[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 108 (Monday, July 22, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8046-H8049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AIRLINE PILOT HIRING AND SAFETY ACT OF 1996

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3536) to amend title 49, United States Code, to require an 
air carrier to request and receive certain records before allowing an 
individual to begin service as a pilot, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3536

       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 ``Airline Pilot Hiring and 
     Safety Act of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATIONS OF PILOTS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 447 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended by redesignating section 44723 as section 
     44724 and by inserting after section 44722 the following:

     ``Sec. 44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot 
       records

       ``(a) Pilot Records.--
       ``(1) In general.--Before allowing an individual to begin 
     service as a pilot, an air carrier shall request and receive 
     the following information:
       ``(A) FAA records.--From the Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration, information pertaining to the 
     individual that is maintained by the Administrator 
     concerning--
       ``(i) current airman certificates (including airman medical 
     certificates) and associated type ratings, including any 
     limitations thereon; and
       ``(ii) summaries of legal enforcement actions which have 
     resulted in a finding by the Administrator of a violation of 
     this title or a regulation prescribed or order issued under 
     this title and which have not been subsequently overturned.
       ``(B) Air carrier records.--From any air carrier (or the 
     trustee in bankruptcy for the air carrier) that has employed 
     the individual at any time during the 5-year period preceding 
     the date of the employment application of the individual--
       ``(i) records pertaining to the individual that are 
     maintained by an air carrier (other than records relating to 
     flight time, duty time, or rest time) under regulations set 
     forth in--

       ``(I) section 121.683 of title 14, Code of Federal 
     Regulations;
       ``(II) paragraph (A) of section VI, appendix I, part 121 of 
     such title;
       ``(III) paragraph (A) of section IV, appendix J, part 121 
     of such title;
       ``(IV) section 125.401 of such title; and
       ``(V) section 135.63(a)(4) of such title; and

       ``(ii) other records pertaining to the individual that are 
     maintained by the air carrier concerning--

       ``(I) the training, qualifications, proficiency, or 
     professional competence of the individual, including comments 
     and evaluations made by a check airman designated in 
     accordance with section 121.411, 125.295, or 135.337 of such 
     title;
       ``(II) any disciplinary action relating to the training, 
     qualifications, proficiency, or professional competence of 
     the individual which was taken by the air carrier with 
     respect to the individual and which was not subsequently 
     overturned by the air carrier; and
       ``(III) any release from employment or resignation, 
     termination, or disqualification with respect to employment.

