[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.
____________________