[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 579 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 579

To reauthorize the National Transportation Safety Board, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2003

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize the National Transportation Safety Board, 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 ``National Transportation Safety Board 
Reauthorization Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Fiscal Years 2003-2006.--Section 1118(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and''; and
            (2) by striking ``such sums to'' and inserting the 
        following: ``$73,325,000 for fiscal year 2003, $78,757,000 for 
        fiscal year 2004, $83,011,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 
        $87,539,000 for fiscal year 2006. Such sums shall''.
    (b) Emergency Fund.--Section 1118(b) of such title is amended by 
striking the second sentence and inserting the following: ``In 
addition, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to increase the fund to, and maintain the fund at, a level 
not to exceed $3,000,000.''.
    (c) NTSB Academy.--Section 1118 of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Academy.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Board for necessary expenses of the 
        National Transportation Safety Board Academy, not otherwise 
        provided for, $3,347,000 for fiscal year 2003, $4,896,000 for 
        fiscal year 2004, $4,995,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 
        $5,200,000 for fiscal year 2006. Such sums shall remain 
        available until expended.
            ``(2) Fees.--The Board may impose and collect such fees as 
        it determines to be appropriate for services provided by or 
        through the Academy.
            ``(3) Receipts credited as offsetting collections.--
        Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, any fee collected 
        under this paragraph--
                    ``(A) shall be credited as offsetting collections 
                to the account that finances the activities and 
                services for which the fee is imposed;
                    ``(B) shall be available for expenditure only to 
                pay the costs of activities and services for which the 
                fee is imposed; and
                    ``(C) shall remain available until expended.
            ``(4) Refunds.--The Board may refund any fee paid by 
        mistake or any amount paid in excess of that required.''.
    (c) Report on Academy Operations.--The National Transportation 
Safety Board shall transmit an annual report to the Congress on the 
activities and operations of the National Transportation Safety Board 
Academy.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT 
              ACCIDENTS.

    (a) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--Section 1136 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(j) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--
            ``(1) General rule.--This section (other than subsection 
        (g)) shall not apply to an aircraft accident if the Board has 
        relinquished investigative priority under section 1131(a)(2)(B) 
        and the Federal agency to which the Board relinquished 
        investigative priority is willing and able to provide 
        assistance to the victims and families of the passengers 
        involved in the accident.
            ``(2) Board assistance.--If this section does not apply to 
        an aircraft accident because the Board has relinquished 
        investigative priority with respect to the accident, the Board 
        shall assist, to the maximum extent possible, the agency to 
        which the Board has relinquished investigative priority in 
        assisting families with respect to the accident.''.
    (b) Revision of MOU.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the National Transportation Safety Board and the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation shall revise their 1977 agreement on 
the investigation of accidents to take into account the amendments made 
by this section and shall submit a copy of the revised agreement to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate.

SEC. 4. RELIEF FROM CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS FOR INVESTIGATIONS 
              SERVICES.

    Section 1113(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Statutes;'' in paragraph (1)(B) and 
        inserting ``Statutes, and, for investigations conducted under 
        section 1131, enter into such agreements or contracts without 
        regard to any other provision of law requiring competition if 
        necessary to expedite the investigation;''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) The Board, as a component of its annual report under section 
1117, shall include an enumeration of each contract for $25,000 or more 
executed under this section during the preceding calendar year.''.
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