II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3337 To amend title 49, United States Code, to require more accountability in the airline industry, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to require more accountability in the airline industry, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; DEFINI- 3 TION. 4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 5 ‘‘Restoring Aviation Accountability Act of 2020’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definition. Sec. 2. Compensation and bonus accountability. Sec. 3. Independent aircraft type certificate review panel. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3337 IS Sec. 4. Increased and targeted oversight of organization designation authoriza- tions. Sec. 5. Domestic and international aircraft sales. Sec. 6. Whistleblower incentives and protections. Sec. 7. Additional requirements for organization designation authorizations. Sec. 8. Preserving FAA control of delegation oversight authority. Sec. 9. Operational suitability of the design. Sec. 10. Flight simulator training. Sec. 11. Commission on improving the Organization Designation Authorization program. Sec. 12. Implementation of recommendations of the Boeing 737 MAX Flight Control System Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR). (c) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 2 Administration. 3 SEC. 2. COMPENSATION AND BONUS ACCOUNTABILITY. 4 (a) FAA APPOINTEES, EXECUTIVES, AND SENIOR 5 PROFESSIONALS.—Section 40122(c) of title 49, United 6 States Code, is amended— 7 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘RE- 8 STRICTION’’ and inserting ‘‘RESTRICTIONS’’; 9 (2) by striking ‘‘No officer’’ and inserting the 10 following: 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No officer’’; and 12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.—Not later 14 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 15 paragraph, the Administrator shall revise the Execu- 16 tive Compensation Plan to ensure that no pay, 17 bonus, or other compensation for an officer or em- 18 ployee of the Administration subject to such Plan is 19 contingent on delivery of airplanes, the number of 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3337 IS aircraft certified, or the number of audits com- 1 pleted.’’. 2 (b) ODA UNIT MEMBERS.—Section 44736(a) of title 3 49, United States Code, is amended— 4 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 5 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and 6 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4)’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(4) ODA UNIT PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.— 9 The procedures manual for any ODA holder, wheth- 10 er approved by the Administrator before, on, or after 11 the date of enactment of the Restoring Aviation Ac- 12 countability Act of 2020, shall be deemed to be not 13 approved, unless, not later than 180 days after the 14 date of enactment of this paragraph, the ODA hold- 15 er certifies to the Administrator that the procedures 16 manual the ODA holder operates under prohibits de- 17 livery of airplanes from being a performance stand- 18 ard for any individual who is a member of an ODA 19 unit.’’. 20 SEC. 3. INDEPENDENT AIRCRAFT TYPE CERTIFICATE RE- 21 VIEW PANEL. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 24 issue interim final regulations under title 14, Code of Fed- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3337 IS eral Regulations, establishing an independent aircraft type 1 certificate review panel (in this section referred to as the 2 ‘‘panel’’) that meets the requirements of this section. 3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel membership shall in- 4 clude 18 representatives, including— 5 (1) 5 members who are aviation safety profes- 6 sionals, at least 2 of whom are members of a non- 7 profit pilot labor organization (which may include a 8 labor organization representing pilots for cargo and 9 passenger air carriers operating under part 121 of 10 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) and at least 11 1 of whom is a member of a nonprofit flight attend- 12 ant labor organization (which may include an au- 13 thorized representative for flight attendants of pas- 14 senger air carriers operating under part 121 of title 15 14, Code of Federal Regulations); 16 (2) 4 members who are Federal Aviation Ad- 17 ministration Aviation Safety Inspectors or collective 18 bargaining representatives of such inspectors; 19 (3) 3 members who are pilots responsible for 20 setting training standards and flight operational pro- 21 cedures at the airlines intending to operate the air- 22 craft being reviewed and that employ them; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3337 IS (4) 3 members who are frontline maintenance 1 aviation inspector professionals from a nonprofit 2 labor organization; and 3 (5) 3 members who represent the covered man- 4 ufacturers. 5 (c) DUTIES.—The panel shall— 6 (1) review each aircraft type certificate issued 7 after the date of enactment of this Act by the Ad- 8 ministrator every 5 years after the date of the 9 issuance or review of the certificate, as applicable; 10 (2) review any amendment to an existing type 11 certificate made after the date of enactment of this 12 Act; and 13 (3) not later than 6 months after each such re- 14 view, issue a recommendation regarding whether an 15 application for a new aircraft type certificate should 16 be submitted to the Administrator as a result of 17 changes or proposed changes in the design, power, 18 thrust, or weight of the aircraft (regardless of how 19 extensive). 20 (d) NEW APPLICATION REQUIRED.—If, after review 21 of a type certificate application for a covered aircraft, the 22 panel recommends to the Administrator that the covered 23 manufacturer of the covered aircraft should apply for a 24 new type certificate, and the Administrator accepts the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3337 IS recommendation, the type certificate so reviewed shall no 1 longer be considered airworthy as of the date the Adminis- 2 trator accepts the recommendation and any further oper- 3 ation of the covered aircraft shall be unlawful until a new 4 type certificate is issued for the covered aircraft. 5 (e) PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDATION RESULTS.— 6 The Administrator shall make the recommendations pro- 7 duced under this section available to the public in a 8 searchable, sortable, and downloadable format through the 9 internet website of the Federal Aviation Administration or 10 other appropriate methods and shall ensure that the data 11 are made available in a manner that— 12 (1) does not provide identifying information re- 13 garding an individual or entity; and 14 (2) prevents inappropriate disclosure of propri- 15 etary information. 