       ``(C) National driver register records.--From the chief 
     driver licensing official of a State, information concerning 
     the motor vehicle driving record of the individual in 
     accordance with section 30305(b)(7) of this title.
       ``(2) 5-year reporting period.--A person is not required to 
     furnish a record in response to a request made under 
     paragraph (1) if the record was entered more than 5 years 
     before the date of the request, unless the information is 
     about a revocation or suspension of an airman certificate or 
     motor vehicle license that is still in effect on the date of 
     the request.
       ``(3) Requirement to maintain records.--The Administrator 
     and each air carrier (or the trustee in bankruptcy for the 
     air carrier) shall maintain pilot records described in 
     paragraph (1) for a period of at least 5 years.
       ``(4) Written consent for release.--Neither the 
     Administrator nor any air carrier may furnish a record in 
     response to a request made under paragraph (1) (A) or (B) 
     without first obtaining the written consent of the individual 
     whose records are being requested.
       ``(5) Deadline for provision of information.--A person who 
     receives a request for records under paragraph (1) shall 
     furnish, on or before the 30th day following the date of 
     receipt of the request (or on or before the 30th day 
     following the date of obtaining the written consent of the 
     individual in the case of a request under paragraph (1) (A) 
     or (B)), all of the records maintained by the person that 
     have been requested.
       ``(6) Right to receive notice and copy of any record 
     furnished.--A person who receives a request for records under 
     paragraph (1) shall provide to the individual whose records 
     have been requested--
       ``(A) on or before the 20th day following the date of 
     receipt of the request, written notice of the request and of 
     the individual's right to receive a copy of such records; and
       ``(B) in accordance with paragraph (9), a copy of such 
     records, if requested by the individual.
       ``(7) Reasonable charges for processing requests and 
     furnishing copies.--A person who receives a request for 
     records under paragraph (1) or (9) may establish a reasonable 
     charge for the cost of processing the request and furnishing 
     copies of the requested records.
       ``(8) Right to correct inaccuracies.--An air carrier that 
     receives the records of an individual under paragraph (1)(B) 
     shall provide the individual with a reasonable opportunity to 
     submit written comments to correct any inaccuracies contained 
     in the records before making a final hiring decision with 
     respect to the individual.
       ``(9) Right of pilot to review certain records.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of a law or agreement, an 
     air carrier shall, upon written request from a pilot employed 
     by such carrier, make available, within a reasonable time of 
     the request, to the pilot for review any and all employment 
     records referred to in paragraph (1)(B) pertaining to the 
     pilot's employment.
       ``(10) Privacy protections.--
       ``(A) Use of records.--An air carrier or employee of an air 
     carrier that receives the records of an individual under 
     paragraph (1) may use such records only to assess the 
     qualifications of the individual in deciding whether or not 
     to hire the individual as a pilot.
       ``(B) Required actions.--Subject to subsection (c), the air 
     carrier or employee of an air carrier shall take such actions 
     as may be necessary to protect the privacy of the pilot and 
     the confidentiality of the records, including ensuring that 
     the information contained in the records is not divulged to 
     any individual that is not directly involved in the hiring 
     decision.
       ``(C) Individuals not hired.--If the individual is not 
     hired, the air carrier shall destroy or return the records of 
     the individual received under paragraph (1); except that the 
     air carrier may retain any records needed to defend its 
     decisions not to hire the individual.
       ``(11) Standard forms.--The Administrator may promulgate--
       ``(A) standard forms which may be used by an air carrier to 
     request the records of an individual under paragraph (1); and
       ``(B) standard forms which may be used by a person who 
     receives a request for records under paragraph (1) to obtain 
     the written consent of the individual and to inform the 
     individual of the request and of the individual's right to 
     receive a copy of any records furnished in response to the 
     request.
       ``(12) Regulations.--The Administrator may prescribe such 
     regulations as may be necessary--
       ``(A) to protect the personal privacy of any individual 
     whose records are requested under paragraph (1) and to 
     protect the confidentiality of those records;
       ``(B) to preclude the further dissemination of records 
     received under paragraph (1) by the air carrier who requested 
     them; and
       ``(C) to ensure prompt compliance with any request under 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(b) Limitation on Liability; Preemption of State and 
     Local Law.--
       ``(1) Limitation on liability.--No action or proceeding may 
     be brought by or on behalf of an individual who is seeking a 
     position with an air carrier as a pilot against--
       ``(A) the air carrier for requesting the individual's 
     records under subsection (a)(1);
       ``(B) a person who has complied with such request and in 
     the case of a request under subsection (a)(1) (A) or (B) has 
     obtained the written consent of the individual;
       ``(C) a person who has entered information contained in the 
     individual's records; or
       ``(D) an agent or employee of a person described in 
     subparagraph (A) or (B);

     in the nature of an action for defamation, invasion of 
     privacy, negligence, interference with contract, or 
     otherwise, or under any Federal, State, or local law with 
     respect to the furnishing or use of such records in 
     accordance with subsection (a).
       ``(2) Preemption.--No State or political subdivision 
     thereof may enact, prescribe, issue, continue in effect, or 
     enforce any law, regulation, standard, or other provision 
     having the force and effect of law that prohibits, penalizes, 
     or imposes liability for furnishing or using records in 
     accordance with subsection (a).
       ``(3) Provision of knowingly false information.--Paragraphs 
     (1) and (2) shall not apply with respect to a person that 
     furnishes in response to a request made under subsection 
     (a)(1) information that the person knows is false.
       ``(c) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in 
     this section shall be construed as precluding the 
     availability of the records of a pilot in an investigation or 
     other proceeding concerning an accident or incident conducted 
     by the Secretary, the National Transportation Safety Board, 
     or a court.''.
       (b) Chapter Analysis Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 
     447 of such title is amended by striking

