[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7752-H7753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL AVIATION PREPAREDNESS PLAN ACT OF 2022

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 884) to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish 
a national aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease 
outbreaks, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 884

       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 ``National Aviation 
     Preparedness Plan Act of 2022''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL AVIATION PREPAREDNESS PLAN.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of such 
     other Federal departments or agencies as the Secretary of 
     Transportation considers appropriate, shall develop a 
     national aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease 
     outbreaks.
       (b) Contents of Plan.--The plan developed under subsection 
     (a) shall, at a minimum--
       (1) provide airports and air carriers with an adaptable and 
     scalable framework with which to align the individual plans, 
     including the emergency response plans, of such airports and 
     air carriers and provide guidance as to each individual plan;
       (2) improve coordination among airports, air carriers, U.S. 
     Customs and Border Protection, the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention, other appropriate Federal entities, 
     and State and local governments and health agencies with 
     respect to preparing for and responding to communicable 
     disease outbreaks;
       (3) to the extent practicable, improve coordination among 
     relevant international entities;
       (4) create a process to identify appropriate personal 
     protective equipment, if any, for covered employees to reduce 
     the likelihood of exposure to a covered communicable disease, 
     and thereafter issue recommendations for the equipage of such 
     employees;
       (5) create a process to identify appropriate techniques, 
     strategies, and protective infrastructure, if any, for the 
     cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitization of aircraft and 
     enclosed facilities owned, operated, or used by an air 
     carrier or airport, and thereafter issue recommendations 
     pertaining to such techniques, strategies, and protective 
     infrastructure;
       (6) identify and assign Federal agency roles in the 
     deployment of emerging and existing technologies and 
     solutions to reduce covered communicable diseases in the 
     aviation ecosystem;
       (7) clearly delineate the responsibilities of the sponsors 
     and operators of airports, air carriers, and Federal agencies 
     in responding to a covered communicable disease;
       (8) incorporate, as appropriate, the recommendations made 
     by the Comptroller General of the United States to the 
     Secretary of Transportation contained in the report titled 
     ``Air Travel and Communicable Diseases: Comprehensive Federal 
     Plan Needed for U.S. Aviation System's Preparedness'', issued 
     in December 2015 (GAO-16-127);
       (9) consider the latest peer-reviewed scientific studies 
     that address communicable disease with respect to air 
     transportation; and
       (10) consider funding constraints.
       (c) Consultation.--When developing the plan under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary of Transportation shall consult 
     with aviation industry and labor stakeholders, including 
     representatives of--
       (1) air carriers, which shall include domestic air carriers 
     consisting of major air carriers, low-cost carriers, regional 
     air carriers and cargo carriers;
       (2) airport operators, including with respect to large hub, 
     medium hub, small hub, and nonhub commercial service 
     airports;
       (3) labor organizations that represent airline pilots, 
     flight attendants, air carrier airport customer service 
     representatives, and air carrier maintenance, repair, and 
     overhaul workers;
       (4) the labor organization certified under section 7111 of 
     title 5, United States Code, as the exclusive bargaining 
     representative of air traffic controllers of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration;
       (5) the labor organization certified under such section as 
     the exclusive bargaining representative of airway 
     transportation systems specialists and aviation safety 
     inspectors of the Federal Aviation Administration;
       (6) trade associations representing air carriers and 
     airports;
       (7) aircraft manufacturing companies;
       (8) general aviation; and
       (9) such other stakeholders as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       (d) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the plan is 
     developed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 
     includes such plan.
       (e) Review of Plan.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
     on which a report is submitted under subsection (d), and 
     again not later than 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 
     review the plan included in such report and, after 
     consultation with aviation industry and labor stakeholders, 
     make changes by rule as the Secretary considers appropriate.
       (f) GAO Study.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct 
     and submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate a study assessing the national aviation preparedness 
     plan developed under subsection (a), including--
       (1) whether such plan--
       (A) is responsive to any previous recommendations relating 
     to aviation preparedness with respect to an outbreak of a 
     covered communicable disease or global health emergency made 
     by the Comptroller General; and
       (B) meets the obligations of the United States under 
     international conventions and treaties; and
       (2) the extent to which the United States aviation system 
     is prepared to respond to an outbreak of a covered 
     communicable disease.
       (g) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Covered employee.--The term ``covered employee'' 
     means--
       (A) an individual whose job duties require interaction with 
     air carrier passengers on a regular and continuing basis and 
     who is an employee of--
       (i) an air carrier;
       (ii) an air carrier contractor;
       (iii) an airport; or
       (iv) the Federal Government; or
       (B) an air traffic controller or systems safety specialist 
     of the Federal Aviation Administration.
       (2) Covered communicable disease.--The term ``covered 
     communicable disease'' means a communicable disease that has 
     the potential to cause a future epidemic or pandemic of 
     infectious disease that would constitute a public health 
     emergency of international concern as declared, after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, by the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services under section 319

[[Page H7753]]

     of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Louisiana 
(Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 884, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Aviation Preparedness 
Plan Act of 2022, legislation sponsored by the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Larsen).
  If there is one lesson of the coronavirus pandemic, it is that we 
were not prepared for a pandemic and must be prepared for the next one.
  While a number of mitigation efforts were eventually implemented in 
aviation, they should not have taken almost a year to put in place. In 
fact, in 2015, the Government Accountability Office issued a 
recommendation to develop a national aviation preparedness plan for 
communicable disease outbreaks.
  The Government Accountability Office has since found that had the 
Department of Transportation implemented such a plan, it ``could have 
improved coordination between public health and aviation sectors during 
COVID-19 to address issues like passenger screening.''
  H.R. 884 seeks to resolve this oversight by requiring the Department 
of Transportation, in collaboration with the Department of Health and 
Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security, to develop a 
national aviation preparedness plan.
  That plan, at a minimum, would lay out the responsibilities of 
airports, airlines, and government entities in responding to future 
pandemics, improve coordination among stakeholders, and identify 
appropriate equipment to protect frontline aviation employees, among 
other things.
  This means we could establish the necessary procedures and 
methodologies to combat pandemics prior to their onset and eliminate 
the confusion surrounding who should take action.
  Fortunately, we have come a long way since the start of the pandemic. 
Vaccines are widely available, daily COVID hospitalizations and death 
rates have decreased, and air travel is returning to prepandemic 
levels.
  But we could have done better. This bill, which received overwhelming 
bipartisan support in committee, will ensure the lessons learned from 
the current pandemic are not forgotten during the next one.
  For these reasons, I encourage my colleagues to support the bill, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 884, the National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act, 
responds to a 2015 Government Accountability Office recommendation and 
looks to establish clear roles and responsibilities among Federal 
agencies and air transportation operators in the event of a 
communicable disease outbreak.
  I want to be clear that this bill only applies to future disease 
outbreaks, and it is intended to guarantee that the confusion we have 
seen among Federal agencies and air carrier operators is addressed and 
does not repeat itself as we saw in the past few years.
  America's aviation sector is absolutely critical to our economy. It 
is critical to moving travelers for business, travelers to visit 
family, and for tourism purposes. Goods must be transported all across 
the United States and the globe.
  We have to make sure that we are able to limit, contain, and reduce 
the impact of these disease outbreaks in a timely, decisive, and 
coordinated manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Larsen and Chairman DeFazio for working 
on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I reiterate that this bill is only for future 
outbreaks. It only applies to future communicable disease outbreaks. 
What is more, it grants no additional pandemic-related authority to 
Federal agencies. It simply ensures there is a plan in place among U.S. 
carriers so they can develop a timely and decisive response plan in the 
event of a future outbreak.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 884, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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