[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 6493 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 6493
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 23, 2008
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance aviation safety.
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 ``Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of
2008''.
SEC. 2. AVIATION SAFETY WHISTLEBLOWER INVESTIGATION OFFICE.
Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(s) Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Federal
Aviation Administration (in this section referred to as the
`Agency') an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office
(in this subsection referred to as the `Office').
``(2) Director.--
``(A) Appointment.--The head of the Office shall be
the Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary
of Transportation.
``(B) Qualifications.--The Director shall have a
demonstrated ability in investigations and knowledge of
or experience in aviation.
``(C) Term.--The Director shall be appointed for a
term of 5 years.
``(D) Vacancy.--Any individual appointed to fill a
vacancy in the position of the Director occurring
before the expiration of the term for which the
individual's predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed for the remainder of that term.
``(3) Complaints and investigations.--
``(A) Authority of director.--The Director shall--
``(i) receive complaints and information
submitted by employees of persons holding
certificates issued under title 14, Code of
Federal Regulations, and employees of the
Agency concerning the possible existence of an
activity relating to a violation of an order,
regulation, or standard of the Agency or any
other provision of Federal law relating to
aviation safety;
``(ii) assess complaints and information
submitted under clause (i) and determine
whether a substantial likelihood exists that a
violation of an order, regulation, or standard
of the Agency or any other provision of Federal
law relating to aviation safety may have
occurred; and
``(iii) based on findings of the assessment
conducted under clause (ii), make
recommendations to the Administrator in writing
for further investigation or corrective
actions.
``(B) Disclosure of identities.--The Director shall
not disclose the identity of an individual who submits
a complaint or information under subparagraph (A)(i)
unless--
``(i) the individual consents to the
disclosure in writing; or
``(ii) the Director determines, in the
course of an investigation, that the disclosure
is unavoidable.
``(C) Independence of director.--The Secretary, the
Administrator, or any officer or employee of the Agency
may not prevent or prohibit the Director from
initiating, carrying out, or completing any assessment
of a complaint or information submitted subparagraph
(A)(i) or from reporting to Congress on any such
assessment.
``(D) Access to information.--In conducting an
assessment of a complaint or information submitted
under subparagraph (A)(i), the Director shall have
access to all records, reports, audits, reviews,
documents, papers, recommendations, and other material
necessary to determine whether a substantial likelihood
exists that a violation of an order, regulation, or
standard of the Agency or any other provision of
Federal law relating to aviation safety may have
occurred.
``(4) Responses to recommendations.--The Administrator
shall respond to a recommendation made by the Director under
subparagraph (A)(iii) in writing and retain records related to
any further investigations or corrective actions taken in
response to the recommendation.
``(5) Incident reports.--If the Director determines there
is a substantial likelihood that a violation of an order,
regulation, or standard of the Agency or any other provision of
Federal law relating to aviation safety may have occurred that
requires immediate corrective action, the Director shall report
the potential violation expeditiously to the Administrator and
the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation.
``(6) Reporting of criminal violations to inspector
general.--If the Director has reasonable grounds to believe
that there has been a violation of Federal criminal law, the
Director shall report the violation expeditiously to the
Inspector General.
``(7) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than October 1
of each year, the Director shall submit to Congress a report
containing--
``(A) information on the number of submissions of
complaints and information received by the Director
under paragraph (3)(A)(i) in the preceding 12-month
period;
``(B) summaries of those submissions;
``(C) summaries of further investigations and
corrective actions recommended in response to the
submissions; and
``(D) summaries of the responses of the
Administrator to such recommendations.''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Subsections (a) and (d) of section 40101 of title 49,
United States Code, directs the Federal Aviation Administration
(in this section referred to as the ``Agency)'') to make safety
its highest priority.
(2) In 1996, to ensure that there would be no appearance of
a conflict of interest for the Agency in carrying out its
safety responsibilities, Congress amended section 40101(d) of
such title to remove the responsibilities of the Agency to
promote airlines.
(3) Despite these directives from Congress regarding the
priority of safety, the Agency issued a vision statement in
which it stated that it has a ``vision'' of ``being responsive
to our customers and accountable to the public'' and, in 2003,
issued a customer service initiative that required aviation
inspectors to treat air carriers and other aviation certificate
holders as ``customers'' rather than regulated entities.
