National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8712 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national aviation preparedness plan for communicable disease outbreaks, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2020 Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself and Mr. BEYER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL AVIATION PREPAREDNESS PLAN. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 8 tation, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8712 IH Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 1 the heads of such other Federal departments or agencies 2 as the Secretary of Transportation considers appropriate, 3 shall develop a national aviation preparedness plan for 4 communicable disease outbreaks. 5 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan developed under 6 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum— 7 (1) provide airports and air carriers with an 8 adaptable and scalable framework with which to 9 align the individual plans, including the emergency 10 response plans, of such airports and air carriers and 11 provide guidance as to each individual plan; 12 (2) improve coordination among airports, air 13 carriers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the 14 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, other 15 appropriate Federal entities, and State and local 16 governments and health agencies with respect to de- 17 veloping policies that increase the effectiveness of 18 screening, testing, quarantining, and contact-tracing 19 with respect to air carrier passengers; 20 (3) to the extent practicable, improve coordina- 21 tion among relevant international entities; 22 (4) ensure that at-risk employees are equipped 23 with appropriate personal protective equipment to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8712 IH reduce the likelihood of exposure to a covered com- 1 municable disease; 2 (5) ensure aircraft and enclosed facilities 3 owned, operated, or used by an air carrier or airport 4 are cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized, and can have 5 installed and maintained protective infrastructure 6 where appropriate, in accordance with CDC guide- 7 lines for preventing and containing the spread of 8 covered communicable diseases; 9 (6) identify and assign Federal agency roles in 10 the development and deployment of emerging and 11 existing solutions to reduce covered communicable 12 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 the recommendations made by 18 the Comptroller General of the United States to the 19 Secretary of Transportation contained in the report 20 titled ‘‘Air Travel and Communicable Diseases: 21 Comprehensive Federal Plan Needed for U.S. Avia- 22 tion System’s Preparedness’’ issued in December 23 2015 (GAO–16–127); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8712 IH (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; 9 (2) airport operators, including with respect to 10 large hub, medium hub, small hub, and nonhub com- 11 mercial service airports; 12 (3) labor organizations that represent airline pi- 13 lots, flight attendants, air carrier airport customer 14 service representatives, and air carrier maintenance, 15 repair, and overhaul workers; 16 (4) the labor organization certified under sec- 17 tion 7111 of title 5, United States Code, as the ex- 18 clusive bargaining representative of air traffic con- 19 trollers of the Federal Aviation Administration; 20 (5) the labor organization certified under such 21 section as the exclusive bargaining representative of 22 airway transportation systems specialists and avia- 23 tion safety inspectors of the Federal Aviation Ad- 24 ministration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8712 IH (6) trade associations representing air carriers 1 and airports; and 2 (7) such other stakeholders as the Secretary 3 considers appropriate. 4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the plan 5 is developed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall sub- 6 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- 7 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 8 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 9 a report that includes such plan. 10 (e) REVIEW OF PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 11 the date on which a report is submitted under subsection 12 (d), and every year thereafter, the Secretary shall review 13 the plan included in such report and make changes by rule 14 as the Secretary considers appropriate. 15 (f) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after the 16 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 17 shall conduct and submit to the Committee on Transpor- 18 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 19 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 20 tation of the Senate a study assessing the national avia- 21 tion preparedness plan developed under subsection (a), in- 22 cluding— 23 (1) whether such plan— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8712 IH (A) is responsive to any previous rec- 1 ommendations relating to aviation preparedness 2 with respect to an outbreak of a covered com- 3 municable disease or global health emergency 4 made by the Comptroller General; and 5 (B) meets the obligations of the United 6 States under international conventions and 7 treaties; and 8 (2) the extent to which the United States avia- 9 tion system is prepared to respond to an outbreak 10 of a covered communicable disease. 11 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) AT-RISK EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘at-risk 13 employee’’ means— 14 (A) an individual whose job duties require 15 interaction with air carrier passengers on a reg- 16 ular and continuing basis and who is an em- 17 ployee of— 18 (i) an air carrier; 19 (ii) an air carrier contractor; 20 (iii) an airport; or 21 (iv) the Federal Government; and 22 (B) an air traffic controller or systems 23 safety specialist of the Federal Aviation Admin- 24 istration. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8712 IH (2) COVERED COMMUNICABLE DISEASE.—The 1 term ‘‘covered communicable disease’’ means a com- 2 municable disease that has the potential to cause an 3 epidemic or pandemic of infectious disease that 4 would constitute a public health emergency of inter- 5 national concern as declared by the Secretary of 6 Health and Human Services under section 319 of 7 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Nov 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8712.IH H8712 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS