American Aviator Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2623 To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a pilot program to provide flight training services to veterans. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 17, 2019 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Admin- istration to establish a pilot program to provide flight training services to veterans. 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 ‘‘American Aviator 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FLIGHT TRAINING 6 SERVICES TO VETERANS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 8 Aviation Administration (in this section referred to as the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2623.IS S2623 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2623 IS ‘‘Administrator’’), in consultation with the Secretary of 1 Education and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall 2 enter into agreements with flight schools to provide assist- 3 ance in the form of grants to eligible entities to provide 4 flight training services to veterans. 5 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 6 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a pilot school that— 7 (1) holds a training certificate under part 141 8 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and 9 (2) has an established employment pathway 10 with at least one commercial air carrier operating 11 under part 121 or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal 12 Regulations. 13 (c) PRIORITY APPLICATION.—In selecting eligible en- 14 tities to award grants to under this section, the Adminis- 15 trator shall give priority to eligible entities that meet ei- 16 ther of the following: 17 (1) The entity is accredited by the Department 18 of Education. 19 (2) The entity holds a restricted airline trans- 20 port pilot (R–ATP) letter of authorization, as speci- 21 fied under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Reg- 22 ulations. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2623.IS S2623 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2623 IS (d) CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTION.—In selecting 1 eligible entities to award grants to under this section, the 2 Administrator shall consider the following: 3 (1) The eligible entity’s pass rate for students, 4 as measured by part 141 of title 14, Code of Federal 5 Regulations. 6 (2) The total estimated cost per veteran to com- 7 plete the eligible entity’s program. 8 (3) The anticipated time from start of training 9 under the eligible entity’s program to employment. 10 (4) The eligible entity’s graduate placement 11 percentage. 12 (5) The eligible entity’s use of advance tech- 13 nology and simulation. 14 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts from a grant received 15 by an eligible entity under the pilot program shall be used 16 for the following: 17 (1) To case manage and support veterans for 18 flight training services. 19 (2) To provide guidance and flight training 20 services to the veterans enrolled, including additional 21 training required to reach proficiency, for the fol- 22 lowing certificates and ratings: 23 (A) Private pilot certificate. 24 (B) Instrument rating. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2623.IS S2623 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2623 IS (C) Commercial pilot certificate. 1 (D) Multi-engine rating. 2 (E) Certificated flight instructor single en- 3 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 4 (F) Certificated flight instructor multi en- 5 gine certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 6 (G) Certificated flight instructor instru- 7 ment certificate, if applicable to degree sought. 8 (3) To provide applicable program tuition, 9 books, training materials, and equipment. 10 (4) To provide periodic reports to the Adminis- 11 trator on use of the grant funds, including docu- 12 mentation of training completion of the certificates 13 and ratings described in subparagraphs (A) through 14 (F) of paragraph (2). 15 (f) COORDINATION WITH VETERANS EDUCATION 16 BENEFITS.—In the event a veteran participates in the 17 pilot program who is entitled to educational assistance for 18 veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of 19 Veterans Affairs— 20 (1) any costs of the veteran in participation in 21 the pilot program that are covered by such edu- 22 cational assistance shall be borne by the veteran 23 using such educational assistance; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2623.IS S2623 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2623 IS (2) any costs incurred by the veteran in partici- 1 pation in the pilot program that are not covered by 2 such educational assistance, including the cost of a 3 private pilot license, may be borne by the eligible en- 4 tity concerned using grant amounts awarded to the 5 eligible entity for purposes of the pilot program. 6 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, 7 there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each 8 of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2623.IS S2623 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS