[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2051 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2051

  To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Transportation to investigate and hold public hearings in response to 
   petitions claiming unreasonably high air fares or inadequate air 
                    carrier competition at airports.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 1999

 Mr. DeFazio 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 Secretary of 
 Transportation to investigate and hold public hearings in response to 
   petitions claiming unreasonably high air fares or inadequate air 
                    carrier competition at airports.

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

SECTION 1. PETITIONS CLAIMING UNREASONABLY HIGH AIR FARES OR INADEQUATE 
              AIR CARRIER COMPETITION AT AIRPORTS.

    Section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``On the 
        initiative''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Petitions Claiming Unreasonably High Air Fares or Inadequate 
Air Carrier Competition at Airports.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the Secretary receives a petition 
        submitted by the sponsor of a commercial service airport (or by 
        the attorney general of a State on behalf of 1 or more persons, 
        including governmental entities, with respect to an airport) 
        claiming that fares for scheduled air transportation at the 
        airport are unreasonably high, or that competition between air 
        carriers at the airport is inadequate, the Secretary shall 
        investigate and hold a public hearing on the petition before 
        the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of 
        receipt of the petition.
            ``(2) Location of hearing.--A public hearing under 
        paragraph (1) shall be held in the community served by the 
        airport if requested in the petition and if practicable.
            ``(3) Information to be provided by air carriers.--An air 
        carrier providing air transportation at the airport shall 
        provide to the Secretary pursuant to section 41708 such 
        information concerning fares for air transportation and air 
        service at the airport as the Secretary considers necessary to 
        making findings in response to the petition.
            ``(4) Opportunity to testify.--A sponsor of an airport or 
        an attorney general of a State submitting a petition under 
        paragraph (1), and each air carrier providing air 
        transportation at the airport, shall be provided an opportunity 
        to testify at the public hearing conducted with respect to the 
        petition. The Secretary may also take testimony from other 
        interested persons and shall consider all written petitions 
        received in response to each petition.
            ``(5) Findings.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
        which a public hearing is convened with respect to a petition 
        submitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall issue 
        written findings in response to the issues raised in the 
        petition, including, at a minimum, findings as to--
                    ``(A) subject to paragraph (8), whether fares for 
                air transportation at the airport are substantially 
                higher than at comparable airports in the Nation;
                    ``(B) whether air carrier costs to provide air 
                transportation at the airport appear substantially 
                higher than at comparable airports;
                    ``(C) whether barriers to entry are discouraging or 
                preventing other air carriers from initiating 
                competitive air transportation at the airport;
                    ``(D) whether marketing practices described in 
                subsection (c) or other air carrier practices are 
                contributing to such barriers to entry or are otherwise 
                resulting in higher air carrier costs or higher fares 
                for air transportation; and
                    ``(E) as appropriate, whether any programs under 
                the Secretary's authority could be helpful to airports 
                in marketing their facilities to air carriers, reducing 
                fares for air transportation, or minimizing barriers to 
                entry by other air carriers seeking to provide air 
                transportation at the airport.
            ``(6) Subsequent petitions.--If the Secretary receives a 
        petition under this section with respect to an airport for 
        which the Secretary has previously conducted an investigation 
        and public hearing under this subsection, the Secretary may 
        decide not to conduct a subsequent investigation and public 
        hearing in response to the new petition. In deciding whether to 
        conduct the investigation and public hearing, the Secretary 
        shall consider whether changed circumstances may have limited 
        the continuing validity of the Secretary's previous findings 
        with respect to the airport.
            ``(7) Reports to congress.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this subsection, and at the end of 
        each 180-day period thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to 
        Congress a report on the results of the investigations, if any, 
        completed under this subsection during that period.
            ``(8) Limitation on statutory construction.--Nothing in 
        this subsection may be construed to authorize the Secretary to 
        set or invalidate any fare for air transportation.
    ``(c) Marketing Practices That Adversely Affect Air Carrier 
Competition.--
            ``(1) Review.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall review the 
        marketing practices of air carriers that may inhibit the 
        availability of quality, affordable air transportation services 
        to commercial service airports, including--
                    ``(A) marketing arrangements between air carriers 
                and travel agents;
                    ``(B) code-sharing partnerships;
                    ``(C) frequent flyer incentive programs and 
                restrictions on purchases of frequent flyer mileage by 
                other air carriers;
                    ``(D) computer reservation system displays;
                    ``(E) gate arrangements at airports;
                    ``(F) exclusive dealing arrangements; and
                    ``(G) any other marketing practices that may have 
                similar impacts.
            ``(2) Regulations.--If the Secretary finds, after 
        conducting the review required by paragraph (1), that 1 or more 
        marketing practices of air carriers inhibit the availability of 
        quality, affordable air transportation services at commercial 
        service airports, the Secretary, after providing notice and an 
        opportunity for public comment, shall issue regulations to 
        address the marketing practices.''.
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