[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1888 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1888

  To provide for the safe and timely integration of advanced aviation 
technologies into the national airspace system by the Federal Aviation 
                 Administration and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2023

 Mrs. Fischer (for herself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the safe and timely integration of advanced aviation 
technologies into the national airspace system by 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 ``Advanced Aviation Integration Act''.

SEC. 2. ADVANCED AVIATION LEADERSHIP.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall designate the Deputy 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration as the executive 
responsible for leadership, coordination, and integration of advanced 
aviation in the national airspace system.
    (b) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the Deputy 
Administrator (including any designee of the Deputy Administrator) 
shall include the following:
            (1) Coordinate across relevant offices of the 
        Administration to facilitate the necessary planning for policy, 
        rulemaking, and approval processes on matters relating to the 
        safe operation and integration of advanced aviation systems in 
        the national airspace system.
            (2) Coordinate across relevant offices of the 
        Administration on the development, assessment, and refinement 
        of advanced aviation systems concepts to ensure feasibility and 
        viability within the national airspace system, including 
        coordination of research and conducting studies and 
        demonstrations to prove concepts.
            (3) Coordinate workforce planning across relevant offices 
        of the Administration to--
                    (A) hire and recruit personnel to--
                            (i) research, develop, test, and evaluate 
                        advanced aviation systems; and
                            (ii) process hiring applications related to 
                        advanced aviation systems in a timely manner; 
                        and
                    (B) develop and submit a biannual report to the 
                Secretary and the Administrator, including--
                            (i) core workforce requirements related to 
                        the research, development, testing, and 
                        evaluation of advanced aviation systems by the 
                        Administration;
                            (ii) core workforce requirements related to 
                        the safety, certification, and operational 
                        approval of advanced aviation systems by the 
                        Administration; and
                            (iii) recommendations on staffing and 
                        budgetary resources needed to address areas of 
                        concern.
            (4) Coordinate across relevant offices of the 
        Administration to facilitate the United States leadership and 
        participation in activities relating to the international 
        standardization of airworthiness and the operational and 
        environmental effects of advanced aviation systems.
            (5) Advise the Administrator during internal and 
        interagency coordination on advanced aviation systems and other 
        matters.
            (6) Advise the Chief Operating Officer of the 
        Administration on the development of enterprise architecture.
            (7) Validate supporting system requirements proposed by the 
        Chief Operating Officer.
            (8) Participate in aviation rulemaking committees related 
        to advanced aviation systems.
            (9) Serve as the new Designated Federal Official for the 
        Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee and consult with and 
        assign tasks to the Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee.
            (10) Use the Administration's clearinghouse website for 
        publicly available data (commonly referred to as 
        ``Data.FAA.gov'') to ensure the establishment and 
        implementation of a secure, single-sign on for all FAA-related 
        services (including pending certifications, applications, 
        IACRA, CAPS, DroneZone, MedXpress, CARES, and any other service 
        deemed appropriate by the Administration) with multifactor 
        authentication-protected online capability that allows 
        stakeholders with a new or pending certification or approval 
        application to review the status of such application, receive 
        notice of deadlines and major certification milestones, 
        identify the Administration office that is reviewing such 
        application, and submit inquiries or requests for guidance 
        pursuant to subsection (c).
            (11) Work with relevant offices of the Administration to 
        develop and implement pilot programs in partnership with 
        advanced aviation stakeholders to provide data to support 
        rulemaking and approval processes.
            (12) Serve as a representative of the Administration during 
        interagency coordination of policies related to advanced 
        aviation systems.
            (13) Provide an opportunity for stakeholders to submit 
        requests or inquiries related to advanced aviation systems to 
        the Office of Advanced Aviation.
            (14) Promote the safe and responsible integration of 
        advanced aviation systems into the national airspace system.
    (c) Request for Guidance on Operational Approval Applications.--Any 
person who submits an operational approval application may include a 
request for the Assistant Administrator for Advanced Aviation to 
provide guidance on the processing and coordination required for such 
request.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ADVANCED INTEGRATION.

    (a) Establishment.--The Deputy Administrator shall redesignate the 
National Airspace System Engineering and Integration Office as the 
Office of Advanced Integration within the Office of Advanced Aviation.
    (b) Designation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Deputy Administrator, in consultation with the 
Administrator and Secretary, shall appoint a Director of Advanced 
Integration to head the Office of Advanced Integration.
    (c) Responsibilities.--The Deputy Administrator shall delegate to 
the Director of Advanced Integration the responsibilities described in 
paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2(b).
    (d) Collaboration.--The Director of Advanced Integration shall 
collaborate with the following:
            (1) The Vice President of Air Traffic Services of the 
        Administration and the Vice President of Mission Support 
        Services of the Administration to carry out the 
        responsibilities described in section 2(b)(2).
            (2) The Executive Director of Aircraft Certification 
        Service of the Administration, the Executive Director of Flight 
        Standards Services of the Administration, and the Executive 
        Director of the Office of Rulemaking of the Administration to 
        carry out the responsibilities described in paragraphs (1) and 
        (3) of section 2(b).
            (3) The Director of the William J. Hughes Technical Center 
        of the Administration to carry out the responsibilities 
        described in section 2(b)(3).
            (4) The Assistant Administrator for Finance and Management 
        of the Administration and the Assistant Administrator for Human 
        Resource Management of the Administration to carry out the 
        responsibilities described in section 2(b)(4).

