[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 884 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 884
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national
aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 5, 2021
Mr. Larsen of Washington (for himself, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Johnson of Texas,
Ms. Norton, and Mr. Carson) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national
aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks, 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 Aviation Preparedness Plan
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL AVIATION PREPAREDNESS PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, and the heads of such other Federal departments or agencies
as the Secretary of Transportation considers appropriate, shall develop
a national aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease
outbreaks.
(b) Contents of Plan.--The plan developed under subsection (a)
shall, at a minimum--
(1) provide airports and air carriers with an adaptable and
scalable framework with which to align the individual plans,
including the emergency response plans, of such airports and
air carriers and provide guidance as to each individual plan;
(2) improve coordination among airports, air carriers, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, other appropriate Federal entities, and State
and local governments and health agencies with respect to
developing policies that increase the effectiveness of
screening, testing, quarantining, and contact-tracing with
respect to air carrier passengers;
(3) to the extent practicable, improve coordination among
relevant international entities;
(4) require that frontline at-risk employees are equipped
with appropriate personal protective equipment to reduce the
likelihood of exposure to a covered communicable disease;
(5) ensure that frontline at-risk employees are
appropriately considered for access to necessary and available
vaccines and therapeutics to reduce the effect and likelihood
of exposure to and transmission of a covered communicable
disease;
(6) require that aircraft and enclosed facilities owned,
operated, or used by an air carrier or airport are cleaned,
disinfected, and sanitized, and can have installed and
maintained protective infrastructure where appropriate, in
accordance with CDC guidelines for preventing and containing
the spread of covered communicable diseases;
(7) identify and assign Federal agency roles in the
development and deployment of emerging and existing
technologies and solutions to reduce covered communicable
diseases in the aviation ecosystem;
(8) clearly delineate the responsibilities of the sponsors
and operators of airports, air carriers, and Federal agencies
in responding to a covered communicable disease;
(9) incorporate the recommendations made by the Comptroller
General of the United States to the Secretary of Transportation
contained in the report titled ``Air Travel and Communicable
Diseases: Comprehensive Federal Plan Needed for U.S. Aviation
System's Preparedness'' issued in December 2015 (GAO-16-127);
(10) consider the latest peer-reviewed scientific studies
that address communicable disease with respect to air
transportation; and
(11) consider funding constraints.
(c) Consultation.--When developing the plan under subsection (a),
the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with aviation industry
and labor stakeholders, including representatives of--
(1) air carriers, which shall include domestic air carriers
consisting of major air carriers, low-cost carriers, regional
air carriers and cargo carriers;
(2) airport operators, including with respect to large hub,
medium hub, small hub, and nonhub commercial service airports;
(3) labor organizations that represent airline pilots,
flight attendants, air carrier airport customer service
representatives, and air carrier maintenance, repair, and
overhaul workers;
(4) the labor organization certified under section 7111 of
title 5, United States Code, as the exclusive bargaining
representative of air traffic controllers of the Federal
Aviation Administration;
(5) the labor organization certified under such section as
the exclusive bargaining representative of airway
transportation systems specialists and aviation safety
inspectors of the Federal Aviation Administration;
(6) trade associations representing air carriers and
airports;
(7) aircraft manufacturing companies; and
(8) such other stakeholders as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(d) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the plan is developed
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a
report that includes such plan.
(e) Review of Plan.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which
a report is submitted under subsection (d), and biannually thereafter,
the Secretary shall review the plan included in such report and, after
consultation with aviation industry and labor stakeholders, make
changes by rule as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(f) GAO Study.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct and submit
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a study assessing the national aviation
preparedness plan developed under subsection (a), including--
(1) whether such plan--
(A) is responsive to any previous recommendations
relating to aviation preparedness with respect to an
outbreak of a covered communicable disease or global
health emergency made by the Comptroller General; and
(B) meets the obligations of the United States
under international conventions and treaties; and
(2) the extent to which the United States aviation system
is prepared to respond to an outbreak of a covered communicable
disease.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Frontline at-risk employee.--The term ``frontline at-
risk employee'' means--
(A) an individual whose job duties require
interaction with air carrier passengers on a regular
and continuing basis and who is an employee of--
(i) an air carrier;
(ii) an air carrier contractor;
(iii) an airport; or
(iv) the Federal Government; or
(B) an air traffic controller or systems safety
specialist of the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) Covered communicable disease.--The term ``covered
communicable disease'' means a communicable disease that has
the potential to cause an epidemic or pandemic of infectious
disease that would constitute a public health emergency of
international concern as declared by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).
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