(4) The initiatives described in paragraph (3) appear to
have given regulated entities and Agency inspectors the
impression that the management of the Agency gives an unduly
high priority to the satisfaction of regulated entities
regarding its inspection and certification decisions and other
lawful actions of its safety inspectors.
(5) As a result of the emphasis on customer satisfaction,
some managers of the Agency have discouraged vigorous
enforcement and replaced inspectors whose lawful actions
adversely affected an air carrier.
(b) Modification of Initiative.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall modify the customer service initiative,
mission and vision statements, and other statements of policy of the
Agency--
(1) to remove any reference to air carriers or other
entities regulated by the Agency as ``customers'';
(2) to clarify that in regulating safety the only customers
of the Agency are individuals traveling on aircraft; and
(3) to clarify that air carriers and other entities
regulated by the Agency do not have the right to select the
employees of the Agency who will inspect their operations.
(c) Safety Priority.--In carrying out the Administrator's
responsibilities, the Administrator shall ensure that safety is given a
higher priority than preventing the dissatisfaction of an air carrier
or other entity regulated by the Agency with an employee of the Agency.
SEC. 4. POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS FOR FLIGHT STANDARDS INSPECTORS.
(a) In General.--Section 44711 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Post-Employment Restrictions for Flight Standards
Inspectors.--
``(1) Prohibition.--A person holding an operating
certificate issued under title 14, Code of Federal Regulations,
may not knowingly employ, or make a contractual arrangement
which permits, an individual to act as an agent or
representative of the certificate holder in any matter before
the Federal Aviation Administration (in this subsection
referred to as the `Agency') if the individual, in the
preceding 2-year period--
``(A) served as, or was responsible for oversight
of, a flight standards inspector of the Agency; and
``(B) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee
inspection of, the operations of the certificate
holder.
``(2) Written and oral communications.--For purposes of
paragraph (1), an individual shall be considered to be acting
as an agent or representative of a certificate holder in a
matter before the Agency if the individual makes any written or
oral communication on behalf of the certificate holder to the
Agency (or any of its officers or employees) in connection with
a particular matter, whether or not involving a specific party
and without regard to whether the individual has participated
in, or had responsibility for, the particular matter while
serving as a flight standards inspector of the Agency.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall not
apply to an individual employed by a certificate holder as of the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. ASSIGNMENT OF PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORY INSPECTORS.
(a) In General.--An individual serving as a principal supervisory
inspector of the Federal Aviation Administration (in this section
referred to as the ``Agency)'' may not be responsible for overseeing
the operations of a single air carrier for a continuous period of more
than 5 years.
(b) Transitional Provision.--An individual serving as a principal
supervisory inspector of the Agency with respect to an air carrier as
of the date of enactment of this Act may be responsible for overseeing
the operations of the carrier until the last day of the 5-year period
specified in subsection (a) or last day of the 2-year period beginning
on such date of enactment, whichever is later.
(c) Issuance of Order.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall issue an order to carry out this section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as may be necessary to
carry out this section.
SEC. 6. HEADQUARTERS REVIEW OF AIR TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT SYSTEM
DATABASE.
(a) Reviews.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall establish a process by which the air
transportation oversight system database of the Federal Aviation
Administration (in this section referred to as the ``Agency'') is
reviewed by a team of employees of the Agency on a monthly basis to
ensure that--
(1) any trends in regulatory compliance are identified; and
(2) appropriate corrective actions are taken in accordance
with Agency regulations, advisory directives, policies, and
procedures.
(b) Monthly Team Reports.--
(1) In general.--The team of employees conducting a monthly
review of the air transportation oversight system database
under subsection (a) shall submit to the Administrator, the
Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, and the Director
of Flight Standards a report on the results of the review.
(2) Contents.--A report submitted under paragraph (1) shall
identify--
(A) any trends in regulatory compliance discovered
by the team of employees in conducting the monthly
review; and
(B) any corrective actions taken or proposed to be
taken in response to the trends.
(c) Quarterly Reports to Congress.--The Administrator, on a
quarterly basis, 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 on the
results of reviews of the air transportation oversight system database
conducted under this section, including copies of reports received
under subsection (b).
Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.