[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4082 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4082

To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and development 
             on severe turbulence, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 2023

 Ms. Stevens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and development 
             on severe turbulence, 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 ``FAA Severe Turbulence Research and 
Development Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. TURBULENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations for 
such purpose, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
(in this section referred to as the ``Administrator''), in 
collaboration with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, and in consultation with the Administrator 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall carry out 
applied research and development to--
            (1) enhance the monitoring and understanding of severe 
        turbulence, including clear-air turbulence; and
            (2) inform the development of measures to mitigate safety 
        impacts on crew and the flying public that may result from 
        severe turbulence.
    (b) Research and Development Activities.--In conducting the 
research and development on severe turbulence in accordance with 
subsection (a), the Administrator shall--
            (1) establish processes and procedures for comprehensive 
        and systematic data collection through both instrumentation and 
        pilot reporting, of severe turbulence, including clear-air 
        turbulence;
            (2) establish measures for storing and managing such data 
        collection;
            (3) support measures for monitoring and characterizing 
        incidents of severe turbulence;
            (4) consider relevant existing research and development 
        from other entities, including Federal departments and 
        agencies, academia, and the private sector; and
            (5) carry out research and development--
                    (A) to understand the impacts of climate change and 
                other factors on the nature of turbulence, including 
                severe turbulence and clear-air turbulence;
                    (B) to enhance turbulence forecasts for flight 
                planning and execution, seasonal predictions for 
                schedule and route-planning, and long-term projections 
                of severe turbulence, including clear-air turbulence; 
                and
                    (C) on other subject matters areas related to 
                severe turbulence, as determined by the Administrator; 
                and
            (6) support the effective transition of the results of 
        research and development to operations, where appropriate.
    (c) No Duplication.--The Administrator shall ensure that research 
and development activities under this section do not duplicate other 
Federal programs relating to turbulence.
    (d) Turbulence Data.--
            (1) Commercial providers.--In conducting research and 
        development activities under subsection (b), the Administrator 
        may enter into agreements with commercial providers for the 
        following:
                    (A) The purchase of turbulence data.
                    (B) The placement on aircraft of instruments 
                relevant to understanding and monitoring turbulence.
            (2) Data access.--The Administrator shall make the data 
        collected pursuant to subsection (b) widely available and 
        accessible to the scientific research, user, and stakeholder 
        communities, including the Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to the greatest extent 
        practicable and in accordance with Federal Aviation 
        Administration data management policies.
    (e) Report on Turbulence Research.--Not later than 15 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in 
collaboration with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, shall submit to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that--
            (1) details the activities conducted under this section, 
        including how the research and development activities under 
        subsection (b) have contributed to the goals specified in 
        subsection (a);
            (2) assesses the current state of scientific understanding 
        of the causes, occurrence rates, and past and projected future 
        trends in occurrence rates of severe turbulence, including 
        clear-air turbulence;
            (3) describes the processes and procedures for collecting, 
        storing, and managing, data in pursuant to subsection (b);
            (4) assesses--
                    (A) the use of commercial providers pursuant to 
                subsection (d)(1); and
                    (B) the need for any future Federal Government 
                collection or procurement of data and instruments 
                related to turbulence, including an assessment of 
                costs;
            (5) describes how such data will be made available to the 
        scientific research, user, and stakeholder communities; and
            (6) identifies future research and development needed to 
        inform the development of measures to predict and mitigate the 
        safety impacts that may result from severe turbulence, 
        including clear-air turbulence.
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