16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) COVERED AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘covered 18 aircraft’’ means a transport-category aircraft oper- 19 ating under a type certificate issued under part 121 20 or 135, or both, of title 14, Code of Federal Regula- 21 tions. 22 (2) COVERED MANUFACTURER.—The term 23 ‘‘covered manufacturer’’ means an entity that manu- 24 factures or otherwise produces aircraft and holds a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3337 IS production certificate under section 44704(c) of title 1 49, United States Code. 2 SEC. 4. INCREASED AND TARGETED OVERSIGHT OF ORGA- 3 NIZATION DESIGNATION AUTHORIZATIONS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44736(b)(3)(C) of title 5 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘that in- 6 cludes a comprehensive, independent audit of ODA prac- 7 tices, as well as a review of recommendations and actions 8 of the organization management team responsible for 9 overseeing the ODA holder and of safety management ini- 10 tiatives, at least once every 3 years, regardless of the 11 length of time an entity has been an authorized ODA hold- 12 er’’ before the semicolon. 13 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF AUDITS AND RE- 14 VIEWS.—Section 44736(b) of title 49, United States Code, 15 is amended by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION OF AUDIT AND REVIEW RE- 17 SULTS.—Not later than 30 days after the completion 18 of each audit and review conducted in accordance 19 with paragraph (3)(C), the Administrator shall sub- 20 mit the results of the audit and review to the Com- 21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 22 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 23 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa- 24 tives.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3337 IS SEC. 5. DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL AIRCRAFT SALES. 1 (a) AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION.— 2 (1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the aircraft 3 certification process for any aircraft sold after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator— 5 (A) shall require covered manufacturers to 6 submit information regarding whether an air- 7 craft is going to be sold to a domestic or for- 8 eign air carrier, including the potential need for 9 additional training materials, operating and 10 maintenance procedures, simulator training, 11 minimum flight experience requirements in a 12 transport category aircraft, or modifications to 13 the airplane manual as a result of the sale to 14 the air carrier, the countries in which the air- 15 craft is expected to be operated during the first 16 5 years after such sale, or both; and 17 (B) shall not deem sellable any aircraft 18 sold after the date of enactment of this Act 19 until the Administrator has determined, based 20 on the information submitted in accordance 21 with subparagraph (A), that all necessary addi- 22 tional training materials, operating and mainte- 23 nance procedures, simulator training, minimum 24 flight experience requirements in a transport 25 category aircraft, or modifications to the air- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3337 IS plane manual will be provided by the covered 1 manufacturer as part of the sale of the aircraft 2 to the air carrier. 3 (2) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 6 months 4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 5 trator shall issue interim final regulations that im- 6 plement the requirements of this section. 7 (b) FLIGHT STANDARDIZATION BOARD STAND- 8 ARDS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact- 9 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall petition the 10 International Civil Aviation Organization to require that 11 the country in which an aircraft is granted an initial flight 12 certificate shall be the lead country for purposes of setting 13 the Flight Standardization Board standards for the air- 14 craft. 15 (c) REQUIRED COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE 16 INTERNATIONAL SAFETY STANDARDS.—An aircraft that 17 is manufactured in the United States may not be sold 18 after the date of enactment of this Act to a foreign air 19 carrier unless the Administrator has determined, through 20 an assessment under the International Aviation Safety As- 21 sessment (IASA) program, that such country is in compli- 22 ance with safety standards established by the Inter- 23 national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). 24 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3337 IS (1) AIR CARRIER.—The term has the meaning 1 given that term in paragraph (2) of section 40102 2 of title 49, United States Code, and includes a for- 3 eign air carrier, as defined in paragraph (21) of 4 such section. 5 (2) AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the 6 meaning given that term in paragraph (6) of section 7 40102 of title 49, United States Code. 8 (3) COVERED MANUFACTURER.—The term 9 ‘‘covered manufacturer’’ means an entity that manu- 10 factures or otherwise produces aircraft and holds a 11 production certificate under section 44704(c) of title 12 49, United States Code. 13 SEC. 6. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTECTIONS. 14 Section 42121 of title 49, United States Code, is 15 amended— 16 (1) in subsection (b)(2), by adding at the end 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(C) JUDICIAL CAUSE OF ACTION.—If the 19 Secretary has not issued a final decision within 20 180 days of the filing of the complaint and 21 there is no showing that such delay is due to 22 the bad faith of the complainant, a person may 23 seek relief by bringing an action at law or eq- 24 uity for de novo review in the appropriate dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Feb 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3337.IS S3337 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3337 IS trict court of the United States, which shall 1 have jurisdiction over such an action without 2 regard to the amount in controversy. Such an 3 action shall, at the request of either party to 4 the action, be tried by the court with a jury.’’; 5 and 6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—The 8 whistleblower protections afforded under the preceding 9 subsections of this section shall apply to the following indi- 10 viduals in the same manner and to the same extent as 11 such protections apply to an employee described in sub- 12 section (a): 13 ‘‘(1) Employees, contractors, and subcontrac- 14 tors of any entity that manufactures or otherwise 15 produces aircraft and holds a production certificate 16 under section 44704(c) of title 49, United States 17 Code. 18 ‘‘(2) Employees, contractors, and subc [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]