HR 6493 EH
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6493
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').
`(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:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6493
AN ACT
To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance aviation safety.
END