``44723. Annual report.''

     and inserting

``44723. Preemployment review of prospective pilot records.
``44724. Annual report.''.


[[Page H8047]]


       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 30305(b) of such title 
     is amended by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8) 
     and by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
       ``(7) An individual who is employed or seeking employment 
     by an air carrier as a pilot may request the chief driver 
     licensing official of a State to provide information about 
     the individual under subsection (a) of this section to the 
     individual's prospective employer or to the Secretary of 
     Transportation. Information may not be obtained from the 
     Register under this paragraph if the information was entered 
     in the Register more than 5 years before the request, unless 
     the information is about a revocation or suspension still in 
     effect on the date of the request.''.
       (d) Civil Penalties.--Section 46301 of such title is 
     amended by inserting ``44723,'' after ``44716,'' in each of 
     subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), (d)(2), and (f)(1)(A)(i).
       (e) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to any air carrier hiring an individual as a 
     pilot on or after the 30th day after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. RULEMAKING TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PILOT 
                   QUALIFICATIONS.

       Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration shall issue a notice of a proposed rulemaking 
     to establish--
       (1) minimum standards and criteria for preemployment 
     screening tests measuring the biographical factors 
     (psychomotor coordination), general intellectual capacity, 
     instrument and mechanical comprehension, and physical fitness 
     of an applicant for employment as a pilot by an air carrier; 
     and
       (2) minimum standards and criteria for pilot training 
     facilities which will be licensed by the Administrator and 
     which will assure that pilots trained at such facilities meet 
     the preemployment screening standards and criteria described 
     in paragraph (1).

     SEC. 4. SHARING ARMED SERVICES RECORDS.

       (a) Study.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, 
     shall conduct a study to determine the relevance and 
     appropriateness of requiring the Secretary of Defense to 
     provide to an air carrier, upon request in connection with 
     the hiring of an individual as a pilot, records of the 
     individual concerning the individual's training, 
     qualifications, proficiency, professional competence, or 
     terms of discharge from the Armed Forces.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to 
     Congress a report on the results of the study.

     SEC. 5. MINIMUM FLIGHT TIME.

