[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 150 (Friday, October 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11566-S11567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE FAA RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 
                                  1997

                                 ______
                                 

                 GORTON (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 1544

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. GORTON (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr.  Hollings, and Mr. Ford) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by them to the bill 
(H.R. 1271) to authorize the Federal Aviation Administration's 
research, engineering, and development programs for fiscal years 1998 
through 2000, and for other purposes; as follows:

       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``FAA Research, Engineering, 
     and Development Authorization Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (2)(J);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3)(J) 
     and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) for fiscal year 1998, $229,673,000, including--
       ``(A) $16,379,000 for system development and infrastructure 
     projects and activities;
       ``(B) $27,089,000 for capacity and air traffic management 
     technology projects and activities;
       ``(C) $23,362,000 for communications, navigation, and 
     surveillance projects and activities;
       ``(D) $16,600,000 for weather projects and activities;
       ``(E) $7,854,000 for airport technology projects and 
     activities;
       ``(F) $49,202,000 for aircraft safety technology projects 
     and activities;
       ``(G) $56,045,000 for system security technology projects 
     and activities;
       ``(H) $27,137,000 for human factors and aviation medicine 
     projects and activities;
       ``(I) $2,891,000 for environment and energy projects and 
     activities; and
       ``(J) $3,114,000 for innovative/cooperative research 
     projects and activities.''.

     SEC. 3. RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM INVOLVING UNDERGRADUATE 
                   STUDENTS.

       (a) Program.--Section 48102 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(h) Research Grants Program Involving Undergraduate 
     Students.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration shall establish a program to utilize 
     undergraduate and technical colleges in research on subjects 
     of relevance to the Federal Aviation Administration. Grants 
     may be awarded under this subsection for--
       ``(A) research projects to be carried out at primarily 
     undergraduate institutions and technical colleges;
       ``(B) research projects that combine research at primarily 
     undergraduate institutions and technical colleges with other 
     research supported by the Federal Aviation Administration; or
       ``(C) research on future training requirements on projected 
     changes in regulatory requirements for aircraft maintenance 
     and power plant licensees.
       ``(2) Notice of Criteria.--Within 6 months after the date 
     of the enactment of the FAA Research, Engineering, and 
     Development Authorization Act of 1997, the Administrator of 
     the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish and 
     publish in the Federal Register criteria for the submittal of 
     proposals for a grant under this subsection, and for the 
     awarding of such grants.
       ``(3) Principal criteria.--The principal criteria for the 
     awarding of grants under this subsection shall be--
       ``(A) the relevance of the proposed research to technical 
     research needs identified by the Federal Aviation 
     Administration;
       ``(B) the scientific and technical merit of the proposed 
     research; and
       ``(C) the potential for participation by undergraduate 
     students in the proposed research.
       ``(4) Competitive, merit-based evaluation.--Grants shall be 
     awarded under this subsection on the basis of evaluation of 
     proposals through a competitive, merit-based process.''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 48102(a) of 
     title 49, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is 
     further amended by inserting ``, of which $750,000 shall be 
     for carrying out the grant program established under 
     subsection (h)'' after ``projects and activities'' in 
     paragraph (4)(J).

     SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.

       No sums are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for 
     fiscal year 1998 for the Federal Aviation Administration 
     Research, Engineering, and Development account, unless such 
     sums are specifically authorized to be appropriated by the 
     amendments made by this Act.

     SEC. 5. NOTICE OF REPROGRAMMING.

       If any funds authorized by the amendments made by this Act 
     are subject to a reprogramming action that requires notice to 
     be provided to the Appropriations Committees of the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate, notice of such action shall 
     concurrently be provided to the Committees on Science and 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate.

     SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.

       With the year 2000 fast approaching, it is the sense of 
     Congress that the Federal Aviation Administration should--
       (1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit date-
     related problems in its computer systems to ensure that those 
     systems continue to operate effectively in the year 2000 and 
     beyond;
       (2) assess immediately the extent of the risk to the 
     operations of the Federal Aviation Administration posed by 
     the problems referred to in paragraph (1), and plan and 
     budget for achieving Year 2000 compliance for all of its 
     mission-critical systems; and

[[Page S11567]]

