To conduct audits of certain small airports to analyze the accrual of annual passenger enplanements and to modify the method for apportioning amounts to airports for airport improvements.

SA 3538. Mr. COBURN 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:

On page 10, after the matter following line 5, insert the
following:
(c) Inspector General Audit.--
(1) In general.--The Inspector General of the Department of
Transportation shall conduct an audit of every airport in the
United States that reported between 10,000 and 15,000
passenger enplanements during each of the 2 most recent years
for which such data is available.
(2) Audit objectives.--In carrying out the audits under
paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall analyze the method
used by each subject airport to reach the 10,000 passenger
enplanement threshold, including whether airports subsidize
commercial flights to reach such threshold.
(3) Report.--The Inspector General shall submit a report to
Congress and to the Secretary of Transportation that contains
the results of the audits conducted under this subsection.
(4) Rulemaking.--After reviewing the results of the audits
under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Transportation shall
promulgate regulations for measuring passenger enplanements
at airports that--
(A) include the method for determining which airports
qualify for Federal funding under the Airport Improvement
Program (AIP);
(B) exclude artificial enplanements resulting from efforts
by airports to trigger increased AIP funding; and
(C) sets forth the consequences for tampering with the
number of passenger enplanements.
(d) Proportional Apportionments.--Section 47114(c)(1) is
amended to read as follows:
``(1) Primary airports.--The Secretary shall apportion to
the sponsor of each primary and non-primary airport for each
fiscal year an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount
subject to apportionment for fiscal year 2009 as the number
of passenger boardings at the airport during the prior
calendar year bears to the aggregate of all passenger
boardings at all primary airports during that calendar
year.''.
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