       (a) Study.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration shall conduct a study to determine whether 
     current minimum flight time requirements applicable to 
     individuals seeking employment as a pilot with an air carrier 
     are sufficient to ensure public safety.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to 
     Congress a report on the results of the study.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan].
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June 6, the House Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee reported the Airline Pilot Hiring and Safety 
Act, H.R. 3536, by voice vote.
  H.R. 3536 will go a long way in helping the airline industry weed out 
poor pilots--and it will make sure that these pilots are kept out of 
the system.
  The legislation requires airlines to share the records of pilot job 
applicants before they are hired.
  These records include physical exams, drug tests, alcohol tests, 
training records, proficiency and route checks, and others. It also 
requires airlines to request the motor vehicle driving records of the 
pilot from the National Register. None of this information can be 
released without the pilot's prior written approval.
  Over the last 7 years, as a result of airplane accidents involving 
fatalities, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended to 
the FAA, on at least three different occasions, that pilot performance 
records should be shared.
  Since 1987, substandard airline pilots have contributed to several 
fatal plane crashes, killing hundreds of people.
  Among these pilots, one failed three flight tests in 6 years, one had 
been fired five times for poor performance, two had substance abuse 
problems, and the list goes on.
  The Aviation Subcommittee, of which I chair held 2 days of hearings 
on this issue just this past December. From those hearings there was 
general consensus that the sharing of pilot records should be done.
  H.R. 3536 provides airlines near total immunity from defamation 
lawsuits. The only exception would be if the airline knowingly places 
false information about a pilot in his or her record.
  As I have said on several occasions, I believe that 99.9 percent of 
the pilots who fly today are very good pilots. But, unfortunately, some 
poor pilots have fallen through the cracks.
  Again, on a bipartisan basis, we worked to craft a bill that I feel 
confident every Member of the House can support.
  H.R. 3536 has several cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. It is 
also supported by the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Shuster, as 
well as the ranking members of both the full committee and the Aviation 
Subcommittee, Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Lipinski.
  It is a good bill, a bipartisan bill, and it will help our make our 
safe aviation system even safer. I urge Members to support its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3536, the Airline Pilot 
Hiring and Safety Act.
  This bill will require an airline to obtain the records of a pilot 
from the pilot's previous employer before hiring that pilot. I think 
it's clear to all of us why this makes sense. We learned from a 1994 
crash in which the pilot flying that aircraft had been forced out by 
another carrier because of poor performance. At the hearing the 
Aviation Subcommittee held on this issue that December, there was 
virtually unanimous agreement that a system needed to be set up for 
airlines to share pilot records which protected the rights of both the 
carriers and the pilots.
  After considerable effort and through the leadership of Chairman 
Duncan, we have found the appropriate balance. Neither the carriers nor 
the pilots love this bill. But in the spirit of compromise we have 
found a middle ground which I believe best serves the interests of the 
flying public.
  I do want to thank Chairman Duncan and Chairman Shuster for working 
so closely with our side on this legislation. They have been very 
receptive to improvements we have suggested and the end result is a 
bill that we can all support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this important safety legislation.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Heineman], one of the main people in 
this Congress who is the biggest mover and shaker on this particular 
piece of legislation. He has been in on this from the very beginning 
and deserves a great deal of credit for this legislation.
  (Mr. HEINEMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HEINEMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H.R. 
3536, the Duncan-Heineman Airline Pilot Hiring Safety Act.
  Mr. Speaker, on December 13, 1994, tragedy struck commuter Flight 
3379. What began as a routine commuter flight from Greensboro, NC to 
the Raleigh-Durham International Airport--in my own congressional 
district--sadly turned to tragedy.
  On that evening, the pilot of Flight 3379 attempted to land his twin 
engine commuter plane in the fog and rain, but because of a tragic 
miscalculation, the plane began spinning out of control and crashed on 
a hillside near the airport.
  That disaster took the lives of the pilot, his copilot, and 13 of 20 
passengers. Federal investigators learned that the crash was a result 
of pilot error. To make matters worse, the pilot of Flight 3379 had a 
history of similar pilot errors, and in fact he had been recommended 
for dismissal by another airline which previously employed him. His 
questionable training records from that previous airline were not 
available to his new employer when he was hired.
  As USA Today reported:

       ``If [the pilot's] training records had been shared, 15 
     people might not have died on December 13, 1994, when a 
     [commuter] plane crashed near Raleigh-Durham, N.C.''

  To quote further from the article:

       ``The FAA does not require airlines to verify flight 
     experience; to check FAA records

[[Page H8048]]

     for accidents, violations, warnings or fines, or to check for 
     criminal records.'' (USA Today, September 26, 1995).

