118 S4979 IS: FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2024
U.S. Senate
2024-08-01
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EN
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II
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4979
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2024
Ms. Cantwell (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 establish an independent expert review panel to review and make findings and recommendations to inform the Federal Aviation Administration's implementation of a comprehensive and integrated Safety Management System for all lines of business within the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2024”.
2.

Definitions
In this Act:
(1)

Administrator
The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2)

Appropriate committees of congress
The term appropriate committees of Congress means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
(3)

FAA
The term FAA means the Federal Aviation Administration.
(4)

SMS
The term SMS means a Safety Management System.
3.

Expert compliance review of FAA Safety Management System
(a)

Expert compliance review
(1)

Establishment
(A)

In general
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall convene an independent expert panel (in this section referred to as the “review panel”) to review and make findings and recommendations on the matters listed in paragraph (2).
(B)

Purpose
The purpose of the review panel is to review and evaluate FAA orders and policies to inform the FAA’s implementation of a comprehensive and integrated SMS for all lines of business within the FAA.
(2)

Contents of review
The review panel shall review the following:
(A)
The extent to which the FAA's SMS complies with relevant FAA orders and policies.
(B)
The actual and projected safety enhancements achieved through the FAA’s prior implementation of the SMS.
(C)
The effectiveness of the SMS, including with respect to the implementation of the following 4 components:
(i)
Safety policy.
(ii)
Safety risk management.
(iii)
Safety assurance.
(iv)
Safety promotion.
(D)
The extent to which the SMS and each of the 4 components described in subparagraph (C) are integrated among all lines of business of the FAA.
(E)
The extent to which the SMS and each of the 4 components so described are understood and communicated to personnel at the FAA.
(F)
The efficacy of the FAA’s Voluntary Safety Reporting Program as part of the SMS, including any actions taken by the FAA in response to reports filed under such program.
(G)
Whether the Federal Government should advocate for changes to Annex 19–Safety Management of the International Civil Aviation Organization (in this section referred to as “ICAO”) to ensure appropriate updates to the State Safety Program standards and recommended practices, including—
(i)
a systems-level approach to evaluating and improving SMS for air navigation service providers; and
(ii)
the implementation of the SMS for civil aviation regulators.
(H)
Any other matter determined by the Administrator for which review by the review panel would be consistent with the public interest in aviation safety.
(3)

Composition of review panel
(A)

Appointed members
The review panel shall consist of the following members appointed by the Administrator:
(i)
Two representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with expertise in SMSs.
(ii)
Three appropriately qualified representatives of aviation labor organizations, designated by the applicable represented organization.
(iii)
Not less than 5 independent subject matter experts in safety management systems who—
(I)
have not served as a political appointee in the FAA; and
(II)
have a minimum of 10 years of relevant applied experience.
(iv)
Three representatives from the aviation industry with expertise in safety management systems.
(v)
A representative of the United States Mission to the ICAO.
(B)

Advisory members
(i)

In general
In addition to the appointed members described in subparagraph (A), the review panel shall be advised by up to 5 employees of the FAA, at least 3 of whom shall be subject matter experts in implementing SMS at the FAA.
(ii)

Duties
The advisory members may take part in deliberations of the review panel and provide subject matter expertise with respect to the review panel’s work.
(4)

Recommendations
The review panel shall issue recommendations to the Administrator based on the review of the matters listed in paragraph (2) in order to inform the FAA's implementation of a comprehensive and integrated SMS for all lines of business within the FAA.
(5)

Report
(A)

Submission
Not later than 180 days after the date of the first meeting of the review panel, the review panel shall submit to the Administrator and the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing the findings and recommendations regarding the matters listed in paragraph (2) that are endorsed by a majority of the review panel.
(B)

Dissenting views
In submitting the report under subparagraph (A), the review panel shall append to such report the dissenting views of any individual member or group of members of the review panel regarding the findings or recommendations of the review panel.
(C)

Publication
Not later than 5 days after receiving the report under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall publish such report, including any dissenting views appended to the report, on the website of the FAA.
(D)

Termination
The review panel shall terminate upon the submission of the report under subparagraph (A).
(6)

Administrative provisions
(A)

Access to information
(i)

In general
The review panel shall have the authority to perform the following actions if a majority of the review panel members consider each action necessary and appropriate:
(I)
Entering onto the premises of the FAA for access to and inspection of records or other purposes.
(II)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in clause (ii), accessing and inspecting unredacted records directly necessary for the completion of the review panel’s work under this section that are in the possession of the FAA.
(III)
Interviewing employees of the FAA as necessary for the review panel to complete its work.
(ii)

Non-Federal Government members
Members of the review panel who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government shall only have access to, and be allowed to inspect, information provided to the FAA pursuant to section 40123 of title 49, United States Code, and part 193 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, in a de-identified form.
(B)

Nondisclosure of confidential information
(i)

Nondisclosure for non-Federal Government members
(I)

Non-Federal Government participants
Prior to participating on the review panel, each individual serving on the review panel representing a non-Federal entity shall execute an agreement with the Administrator in which the individual shall be prohibited from disclosing at any time, except as required by law, to any person, foreign or domestic, any non-public information made available to the panel under subparagraph (A).
(II)

Federal Government participants
Federal officers or employees serving on the review panel as representatives of the Federal Government and subject to the requirement to protect confidential information (including proprietary information and trade secrets under section 1905 of title 18, United States Code) shall not be required to execute agreements under this clause.
(ii)

Protection of information
Information that is obtained or reviewed by the review panel shall not constitute a waiver of the protections applicable to the information under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the “Freedom of Information Act”). Members of the review panel shall protect such information to the extent permitted under applicable law.
(iii)

Protection of proprietary information and trade secrets
Members of the review panel shall protect proprietary information, trade secrets, and other information otherwise exempt under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, to the extent permitted under applicable law.
(7)

Inapplicability of FACA
The review panel shall not be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the “Federal Advisory Committee Act”).
(8)

Process improvements
Not later than 1 year after the submission of the recommendations under paragraph (4), the Administrator shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the status of any ongoing actions in response to such recommendations, including the status of implementation of each of the recommendations of the review panel, if any, with which the Administrator concurs.
(b)

Non-Concurrence with recommendations
Not later than 6 months after submission of the recommendations under subsection (a)(4), with respect to each recommendation of the review panel with which the Administrator does not concur, if any, the Administrator shall publish on the website of the FAA and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed explanation for such determination, including if the Administrator believes implementation of such recommendation would not improve aviation safety.
4.

FAA’s safety risk management processes
(a)

In general
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall develop and implement effective processes for performing root cause analyses to identify opportunities for improvement in executing the regulatory oversight responsibilities of the FAA.
(b)

Briefing
Not later than 30 days after the date described in subsection (a), the Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the processes implemented under such subsection.
5.

FAA production audits
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall revise the production audit procedures of the FAA to—
(1)
provide not more than 7 days advance notice to a production certificate holder or supplier that the FAA will conduct an audit of the holder’s or supplier’s facilities; and
(2)
direct inspectors to audit systemic compliance with quality system elements identified in section 21.137 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, in addition to compliance with individual requirements of the holder’s quality system.