SEC. 4. ADVANCED AVIATION COORDINATION UNIT.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a coordination 
unit within the Administration to carry out the responsibilities 
described in subsection (d), to be known as the Advanced Aviation 
Coordination Unit.
    (b) Membership.--The Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit shall 
consist of the head of each relevant office of the Administration, or 
an employee representing such office, including--
            (1) the Office of Advanced Integration established under 
        section 3;
            (2) the Office of Aviation Safety, including the UAS 
        Integration Office, the Aircraft Certification Service, the 
        Flight Standards Service, and the Office of Rulemaking;
            (3) the Air Traffic Organization, including the Program 
        Management Organization, the Technical Operations Services, the 
        Office of Mission Support Services, and the office headed by 
        the Chief Operating Officer;
            (4) the Office of Security and Hazardous Materials Safety;
            (5) the Office of Airports;
            (6) the Office of the Chief Counsel;
            (7) the Office of Policy, International Affairs, and 
        Environment; and
            (8) any other office determined appropriate by the Deputy 
        Administrator.
    (c) Chair.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of Advanced Integration shall 
        serve as the Chair of the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit, 
        at the discretion of the Deputy Administrator.
            (2) Authority.--The Chair may--
                    (A) schedule meetings of the members of the 
                Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit;
                    (B) identify items for the members of the Advanced 
                Aviation Coordination Unit to act on in fulfillment of 
                the responsibilities described in subsection (d); and
                    (C) establish working groups in addition to the 
                working groups established pursuant to subsection (e).
    (d) Responsibilities.--The members of the Advanced Aviation 
Coordination Unit shall collaborate to--
            (1) promote the safe and responsible integration of 
        advanced aviation systems into the national airspace system;
            (2) improve processes related to such integration;
            (3) improve processes related to the certification of 
        advanced aviation systems;
            (4) develop clear and consistent standards related to 
        advanced aviation systems;
            (5) ensure that determinations of the Administration 
        related to advanced aviation systems are made in a timely 
        manner; and
            (6) identify innovative aviation technologies that may be 
        integrated into the national airspace system.
    (e) Working Groups.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Chair of the Advanced Aviation 
        Coordination Unit shall establish within the Advanced Aviation 
        Coordination Unit a working group on each of the following 
        topics:
                    (A) Unmanned aircraft system integration.
                    (B) Advanced air mobility integration.
                    (C) Safety technology integration.
            (2) Personnel.--The Chair shall consult with the members of 
        the Advanced Coordination Unit on the assignment of 
        Administration personnel to staff the working groups 
        established under paragraph (1).
            (3) Projects.--The Chair shall, in consultation with the 
        Administrator and members of the Advanced Aviation Coordination 
        Unit, assign projects to the working groups established under 
        paragraph (1) and oversee the execution of such projects.
    (f) Consultation.--The Deputy Administrator shall consult with the 
Administrator and members of the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit to 
ensure that existing projects of the Administration are incorporated 
into the Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit in a minimally disruptive 
manner.
    (g) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary may facilitate 
coordination between interagency partners and the members of the 
Advanced Aviation Coordination Unit to fulfill the responsibilities 
described in subsection (d).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (2) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        Federal Aviation Administration.
            (3) Advanced aviation system.--The term ``advanced aviation 
        system'' means--
                    (A) an unmanned aircraft system;
                    (B) a powered lift aircraft;
                    (C) a technology related to--
                            (i) advanced air mobility;
                            (ii) the ability of an aircraft to detect 
                        surroundings and avoid impacts;
                            (iii) autonomous functioning of aircraft;
                            (iv) supersonic aircraft capabilities;
                            (v) electric or hydrogen based aircraft 
                        propulsion; or
                            (vi) evolving aerospace operations 
                        including new aircraft, airport, weather, or 
                        info-centric and digital systems; or
                    (D) any other aviation-related technology that the 
                Deputy Administrator determines qualifies as an 
                advanced aviation system that could feasibly be 
                integrated into the national airspace system.
            (4) Operational approval application.--The term 
        ``operational approval application'' means an application for 
        the operation of an advanced aviation system in the national 
        airspace system submitted pursuant to section 44701 or 44807 of 
        title 49, United States Code, or any other provision of law 
        related to such operation.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
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