  Mr. Speaker, on the 1-year anniversary of this terrible crash, as the 
families of the victims struggled to make sense of the tragedy, I 
introduced legislation to make sure that this kind of accident would 
never happen again. I testified before the House Aviation Subcommittee, 
and in the following months, I worked closely with my good friend, 
Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan, to develop the bipartisan 
legislation before us today.
  This bill, the ``Duncan-Heineman Airline Pilot Hiring Safety Act'' 
will require airlines that are preparing to hire a new pilot request 
certain safety records, some of which are maintained by the FAA, and 
many of which are maintained by the airlines themselves.
  This bill provides some necessary protections from lawsuits for 
airlines that share safety records as required by law. The bill also 
gives pilots the opportunity to check the accuracy of any records and 
requires that pilots give their written approval before records are 
released.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, a bipartisan bill that will go a 
long way toward making our airlines even safer. I want to thank 
Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan and Transportation Committee 
and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster for their invaluable help in 
developing this critically needed legislation and bringing it to the 
floor. I also want to commend Representative Jim Oberstar, the ranking 
member of the Transportation Committee, and Representative William 
Lipinski, the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee for their 
hard work in helping to craft this bipartisan bill.
  I urge Members to support H.R. 3536.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], Mr. Aviation.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those very kind 
remarks.
  Mindful of Adlai Stevenson's injunction that it is all right to hear 
praise of oneself as long as they do not inhale it, the two aviation 
leaders in this Congress are the gentleman from Tennessee, the chairman 
of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], 
ranking members of the subcommittee, and I am very grateful for the 
splendid work they have done in carrying on the bipartisan tradition of 
our subcommittee on aviation.
  This legislation plugs a hole in the aviation safety system to insure 
that we take every step to make that system as safe as it can possibly 
be. Again our two leaders on this aviation subcommittee have worked in 
a bipartisan fashion, very carefully and with great legislative 
craftsmanship to address, as the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] 
well put it, a measure and an issue that does not please either the 
pilot community or the airline community. It will please, and it should 
please, the traveling public.
  This is an issue that we have dealt with in the aviation subcommittee 
over a period of 3 or 4 years, drawing upon a recommendation several 
times issued by the National Transportation Safety Board that the 
transfer of training and employment records of pilots should be done 
and should be made available from one airline to another airline when a 
pilot is being considered for employment, changing employees, and it 
should seem like a very straightforward and simple action. But in fact 
it is not. It has taken us quite a long time to get to this point.
  It is actually a very thorny thicket of issues that requires a 
balance of interests while insuring that the safety benefits of 
transferring those records are achieved, and the issues that have 
arisen over a period of several years are privacy for the pilots, 
liability for pilots and for airlines, the employer employee 
relationship. But I think all of those questions are met very 
responsibly and very effectively in this legislation.
  The National Transportation Safety Board has found in a number of 
accident investigations that the pilot involved had been dismissed from 
previous employers for poor performance. But that history, those 
records, Mr. Speaker, were not known to the current employer. Had it 
been known, the pilot who caused or contributed to such accidents would 
not have been hired, in all likelihood, or at least the airline doing 
hiring would have been able to know about the background and do further 
checks and do further investigation of the qualifications of that 
applicant, and in some situations, very likely, accidents could have 
been avoided.
  I expect that upon enactment and enforcement of this legislation, 
that another category of accidents will be eliminated, specifically 
accidents caused by pilots who have previously been judged to be such 
poor pilots that they had to be terminated by their airline employer.
  The chairman has thoroughly described how the bill establishes a 
system of record sharing with protections for pilots. The gentleman 
from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] has elaborated on it. But I just want to 
emphasize how important it is that the pilots have the ability to 
correct their records, that they will know under this legislation when 
their record are being transferred and that they will have the ability 
to seek damages against a person in their former employer airline who 
may falsify a pilot's records. Those are very important privacy and 
personal protections for pilots. They were right to be concerned about 
those matters. Our committee has been right to address those issues and 
has addressed them very effectively and soundly in this legislation.

