Air Carrier Worker Support Extension Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4634 To provide support for air carrier workers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To provide support for air carrier workers, 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 ‘‘Air Carrier Worker 4 Support Extension Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Unless otherwise specified, the terms in section 7 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply to 8 this Act, except that— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4634 IS (1) the term ‘‘airline catering employee’’ means 1 an employee who performs airline catering services; 2 (2) the term ‘‘airline catering services’’ means 3 preparation, assembly, or both, of food, beverages, 4 provisions and related supplies for delivery, and the 5 delivery of such items, directly to aircraft or to a lo- 6 cation on or near airport property for subsequent 7 delivery to aircraft; 8 (3) the term ‘‘contractor’’ means— 9 (A) a person that performs, under contract 10 with a passenger air carrier conducting oper- 11 ations under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- 12 eral Regulations— 13 (i) catering functions; or 14 (ii) functions on the property of an 15 airport that are directly related to the air 16 transportation of persons, property, or 17 mail, including but not limited to the load- 18 ing and unloading of property on aircraft; 19 assistance to passengers under part 382 of 20 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; se- 21 curity; airport ticketing and check-in func- 22 tions; ground-handling of aircraft; or air- 23 craft cleaning and sanitization functions 24 and waste removal; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4634 IS (B) a subcontractor that performs such 1 functions; 2 (4) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an individual, 3 other than a corporate officer, who is employed by 4 an air carrier or a contractor; and 5 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 6 of the Treasury. 7 SEC. 3. PANDEMIC RELIEF FOR AVIATION WORKERS. 8 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EMPLOYEE WAGES, 9 SALARIES, AND BENEFITS.—Notwithstanding any other 10 provision of law, to preserve aviation jobs and compensate 11 air carrier industry workers, the Secretary shall provide 12 financial assistance that shall exclusively be used for the 13 continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and 14 benefits to— 15 (1) passenger air carriers, in an aggregate 16 amount up to $25,500,000,000; 17 (2) cargo air carriers, in the aggregate amount 18 up to $300,000,000; and 19 (3) contractors, in an aggregate amount up to 20 $3,000,000,000. 21 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Notwithstanding 22 any other provision of law, the Secretary may use 23 $100,000,000 of the funds made available under section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Oct 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4634 IS 11(a) for costs and administrative expenses associated 1 with providing financial assistance under this Act. 2 SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING PAYROLL SUPPORT. 3 (a) AWARDABLE AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall 4 provide financial assistance under this Act— 5 (1) to an air carrier required to file reports pur- 6 suant to part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu- 7 lations, as of March 27, 2020, in an amount equal 8 to— 9 (A) the amount such air carrier received 10 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 11 U.S.C. 9073); or 12 (B) at the request of such air carrier, the 13 amount of the salaries and benefits reported by 14 the air carrier to the Department of Transpor- 15 tation pursuant to such part 241, for the period 16 from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 17 2020; 18 (2) to an air carrier that did not transmit re- 19 ports under such part 241, as of March 27, 2020, 20 in an amount equal to— 21 (A) the amount such air carrier received 22 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 23 U.S.C. 9073), plus an additional 15 percent of 24 such amount; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4634 IS (B) at the request of such carrier, the sum 1 of— 2 (i) the amount that such air carrier 3 certifies, using sworn financial statements 4 or other appropriate data, as the amount 5 of total salaries and related fringe benefits 6 that such air carrier incurred and would be 7 required to be reported to the Department 8 of Transportation pursuant to such part 9 241, if the carrier were required to trans- 10 mit such information during the period 11 from April 1, 2019, through September 30, 12 2019; and 13 (ii) an additional amount equal to the 14 difference between the amount certified 15 under clause (i) and the amount the air 16 carrier received under section 4113 of the 17 CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073); and 18 (3) to a contractor in an amount equal to the 19 amount such contractor received under section 4113 20 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073). 21 (b) ADDITIONAL AWARDABLE AMOUNTS.—The Sec- 22 retary shall provide financial assistance under this Act to 23 an air carrier that did not receive assistance under section 24 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073) and does not 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4634 IS transmit reports under such part 241 in an amount that 1 such an air carrier certifies, using sworn financial state- 2 ments or other appropriate data, as the amount of total 3 salaries and related fringe benefits that such air carrier 4 incurred and would be required to be reported to the De- 5 partment of Transportation pursuant to such part 241, 6 if the carrier were required to transmit such information 7 during the period from April 1, 2019, through September 8 30, 2019. 9 (c) DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.— 11 (A) FORMS; TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Fi- 12 nancial assistance provided to an air carrier or 13 contractor under this Act shall be in such form, 14 on such terms and conditions (including re- 15 quirements for audits and the clawback of any 16 financial assistance provided upon failure by a 17 passenger air carrier, cargo air carrier, or con- 18 tractor to honor the assurances specified in sec- 19 tion 5), as agreed to by the Secretary and the 20 recipient for assistance received under section 21 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), ex- 22 cept where inconsistent with this Act. 23 (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 24 publish streamlined and expedited procedures 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4634 IS not later than 5 days after the date of enact- 1 ment of this Act for air carriers and contractors 2 to submit requests for financial assistance 3 under this Act. 4 (2) DEADLINE FOR IMMEDIATE PAYROLL AS- 5 SISTANCE.