       (3) develop contingency plans for those systems that the 
     Federal Aviation Administration is unable to correct in time.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise to join Senator Gorton, Senator 
Hollings, and Senator Ford, in submitting an amendment to the bill 
(H.R. 1271) the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering, 
and Development Authorization Act of 1997. This bill would authorize 
the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] Research, Engineering, and 
Development [RE&D] program. The program funds projects to improve 
facilities, equipment, techniques, and procedures so that our Nation's 
aviation system can operate safety and efficiently.
  The FAA's research and development activities help to provide the 
advancements and innovations that are needed to keep the U.S. aviation 
system the best in the world. Our Nation's ability to have a strong 
aviation-related research and development program directly impacts our 
success in the global market and our standard of living. Investment in 
the FAA RE&D program will fund projects to determine how limited 
airport and airspace capacity can meet ever increasing demands, 
aviation security can be improved, and flight safety concerns can be 
addressed.
  The FAA has divided its RE&D program into nine key areas. These 
include capacity and air traffic management technology; communications, 
navigation and surveillance systems; weather; airport technology; 
aircraft safety technology; system security technology; human factors 
and aviation medicine; environment and energy; and innovative/
cooperative research. The FAA funds various projects in these nine 
areas.
  Ongoing or planned FAA RE&D projects will provide important benefits 
for the U.S. aviation system and its users. The aircraft safety 
technology area, for example, includes continued research on improving 
passenger evacuation in the event of an aircraft accident. The system 
security technology area will include efforts to develop more effective 
explosives detection technologies. In addition, several recommendations 
of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security will 
involve the FAA RE&D program, including modernizing the Nation's air 
traffic control system.
  I strongly support the FAA's efforts under the RE&D program to work 
in partnership with public and private entities. These partnerships 
enable the FAA to gain expertise in specialized areas of technology, 
and to leverage limited Federal funds. The FAA, for example, now has 
more than 250 agreements for research and development partnerships with 
research organizations, foreign governments, and industry consortia. In 
addition, the FAA has established several university-based research 
centers.
  This bill also asks the FAA to address problems that the Agency may 
face if the software in any of its various computer systems 
malfunctions when they hit the year 2000. In particular, we cannot 
afford to have air traffic control systems affected by this problem. I 
understand that the FAA is behind schedule in determining which of its 
systems are affected by the Year 2000 problem. The time to make this 
determination, and then make necessary software modifications, is 
growing short. That is why the bill includes a Sense of the Congress 
that the FAA should, among other things, develop contingency plans for 
those systems that the Agency is unable to correct in time.
  The FAA RE&D program is a key component of the Agency's total ongoing 
efforts to provide the most safe and efficient aviation system 
possible. I would strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this bill to authorize the program.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my distinguished 
colleagues, Senator McCain, Senator Hollings, and Senator Ford, in 
submitting an amendment to the bill (H.R. 1271) the Federal Aviation 
Administration Research, Engineering, and Development Authorization Act 
of 1997. The bill authorizes the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] 
Research, Engineering, and Development [RE&D] account for fiscal year 
1998. The FAA RE&D account finances projects to improve the safety, 
security, capacity, and efficiency of the U.S. aviation system. The 
authorization for the RE&D account expired at the end of September.
  Recognizing the key role that research and development efforts play 
in improving our Nation's aviation system, the Congress over time has 
strengthened the FAA RE&D program. In 1982, the Congress determined 
that a comprehensive research and development program was necessary to 
help ensure that the FAA could maintain a safe and efficient air 
traffic system. In 1988, the Congress established the FAA RE&D Advisory 
Board to help the FAA set research priorities. After the terrorist 
bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the Congress approved the Aviation Safety 
Improvement Act of 1990, which required the FAA to support activities 
to accelerate the research and development of new technologies to 
protect against terrorism.
  This bill would authorize the FAA to finance important research and 
development efforts. These efforts include developing new fire-
resistant insulation materials for use on aircraft. Fires are a major 
threat to aircraft, and this new insulation is intended to give 
passengers additional time to evacuate if an accident occurs. The FAA 
also has ongoing research to develop procedures for enhancing terminal 
area capacity and safety.
  It is noteworthy that the FAA works with other Federal agencies and 
the private sector to leverage RE&D funds. The FAA, for example, has 
cooperative arrangements with the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration and the Department of Defense. The FAA is also currently 
working with more than 80 private industry partners on 15 major 
technology development projects. Working with private industry, for 
example, the FAA recently completed development of a new concrete foam 
material that will safely stop a large airliner that overshoots a 
runway because of problems during take off or landing. In addition to 
leveraging Federal funds, such partnerships facilitate the 
dissemination of research results to the private sector where they can 
be used to produce commercial products that will benefit the users of 
the U.S. aviation system.
  The bill includes a Sense of the Congress concerning the so-called 
Year 2000 problem as it relates to the FAA. Simply stated, the problem 
stems from the inability of some software to recognize the change from 
the year 1999 to the year 2000. In these cases, software code must be 
rewritten to prevent computer systems from crashing. Because the FAA 
has many systems, including various air traffic control systems, the 
bill states that the FAA should assess immediately the extent to which 
its systems will be affected, and to develop a plan and budget to make 
needed corrections.
  Funding appropriate research and development projects today can help 
to achieve a safer and more efficient air transportation system 
tomorrow. The bill that I am introducing authorizes this funding. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

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