  Section 3 of the bill directs a rulemaking to establish new minimum 
standards for pilot qualifications, another issue that pilots were 
concerned about. Hiring in the airline industry is very cyclical, given 
the economics of aviation. When there is low demand for travel, there 
is low demand for pilots. Airlines can be choosy about who they select, 
and they can and do pick pilots with more experience and more training. 
When demand is high, the airlines, on simple supply and demand 
purposes, hire pilots for less stringent criteria.
  This bill will require the initiation of a regulatory proceeding to 
determine the appropriate standards, to screen pilots for psychomotor 
coordination, general intellectual capacity, instrument and mechanical 
comprehension, physical fitness.
  The bill will also establish minimum standards for pilot training 
facilities to ensure that pilots will meet the new preemployment 
standards.
  The bill also requires a study of whether existing minimum flight 
time requirements are sufficient to ensure safety in today's 
increasingly sophisticated and complicated aircraft.
  This bill is far greater than just transfer of records and the very 
important issue of one airline knowing a pilot's complete history. It 
sets standards for a range of issues that I just described, it will 
elevate the whole quality of airmanship in today's highly complicated 
pilot and cockpit environment, and I think this legislation, I say to 
my two colleagues, does a great service to the traveling public and to 
all of aviation for the future. It is a quantum leap forward, and I 
commend both the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] and the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] on the splendid job they have 
done in bringing this matter forward. I urge its enactment, and I hope 
the other body will act quickly upon it.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers at this time, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am going to conclude here, and I simply want to make a couple of 
points.
  First, when the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] and I referred 
to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar] as Mr. Aviation, there 
is no jest in that whatsoever. We all sincerely believe that he knows 
more about aviation than any person we have run into in this country or 
in any country in the world. So we do not in any way, shape, or form 
make light of that. We are bestowing upon him a title that we all 
sincerely believe.
  Second, I want to make the point that this bill really was a very 
difficult bill to work out a reasonable compromise on. We had the 
pilots on one side, the air carriers on another side, and I salute the 
chairman for his steady hand in bringing us to an outstanding 
compromise.
  But, in all honesty, on this particular piece of legislation I salute 
the staff

[[Page H8049]]