—Not later than 10 days after the date of 6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make ini- 7 tial payments to air carriers and contractors that 8 submit requests for financial assistance approved by 9 to the Secretary. 10 (3) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 11 shall determine an appropriate method for timely 12 distribution of payments to air carriers and contrac- 13 tors with approved requests for financial assistance 14 from any funds remaining available after providing 15 initial financial assistance payments under para- 16 graph (2). 17 (d) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The amounts under 18 subsections (a)(1)(B), (a)(2)(B)(i), and (b) shall, to the 19 maximum extent practicable, be subject to the same pro 20 rata reduction applied by the Secretary to passenger or 21 cargo air carriers, as applicable, that received assistance 22 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4634 IS (e) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of the Depart- 1 ment of the Treasury shall audit certifications made under 2 subsection (a) or (b). 3 SEC. 5. REQUIRED ASSURANCES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for financial assist- 5 ance under this Act, an air carrier or contractor shall 6 enter into an agreement with the Secretary, or otherwise 7 certify in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 8 prescribe, that the air carrier or contractor shall— 9 (1) refrain from conducting involuntary fur- 10 loughs or reducing pay rates and benefits until 11 March 31, 2021; 12 (2) through March 31, 2022, ensure that nei- 13 ther the air carrier or contractor nor any affiliate of 14 the air carrier or contractor may, in any transaction, 15 purchase an equity security of the air carrier or con- 16 tractor or the parent company of the air carrier or 17 contractor that is listed on a national securities ex- 18 change; 19 (3) through March 31, 2022, ensure that the 20 air carrier or contractor shall not pay dividends, or 21 make other capital distributions, with respect to the 22 common stock (or equivalent interest) of the air car- 23 rier or contractor; and 24 (4) meet the requirements of sections 6 and 7. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4634 IS (b) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY 1 TO CONDITION ASSISTANCE ON CONTINUATION OF SERV- 2 ICE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- 4 tation is authorized to require, to the extent reason- 5 able and practicable, an air carrier provided finan- 6 cial assistance under this Act to maintain scheduled 7 air transportation service, as the Secretary of Trans- 8 portation deems necessary, to ensure services to any 9 point served by that carrier before March 1, 2020. 10 (2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—When con- 11 sidering whether to exercise the authority provided 12 by this subsection, the Secretary of Transportation 13 shall take into consideration the air transportation 14 needs of small and remote communities and the need 15 to maintain well-functioning health care supply 16 chains, including medical devices and supplies, and 17 pharmaceutical supply chains. 18 (3) SUNSET.—The authority provided under 19 this subsection shall terminate on April 1, 2022, and 20 any requirements issued by the Secretary of Trans- 21 portation under this subsection shall cease to apply 22 after that date. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4634 IS SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- 1 MENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Secretary, nor any 3 other actor, department, or agency of the Federal Govern- 4 ment, shall condition the issuance of financial assistance 5 under this Act on an air carrier’s or contractor’s imple- 6 mentation of measures to enter into negotiations with the 7 certified bargaining representative of a craft or class of 8 employees of the air carrier or contractor under the Rail- 9 way Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the National 10 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), regarding 11 pay or other terms and conditions of employment. 12 (b) PERIOD OF EFFECT.—With respect to an air car- 13 rier or contractor to which financial assistance is provided 14 under this Act, this section shall be in effect with respect 15 to the air carrier or contractor beginning on the date on 16 which the air carrier or contractor is first issued such fi- 17 nancial assistance and ending on March 31, 2021. 18 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN EMPLOYEE COMPENSA- 19 TION. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may only provide 21 financial assistance under this Act to an air carrier or con- 22 tractor after such carrier or contractor enters into an 23 agreement with the Secretary which provides that, during 24 the 2-year period beginning March 24, 2020, and ending 25 March 24, 2022, no officer or employee of the air carrier 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4634 IS or contractor whose total compensation exceeded 1 $425,000 in calendar year 2019 (other than an employee 2 whose compensation is determined through an existing col- 3 lective bargaining agreement entered into prior to enact- 4 ment of this Act)— 5 (1) will receive from the air carrier or con- 6 tractor total compensation which exceeds, during 7 any 12 consecutive months of such 2-year period, 8 the total compensation received by the officer or em- 9 ployee from the air carrier or contractor in calendar 10 year 2019; 11 (2) will receive from the air carrier or con- 12 tractor severance pay or other benefits upon termi- 13 nation of employment with the air carrier or con- 14 tractor which exceeds twice the maximum total com- 15 pensation received by the officer or employee from 16 the air carrier or contractor in calendar year 2019; 17 and 18 (3) no officer or employee of the eligible busi- 19 ness whose total compensation exceeded $3,000,000 20 in calendar year 2019 may receive during any 12 21 consecutive months of such period total compensa- 22 tion in excess of the sum of— 23 (A) $3,000,000; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4634.IS S4634 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4634 IS (B) 50 percent of the excess over 1 $3,000,000 of the total compensation received 2 by the officer or employee from the eligible 3 business in calendar year 2019. 4 (b) TOTAL COMPENSATION DEFINED.—In this sec- 5 tion, the term ‘‘total compensation’’ includes salary, bo- 6 nuses, awards of stock, and other financial benefits pro- 7 vided by an air carrier or contractor to an officer or em- 8 ployee of the air carrier or contractor. 9 SEC. 8. TAX PAYER PROTECTION. 10 (a) CARES ACT ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS.—With 11 respect to a recipient of assistance under section 4113 of 12 the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073) that receives assistance 13 under this Act, the Secretar [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]