost ratio, as required for 
        eligibility under the Federal Contract Tower Program.
    ``(c) Report.--One year before the pilot program established under 
subsection (a) terminates, the Secretary shall report to the Congress 
on the effectiveness of the program, with particular emphasis on the 
safety and economic benefits provided to program participants and the 
national air transportation system.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 418 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following:

``41743. Air traffic control services pilot program''.
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