To require the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Commerce to develop a plan for flying scientific instruments on commercial flights.

SA 3525. Ms. CANTWELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3452 proposed by Mr. Rockefeller to the bill H.R. 1586,
to impose an additional tax on bonuses received from certain TARP
recipients; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 71, strike line 8 and all that follows
through line 8 on page 74, and insert the following:
(a) Operation Evaluation Partnership Airport Procedures.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall publish a report, after
consultation with representatives of appropriate
Administration employee groups, airport operators, air
carriers, aircraft manufacturers, and third parties that have
received letters of qualification from the Federal Aviation
Administration to design and validate required navigation
performance flight paths for public use (in this section
referred to as ``qualified third parties''), that includes
the following:
(A) RNP/RNAV operations.--With respect to area navigation
and required navigation performance operations, the
following:
(i) Which of the 35 Operational Evolution Partnership
airports identified by the Federal Aviation Administration
would benefit from implementation of area navigation
procedures alone and which would benefit from implementation
of both area navigation and required navigation performance
procedures.
(ii) The required navigation performance and area
navigation operations, including procedures to be developed,
certified, and published, necessary to maximize the
efficiency and capacity of NextGen commercial operations at
each of those airports.
(iii) The air traffic control operational changes, which
connect the terminal environment and en route airspace,
necessary to maximize the efficiency and capacity of NextGen
commercial operations at each of those airports.
(iv) The number of potential required navigation
performance procedures at each of those airports.
(v) Of the number of required navigation performance
procedures identified under clause (iv) for an airport--

(I) the number of such procedures that would be an overlay
of an existing instrument flight procedure and supporting
analysis;
(II) the number of such procedures that would enable
greater use of continuous descent arrivals; and
(III) an assessment of the priority for implementation of
each such procedure.

(vi) The timeline for the Federal Aviation Administration
to certify required navigation performance as a precision
approach.
(B) Coordination and implementation activities.--With
respect to the coordination and implementation of required
navigation performance procedures, the following:
(i) A description of the activities and operational changes
and approvals required from the Federal Aviation
Administration to coordinate and utilize required navigation
performance procedures at the 35 Operational Evolution
Partnership airports identified by the Federal Aviation
Administration.
(ii) A description of the software and database
information, such as a current version of the Noise
Integrated Routing System or the Integrated Noise Model, that
the Administration will need to make available to qualified
third parties to enable those third parties to design
procedures that will meet the broad range of requirements of
the Administration.
(C) Implementation plan.--A plan for implementing the
required navigation performance procedures identified under
subparagraph (A) that establishes--
(i) a clearly defined budget, schedule, project
organization, and leadership requirements;
(ii) specific steps for implementation and transition;
(iii) coordination and communications mechanisms with
qualified third parties;
(iv) specific procedures for engaging the appropriate
Administration employee groups to ensure that human factors,
training, and other issues surrounding the adoption of
required navigation performance procedures in the en route
and terminal environments are addressed;
(v) a plan for lifecycle management of required navigation
performance procedures--

(I) developed by the Administration; and
(II) developed by qualified third parties;

(vi) an expedited validation process that allows an air
carrier using a required navigation performance procedure
validated by the Administration at an airport for a specific
model of aircraft to transfer all of the information
associated with the use of that procedure to another air
carrier for use at the same airport for the same model of
aircraft; and
(vii) baseline and performance metrics for measuring the
Administration's progress in implementing the plan, including
the percentage utilization of required navigation performance
in the National Airspace System.
(D) Internal resource analysis.--An assessment of the
internal capabilities of the Federal Aviation Administration
with respect to designing and validating required navigation
performance procedures, including--
(i) the number of staff working either full or part time on
designing required navigation performance procedures;
(ii) the number of available staff that can be trained to
design required navigation performance procedures, the
training required, and the length of that training; and
(iii) the number of staff designing and validating required
navigation performance procedures that are full-time
employees and the number employed through term appointments.
(E) Cost/benefit analysis for third-party usage.--An
assessment of the costs and benefits of using third parties
to assist in the development of required navigation
performance procedures.
(F) Additional procedures.--A process for the
identification, certification, and publication of additional
or modified required navigation performance and area
navigation procedures that may be required at the 35
Operational Evolution Partnership airports identified by the
Federal Aviation Administration in the future.
(2) Implementation schedule.--The Administrator shall
certify, publish, and implement--
(A) 30 percent of the required navigation performance
procedures identified under paragraph (1)(A) within 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act;
(B) 60 percent of such procedures within 36 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(C) 100 percent of such procedures before January 1, 2014.
(b) Expansion of Plan to Other Airports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall publish a report, after
consultation with representatives of appropriate
Administration employee groups, airport operators, air
carriers, and qualified third parties, that includes a plan
for applying the procedures, requirements, criteria, and
metrics described in subsection (a)(1) to other airports
across the United States.
(2) Surveying obstacles surrounding regional airports.--Not
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of Transportation, shall identify
options and possible funding mechanisms for surveying
obstacles in the areas around regional airports that can be
used as an input to future required navigation performance
procedures.
(3) Implementation schedule.--The Administrator shall
certify, publish, and implement--
(A) 25 percent of the required navigation performance
procedures included in the plan required by paragraph (1) at
such other airports before January 1, 2015;
(B) 50 percent of such procedures at such other airports
before January 1, 2016;
(C) 75 percent of such procedures at such other airports
before January 1, 2017; and
(D) 100 percent of such procedures before January 1, 2018.
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