members on both sides who had to put up with the arguments coming forth 
from the pilots and from the carriers, and I know that that was no easy 
job listening to them repeatedly, and for the legislation that they 
developed along with the Members of the committee I strongly salute 
them.
  So once again I say I support this bill enthusiastically, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
simply echo the remarks of the ranking member, the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Lipinski]. In fact, a few minutes ago I whispered to Dave 
Schaffer, our very fine staff director for the subcommittee, that I 
thought many people watching the discussion on the Child Pilot Safety 
Act and the Airline Pilot Hiring and Safety Act, these 2 bills, would 
not fully realize that if we had gone too far in either direction on 
either one of these bills, we could have turned either or both of these 
bills into something very, very controversial, and instead everyone has 
worked together in a very bipartisan and a very cordial fashion to 
fashion legislation that I think merits the support of all of our 
colleagues. And I, too, like Mr. Lipinski, want to thank the staff for 
some outstanding work on these two bills, and also thank once again the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski] and the gentleman from Minnesota 
[Mr. Oberstar], and I urge passage of this bill.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 3536.
  Over the past 8 years, there have been eight commercial airplane 
crashes--all but one on small airlines. According to the National 
Transportation Safety Board, five of these crashes are attributable to 
pilot error. In at least four of these fatal accidents, the employing 
airline was not aware that the pilots had documented histories of poor 
performance with other airlines that had employed them.
  One of these crashes occurred on December 13, 1994, when American 
Eagle flight 3379 on route from Greensboro, NC to Raleigh-Durham 
crashed four miles short of the runway while attempting an instrument 
controlled landing in poor weather conditions. Thirteen passengers and 
the two crew members were killed.
  The pilot, Capt. Mike Hillis, was hired by American Eagle just 4 days 
after he was forced to quit by his previous employer because of poor 
piloting skills. American Eagle had no knowledge of his prior poor 
performance ratings.
  One of the passengers who died on flight 3379 was William Gibson of 
Kernersville, NC. Mr. Gibson's mom, Mary Ann Gibson and his sister, 
Susan Gibson Berson, testified before the Aviation subcommittee last 
December. The Gibsons are residents of Warren, OH in my congressional 
district. Mary Ann's husband, Howard Gibson, passed away on January 20. 
Howard was also here when his wife testified. I can't think of a more 
fitting tribute to this beautiful family than to get this legislation 
enacted into law.
  According to the NTSB, the probable cause of the American Eagle 
flight 3379 accident was pilot error. American Eagle failed to 
identify, document, monitor, and remedy deficiencies in pilot 
performance and training.
  While the FAA requires airlines to conduct security checks of pilot 
applicants, there is no FAA requirement to verify flight experience, 
determine an applicant's safety/enforcement history, pilot training and 
performance in the pilot's previous position, or any criminal or 
driving history.
  H.R. 3536 requires an airline to obtain the records of a pilot from 
the pilot's previous employer before hiring that pilot. The bill 
requires airlines to keep pilot records for up to 5 years, and allows 
pilots full access to their records and notice of whenever records are 
being provided. The bill also provides immunity to airlines unless the 
airline knowingly lies about the pilot's record.
  I would like to note for the record that the airline pilots have 
raised some legitimate concerns about this bill. They argue that many 
pilot training records are subjective, and requiring record sharing and 
background checks will result in the sanitization of pilot records to 
protect pilots' careers. This, they argue, would have the effect of 
making the system less safe.
  While I understand the pilots' concerns, I believe the bill before 
strikes a reasonable balance between safety and privacy. And the bill 
does directly address another concern the pilot's raised by requiring 
the FAA to issue a proposed rule within 18 months establishing minimum 
standards for pilot qualifications.
  The airline pilots are right on target when they note that one way to 
address the safety issue is for the FAA to standardize and tighten 
pilot hiring standards.
  I would also repeat that the bill allows pilots to sue airlines if an 
airline lied about a pilot. The bill also includes clear language 
safeguarding the privacy of pilot records.
  On balance, this is a good bill and I urge all Members to support it.
  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
Airline Pilot Hiring and Safety Act, H.R. 3536, which we are 
considering today. This bill requires an airline to perform a 
background check on a pilot before that individual can be hired. It 
also requires the FAA to establish minimum standards for pilot 
qualifications, and work with the Department of Defense to determine if 
military pilot records should be available to civilian airlines seeking 
to hire former military pilots. Privacy safeguards are incorporated 
into the bill.
  Without question, the vast majority of airline pilots are well-
qualified individuals with impeccable records. Nevertheless, pilot 
error occurs and there have been accidents because the pilot's flying 
history was not known to the current employer. A tragic case in point 
was the American Eagle flight 3379 crash on December 13, 1994 near 
Raleigh-Durham Airport. This accident took the lives of the 15 people, 
including my Long Island constituent, Kelly Ciulla. The National 
Transportation Safety Board found that pilot error was the probable 
cause. Disturbingly, the pilot has a history of poor performance with 
errors similar to those that contributed to this crash and was forced 
to quit his previous job with another airline because of his poor 
piloting skills. However, American Eagle was not aware of the pilot's 
flight record because this information is not traditionally shared 
among the airlines.
  Following investigations involving pilot error, the NTSB has 
repeatedly recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration require 
substantive background checks on pilot applicants, but the agency has 
failed to do so. The consequences have been tragic and needlessly so.
  The airlines must know that their pilots are highly qualified, and 
the flying public deserves no less. At the request of Kelly Ciulla's 
mother, Maureen Ryan, I cosponsored a similar bill introduced by 
Congressman Heineman in whose congressional district the flight 3379 
crash occurred. H.R. 3536 before us today has evolved from the bill. 
Requiring pilot background checks is purely common sense and not 
without precedent in other industries. The railroads, trucking 
companies, defense contractors, and many school districts follow this 
practice when they hire an employee.
  I commend the leadership for bringing this H.R. 3536 to the floor, 
and I urge my colleagues to support this long overdue legislation that 
will save lives.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coble). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3536, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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