[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8526 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8526

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a health smart 
 air travel pilot program to improve the application of public health 
 risk mitigation measures related to the public health risks presented 
           by COVID-19 in airports and on passenger aircraft.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2020

 Mr. Van Drew introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Homeland Security, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a health smart 
 air travel pilot program to improve the application of public health 
 risk mitigation measures related to the public health risks presented 
           by COVID-19 in airports and on passenger aircraft.

    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 ``Health Smart Air Travel Act'' or the 
``HSAT Act''.

SEC. 2. HEALTH SMART AIR TRAVEL PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Transportation, jointly with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, shall establish a pilot program (in this section referred to 
as the ``Program'') to improve the application of public health risk 
mitigation measures related to the public health risks presented by 
COVID-19 in airports and on passenger aircraft. In carrying out the 
Program, the Secretary shall pursue initiatives informed by--
            (1) the guidance issued by the Department of 
        Transportation, jointly with the Department of Health and Human 
        Services and the Department of Homeland Security, titled 
        ``Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines 
        and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of 
        Coronavirus'' and dated July 2020; and
            (2) any additional guidance that the Department of 
        Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, 
        and the Department of Homeland Security may issue in relation 
        to measures necessary to mitigate the public health risks 
        presented by COVID-19 in airports and passenger aircraft.
    (b) Objectives.--The purpose of the Program established under this 
section is to--
            (1) accelerate integration of public health risk mitigation 
        measures related to the public health risks presented by COVID-
        19 in airports and passenger aircraft;
            (2) identify and address technical, regulatory, and policy 
        challenges to integration of these risk mitigation measures;
            (3) develop, test, and evaluate smart airport technology 
        and processes as they relate to mitigating public health risks 
        presented by COVID-19 in airports and passenger aircraft; and
            (4) leverage concentrations of aviation, transportation 
        security, and public health capital to accelerate innovation in 
        airports and passenger aircraft.
    (c) Grant Awards.--The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, may provide grants under the Program to eligible 
entities to carry out development, testing, or evaluation of public 
health risk mitigation measures related to the public health risks 
presented by COVID-19 in airports and passenger aircraft.
    (d) Publication of Notice of Grant Opportunity.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Transportation publish in the Federal Register a notice of grant 
opportunity for grants available under the Program.
    (e) Eligible Entities.--Entities eligible to receive funding under 
the Program may include--
            (1) State, local, and Tribal governments;
            (2) commercial airline operators;
            (3) airports;
            (4) hospitals and other public health institutions;
            (5) institutions of higher education;
            (6) relevant research and development nonprofit 
        organizations that are exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) 
        of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
            (7) relevant labor organizations;
            (8) relevant private-sector manufacturers and service 
        providers; and
            (9) a consortia of any of the entities described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (8).
    (f) Application Submission.--The Secretary of Transportation, 
jointly with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish application 
requirements for grants from the Program and shall require applicants 
to include the following information in such application:
            (1) Identification of the entities proposed to be involved 
        in the development, testing, or evaluation of public health 
        risk mitigation measures.
            (2) Whether the proposed development, testing, or 
        evaluation pertain to public health mitigation measures related 
        to public health risks presented by COVID-19 in airports, 
        passenger aircraft, or both.
            (3) A description of such development, testing, or 
        evaluation.
            (4) A description of the financial cost of such 
        development, testing, or evaluation, including the requested 
        grant amount.
            (5) How such development, testing, or evaluation will 
        accomplish the objectives of the pilot program and inform wider 
        adoption in airports and passenger aircraft.
            (6) Identification of available infrastructure and 
        capabilities to support such development, testing, or 
        evaluation.
            (7) A description of the capabilities and expertise related 
        to the proposed project with respect to aviation, airline 
        operations, airport operations, smart airport technology, 
        transportation security, and public health.
            (8) A description of any existing relationships with 
        relevant Federal agencies.
    (g) Evaluation of Applicants.--Upon receipt of applications under 
this section by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary shall 
evaluate such applications jointly with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (h) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary of Transportation shall make 
selections, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security, for participation in 
the Program, taking into consideration the following:
            (1) The effectiveness of the proposal of development, 
        testing, or evaluation of public health risk mitigation 
        measures at accomplishing the objectives under subsection (b).
            (2) The involvement of relevant aviation, transportation 
        security, and public health infrastructure.
            (3) The involvement of the private sector in the proposal, 
        including whether the proposal leverages existing commercial 
        technologies.
            (4) The agreement of the entities involved in the proposal 
        to comply with such requirements as the Secretary of 
        Transportation, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security determine necessary for 
        purposes of aviation safety, public health safety, and 
        transportation security.
            (5) The agreement of the entities involved in the proposal 
        to share data collected and experience gained over the course 
        of the development, testing, or evaluation of public health 
        mitigation measures with the Secretary of Transportation, 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security.
    (i) Designation of Data Reporting Facilities.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, shall each--
                    (A) designate a Federal facility or Federal 
                facilities for receiving, processing, and analyzing 
                data collected and experience gained by recipients of 
                grants under the Program; and
                    (B) begin reporting the information described in 
                subparagraph (A) to the remaining Secretaries listed in 
                this paragraph.
            (2) Scope of information collected.--With respect to the 
        information collected and analyzed under subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) the Secretary of Transportation shall collect, 
                analyze, and report information on public health risk 
                mitigation measures in passenger aircraft;
                    (B) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
                collect, analyze, and report information on public 
                health risk mitigation measures in airports; and
                    (C) the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                shall collect, analyze, and report information on 
                public health risk mitigation measures in airports and 
                on passenger aircraft.
    (j) Implementation.--The Secretary of Transportation shall, jointly 
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, use the data collected and experience gained under 
subsection (i) to--
            (1) identify technical, regulatory, or policy challenges to 
        the integration of public health risk mitigation measures 
        related to the public health risks created by COVID-19 in 
        airports and on passenger aircraft; and
            (2) inform ongoing initiatives by the Federal Aviation 
        Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and 
        the Centers for Disease Control to develop operational 
        standards and procedures to mitigate public health risks 
        presented by COVID-19 in airports and passenger aircraft.
    (k) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter through fiscal year 2023, the 
Secretary of Transportation, jointly with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall brief 
Congress on the recipients of funding and activities carried out under 
the Program.
    (l) Funding.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated $77,000,000 to carry out this section, to 
        remain available through fiscal year 2023.
            (2) Use of funds.--Of the amounts made available under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) not more than $7,000,000 may be used jointly by 
                the Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Health 
                and Human Services, and the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security for the administration of the Program; and
                    (B) not less than $70,000,000 shall be awarded 
                through the issuance of grants.
            (3) Grant amounts.--The amount of a grant awarded under 
        this section shall be not less than $50,000 and not more than 
        $5,000,000.
    (m) Sunset.--The authority to provide grants under this section 
shall terminate on the last day of fiscal year 2023.
    (n) Smart Airport Technologies Defined.--In this section, ``smart 
airport technologies'' means the technologies described in section 145 
of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-254).
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