[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2042-S2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3730. Mr. VITTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 3679 proposed by Mr. McConnell (for Mr. Thune (for himself 
and Mr. Nelson)) to the bill H.R. 636, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to permanently extend increased expensing limitations, and 
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. ENFORCEMENT OF CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Civil Actions Authorized.--Section 46101(a) is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5)(A) If a complaint filed under this subsection alleges 
     that an air carrier required to hold a certificate under 
     section 41101(a) or

[[Page S2043]]

     exempted from such requirement under section 40109 is not a 
     citizen of the United States, and the Secretary of 
     Transportation, the Under Secretary for Policy, or the 
     Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
     dismisses the complaint without a hearing or fails to resolve 
     the complaint on the merits within 180 days after such 
     complaint is filed, the complainant may bring a civil action 
     against the air carrier in a district court of the United 
     States pursuant to section 46108.
       ``(B) A civil action authorized under subparagraph (A) 
     shall not be subject to dismissal or stay on the grounds that 
     administrative remedies have not been exhausted or that the 
     action is subject to the primary jurisdiction of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration.
       ``(C) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to require 
     a person to file a complaint pursuant to paragraph (1) before 
     bringing a civil action pursuant to section 46108.''.
       (b) Remedies.--Section 46108 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``An interested person'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(a) In General.--An interested person'';
       (2) in subsection (a), as designated, by striking ``of this 
     title'' and all that follows and inserting ``or to enforce 
     the terms of an exemption issued under section 40109.''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Defendants.--A person that controls an air carrier 
     required to hold a certificate under section 41101(a) or 
     exempted from such requirement under section 40109 may be 
     named as a defendant in an action under this section if such 
     person is not a citizen of the United States.
       ``(c) Liability.--A person described in subsection (b)--
       ``(1) shall be jointly and severally liable for any damages 
     suffered by a citizen of the United States as a result of the 
     person's failure to comply with section 41101(a); and
       ``(2) shall be subject to injunctive relief.
       ``(d) Venue.--A civil action under this section may be 
     brought in the judicial district in which any defendant does 
     business or in the judicial district in which the violation 
     occurred.''.
       (c) Penalties for Violations of Citizenship Control 
     Requirements.--Section 46301(a), as amended by section 
     2133(b)(1), is further amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``(except as provided 
     in paragraph (7))'' after ``chapter 411''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) Penalties for Violations of Citizenship Control 
     Requirements.--(A) A person that controls an air carrier 
     required to hold a certificate under section 41101(a) or to 
     be exempted from such requirement under section 40109 and is 
     not a citizen of the United States--
       ``(i) shall be liable to the United States Government for a 
     civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day or each 
     flight during which the person is not in compliance with 
     section 41101(a) or 40109, as applicable (or of not more than 
     $1,100 for each such day or such flight if the person is an 
     individual or small business concern and the controlled air 
     carrier is also a small business concern);
       ``(ii) shall be jointly and severally liable for any civil 
     penalty imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) on the air carrier 
     under such unlawful control;
       ``(iii) shall be deemed to have engaged in unfair and 
     deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition in 
     violation of section 41712; and
       ``(iv) shall be jointly and severally liable, together with 
     the air carrier operating under such unlawful control, to pay 
     restitution to any air carrier subject to such unfair and 
     deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition as 
     ordered by the Secretary of Transportation.
       ``(B) The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to 
     consider any amounts paid in restitution as a mitigating 
     factor when imposing a civil penalty under this paragraph.
       ``(C) Any aircraft operated by an air carrier that is not a 
     citizen of the United States shall be prohibited from 
     operating within the United States until any civil penalty or 
     restitution imposed pursuant to this paragraph has been 
     satisfied.''.
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