[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2951 Introduced in Senate (IS)]




107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2951

 To authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2002

  Mr. Rockefeller (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Hollings, and Mr. 
    McCain) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration, 
                        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 ``Federal Aviation Administration 
Research, Engineering, and Development Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Amounts Authorized.--Section 48102(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (7);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) for fiscal year 2003, $261,000,000, including--
                    ``(A) $211,000,000 to improve aviation safety;
                    ``(B) $18,000,000 to improve the efficiency of the 
                air traffic control system;
                    ``(C) $16,000,000 to reduce the environmental 
                impact of aviation; and
                    ``(D) $16,000,000 to improve the efficiency of 
                mission support;
            ``(10) for fiscal year 2004, $274,000,000, including--
                    ``(A) $221,000,000 to improve aviation safety;
                    ``(B) $19,000,000 to improve the efficiency of the 
                air traffic control system;
                    ``(C) $17,000,000 to reduce the environmental 
                impact of aviation; and
                    ``(D) $17,000,000 to improve the efficiency of 
                mission support; and
            ``(11) for fiscal year 2005, $287,000,000, including--
                    ``(A) $231,000,000 to improve aviation safety;
                    ``(B) $20,000,000 to improve the efficiency of the 
                air traffic control system;
                    ``(C) $18,000,000 to reduce the environmental 
                impact of aviation; and
                    ``(D) $18,000,000 to improve the efficiency of 
                mission support.''.

SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF NATIONAL AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY RESEARCH 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) Development of Plan.--Not later than June 30, 2003, the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator, the 
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator, and the Under Secretary 
of Transportation for Security shall prepare and transmit an updated 
integrated civil aviation research and development plan to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
    (b) Contents.--The updated integrated civil aviation research and 
development plan shall include--
            (1) identification of the respective aviation research and 
        development requirements, roles, and responsibilities of the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal 
        Aviation Administration, and the Transportation Security 
        Administration; and
            (2) review of steps they could take to facilitate the 
        transfer and adoption of new technologies in an operational 
        environment, including consideration of increasing the exchange 
        of research staff, providing greater details on funding at the 
        project level in joint plans, and providing for greater use of 
        technology readiness in program plans and budgets to help frame 
        the maturity of new technologies and determine when they can be 
        implemented.

SEC. 4. RESEARCH PROGRAM TO IMPROVE AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS.

    The Federal Aviation Administration Administrator shall continue 
the program to consider awards to nonprofit concrete pavement research 
foundations to improve the design, construction, rehabilitation, and 
repair of rigid concrete airfield pavements to aid in the development 
of safer, more cost-effective, and more durable airfield pavements. The 
Administrator may use grants or cooperative agreements in carrying out 
this section. Nothing in this section requires the Administrator to 
prioritize an airfield pavement research program above safety, 
security, Flight 21, environment, or energy research programs.

SEC. 5. ENSURING APPROPRIATE STANDARDS FOR AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Federal Aviation Administration Administrator 
shall review and determine whether the Federal Aviation 
Administration's standards used to determine the appropriate thickness 
for asphalt and concrete airfield pavements are in accordance with the 
Federal Aviation Administration's standard 20-year-life requirement 
using the most up-to-date available information on the life of airfield 
pavements. If the Administrator determines that such standards are not 
in accordance with that requirement, the Administrator shall make 
appropriate adjustments to the Federal Aviation Administration's 
standards for airfield pavements.
    (b) Report.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator shall report the results of the review conducted 
under subsection (a) and the adjustments, if any, made on the basis of 
that review to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.

SEC. 6. AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.

    (a) Objective.--The Federal Aviation Administration Administrator, 
in coordination with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
Administrator, shall participate in a national initiative with the 
objective of defining and developing an air traffic management system 
designed to meet national long-term aviation security, safety, and 
capacity needs. The initiative should result in a multiagency blueprint 
for acquisition and implementation of an air traffic management system 
that would--
            (1) build upon current air traffic management and 
        infrastructure initiatives;
            (2) improve the security, safety, quality, and 
        affordability of aviation services;
            (3) utilize a system of systems approach;
            (4) develop a highly integrated, secure common information 
        network to enable common situational awareness for all 
        appropriate system users; and
            (5) ensure seamless global operations for system users.
    (b) Implementation.--In implementing subsection (a), the Federal 
Aviation Administration Administrator, in coordination with the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator, shall work 
with other appropriate Government agencies and industry to--
            (1) develop system performance requirements;
            (2) determine an optimal operational concept and system 
        architecture to meet such requirements;
            (3) utilize new modeling, simulation, and analysis tools to 
        quantify and validate system performance and benefits;
            (4) ensure the readiness of enabling technologies; and
            (5) develop a transition plan for successful implementation 
        into the National Airspace System.

SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT OF WAKE TURBULENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Assessment.--The Federal Aviation Administration Administrator 
shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council for 
an assessment of the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed wake 
turbulence research and development program. The assessment shall 
address--
            (1) research and development goals and objectives;
            (2) research and development objectives that should be part 
        of Federal Aviation Administration's proposed program;
            (3) proposed research and development program's ability to 
        achieve the goals and objectives of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration, and of the National Research Council, the 
        schedule, and the level of resources needed; and
            (4) the roles other Federal agencies, such as National 
        Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic 
        and Atmospheric Administration, should play in wake turbulence 
        research and development, and coordination of these efforts.
    (b) Report.--A report containing the results of the assessment 
shall be provided to the Committee on Science of the House of 
Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Federal Aviation Administration Administrator for 
fiscal year 2003, $500,000 to carry out this section.

SEC. 8. DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS AND CERTIFICATION METHODS.

    The Federal Aviation Administration may conduct research to promote 
the development of analytical tools to improve existing certification 
methods and to reduce the overall costs to manufacturers for the 
certification of new products.

SEC. 9. CABIN AIR QUALITY RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    In accordance with the recommendation of the National Academy of 
Sciences in its report entitled ``The Airliner Cabin Environment and 
the Health of Passengers and Crew'', the Federal Aviation 
Administration may establish a research program to answer questions 
about cabin air quality of aircraft.

SEC. 10. RESEARCH TO IMPROVE CAPACITY AND REDUCE DELAYS.

    The Administrator may include, as part of the Federal Aviation 
Administration research program, a systematic review and assessment of 
the specific causes of airport delay at the 31 airports identified in 
the Airport Benchmarking Study, on an airport-by-airport basis.
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