S.Amdt. 953

SA 953. Mr. THUNE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title III, add the following:

SEC. 338. REPORT ON OPTIMIZATION OF TRAINING IN AND
MANAGEMENT OF SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE.

(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bases, Ranges,
and Airspace Directorate of the Air Force shall, in
consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, submit to Congress a report on optimization
of training in and management of special use airspace that
includes the following:
(1) Best practices for the management of special use
airspace including such practices that--
(A) result in cost savings relating to training;
(B) increase training opportunities for airmen;
(C) increase joint use of such airspace;
(D) improve coordination with respect to such airspace
with--
(i) the Federal Aviation Administration;
(ii) Indian tribes; and
(iii) private landowners and other stakeholders; or
(E) improve the coordination of large force exercises,
including the use of waivers or other exceptional measures.
(2) An assessment of whether the capacity of ranges,
including limitations on flight operations, is adequate to
meet current and future training needs.
(3) An assessment of whether the establishment of a
dedicated squadron for the purpose of coordinating the use of
a special use airspace at the installation located in that
airspace would improve the achievement of the objectives
described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).
(4) Recommendations for improving the management and
utilization of special use airspace to meet the objectives
described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1)
and to address any gaps in capacity identified under
paragraph (2).
(b) Special Use Airspace Defined.--In this section, the
term ``special use airspace'' means special use airspace
designated under part 73 of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations.
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