National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2022

II 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 884 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 Received SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs NOVEMBER 15, 2022 Committee discharged; referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Aviation Pre- 4 paredness Plan Act of 2022’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL AVIATION PREPAREDNESS PLAN. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 HR 884 RCS tation, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and 1 Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 2 the heads of such other Federal departments or agencies 3 as the Secretary of Transportation considers appropriate, 4 shall develop a national aviation preparedness plan for 5 communicable disease outbreaks. 6 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan developed under 7 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 8 (1) provide airports and air carriers with an 9 adaptable and scalable framework with which to 10 align the individual plans, including the emergency 11 response plans, of such airports and air carriers and 12 provide guidance as to each individual plan; 13 (2) improve coordination among airports, air 14 carriers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the 15 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, other 16 appropriate Federal entities, and State and local 17 governments and health agencies with respect to 18 preparing for and responding to communicable dis- 19 ease outbreaks; 20 (3) to the extent practicable, improve coordina- 21 tion among relevant international entities; 22 (4) create a process to identify appropriate per- 23 sonal protective equipment, if any, for covered em- 24 ployees to reduce the likelihood of exposure to a cov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 HR 884 RCS ered communicable disease, and thereafter issue rec- 1 ommendations for the equipage of such employees; 2 (5) create a process to identify appropriate 3 techniques, strategies, and protective infrastructure, 4 if any, for the cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitization 5 of aircraft and enclosed facilities owned, operated, or 6 used by an air carrier or airport, and thereafter 7 issue recommendations pertaining to such tech- 8 niques, strategies, and protective infrastructure; 9 (6) identify and assign Federal agency roles in 10 the deployment of emerging and existing tech- 11 nologies and solutions to reduce covered commu- 12 nicable diseases in the aviation ecosystem; 13 (7) clearly delineate the responsibilities of the 14 sponsors and operators of airports, air carriers, and 15 Federal agencies in responding to a covered commu- 16 nicable disease; 17 (8) incorporate, as appropriate, the rec- 18 ommendations made by the Comptroller General of 19 the United States to the Secretary of Transportation 20 contained in the report titled ‘‘Air Travel and Com- 21 municable Diseases: Comprehensive Federal Plan 22 Needed for U.S. Aviation System’s Preparedness’’, 23 issued in December 2015 (GAO-16-127); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 HR 884 RCS (9) consider the latest peer-reviewed scientific 1 studies that address communicable disease with re- 2 spect to air transportation; and 3 (10) consider funding constraints. 4 (c) CONSULTATION.—When developing the plan 5 under subsection (a), the Secretary of Transportation 6 shall consult with aviation industry and labor stake- 7 holders, including representatives of— 8 (1) air carriers, which shall include domestic air 9 carriers consisting of major air carriers, low-cost 10 carriers, regional air carriers and cargo carriers; 11 (2) airport operators, including with respect to 12 large hub, medium hub, small hub, and nonhub com- 13 mercial service airports; 14 (3) labor organizations that represent airline pi- 15 lots, flight attendants, air carrier airport customer 16 service representatives, and air carrier maintenance, 17 repair, and overhaul workers; 18 (4) the labor organization certified under sec- 19 tion 7111 of title 5, United States Code, as the ex- 20 clusive bargaining representative of air traffic con- 21 trollers of the Federal Aviation Administration; 22 (5) the labor organization certified under such 23 section as the exclusive bargaining representative of 24 airway transportation systems specialists and avia- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 HR 884 RCS tion safety inspectors of the Federal Aviation Ad- 1 ministration; 2 (6) trade associations representing air carriers 3 and airports; 4 (7) aircraft manufacturing companies; 5 (8) general aviation; and 6 (9) such other stakeholders as the Secretary 7 considers appropriate. 8 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the plan 9 is developed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall sub- 10 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- 11 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 12 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 13 a report that includes such plan. 14 (e) REVIEW OF PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 15 the date on which a report is submitted under subsection 16 (d), and again not later than 5 years thereafter, the Sec- 17 retary shall review the plan included in such report and, 18 after consultation with aviation industry and labor stake- 19 holders, make changes by rule as the Secretary considers 20 appropriate. 21 (f) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after the 22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 23 shall conduct and submit to the Committee on Transpor- 24 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 HR 884 RCS and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 1 tation of the Senate a study assessing the national avia- 2 tion preparedness plan developed under subsection (a), in- 3 cluding— 4 (1) whether such plan— 5 (A) is responsive to any previous rec- 6 ommendations relating to aviation preparedness 7 with respect to an outbreak of a covered com- 8 municable disease or global health emergency 9 made by the Comptroller General; and 10 (B) meets the obligations of the United 11 States under international conventions and 12 treaties; and 13 (2) the extent to which the United States avia- 14 tion system is prepared to respond to an outbreak 15 of a covered communicable disease. 16 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 18 employee’’ means— 19 (A) an individual whose job duties require 20 interaction with air carrier passengers on a reg- 21 ular and continuing basis and who is an em- 22 ployee of— 23 (i) an air carrier; 24 (ii) an air carrier contractor; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 HR 884 RCS (iii) an airport; or 1 (iv) the Federal Government; or 2 (B) an air traffic controller or systems 3 safety specialist of the Federal Aviation Admin- 4 istration. 5 (2) COVERED COMMUNICABLE DISEASE.—The 6 term ‘‘covered communicable disease’’ means a com- 7 municable disease that has the potential to cause a 8 future epidemic or pandemic of infectious disease 9 that would constitute a public health emergency of 10 international concern as declared, after the date of 11 enactment of this Act, by the Secretary of Health 12 and Human Services under section 319 of the Public 13 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 14 Passed the House of Representatives September 14, 2022. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:26 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H884.RCS H884 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS