I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2879 To establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 26, 2023 Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. BEAN of Florida, Mr. BOST, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. CROW, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. GUEST, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KEATING, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MANN, Mr. MOLINARO, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PORTER, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. ROUZER, Ms. SALA- ZAR, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. STANTON, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2879 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Center for 2 the Advancement of Aviation Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. FEDERAL CHARTER FOR THE NATIONAL CENTER 4 FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF AVIATION. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 49, United 6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘§ 120. National Center for the Advancement of Avia- 9 tion 10 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL CHARTER AND STATUS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Center for 12 the Advancement of Aviation (in this section re- 13 ferred to as the ‘Center’) is a federally chartered en- 14 tity. The Center is a private independent entity, not 15 a department, agency, or instrumentality of the 16 United States Government or a component thereof. 17 Except as provided in subsection (f)(1), an officer or 18 employee of the Center is not an officer or employee 19 of the Federal Government. 20 ‘‘(2) PERPETUAL EXISTENCE.—Except as oth- 21 erwise provided, the Center shall have perpetual ex- 22 istence. 23 ‘‘(b) GOVERNING BODY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Directors (in 1 this section referred to as the ‘Board’) is the gov- 2 erning body of the Center. 3 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF POWERS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall adopt 5 a constitution, bylaws, regulations, policies, and 6 procedures to carry out the purpose of the Cen- 7 ter and may take any other action that it con- 8 siders necessary (in accordance with the duties 9 and powers of the Center) for the management 10 and operation of the Center. The Board is re- 11 sponsible for the general policies and manage- 12 ment of the Center and for the control of all 13 funds of the Center. 14 ‘‘(B) POWERS OF BOARD.—The Board 15 shall have the power to do the following: 16 ‘‘(i) Adopt and alter a corporate seal. 17 ‘‘(ii) Establish and maintain offices to 18 conduct its activities. 19 ‘‘(iii) Enter into contracts or agree- 20 ments as a private entity not subject to the 21 requirements of title 41. 22 ‘‘(iv) Acquire, own, lease, encumber, 23 and transfer property as necessary and ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2879 IH propriate to carry out the purposes of the 1 Center. 2 ‘‘(v) Publish documents and other 3 publications in a publicly accessible man- 4 ner. 5 ‘‘(vi) Incur and pay obligations as a 6 private entity not subject to the require- 7 ments of title 31. 8 ‘‘(vii) Make or issue grants and in- 9 clude any conditions on such grants in fur- 10 therance of the purpose and duties of the 11 Center. 12 ‘‘(viii) Perform any other act nec- 13 essary and proper to carry out the pur- 14 poses of the Center as described in its con- 15 stitution and bylaws or duties outlined in 16 this section. 17 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall have 19 11 Directors as follows: 20 ‘‘(i) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERSHIP.—The 21 following individuals, or their designees, 22 shall be considered ex-officio members of 23 the Board: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(I) The Administrator of the 1 Federal Aviation Administration. 2 ‘‘(II) The Executive Director, 3 pursuant to paragraph (5)(D). 4 ‘‘(ii) APPOINTMENTS.— 5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—From among 6 those members of the public who are 7 highly respected and have knowledge 8 and experience in the fields of avia- 9 tion, finance, or academia— 10 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary of 11 Transportation shall appoint 5 12 members to the Board; 13 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary of De- 14 fense shall appoint 1 member to 15 the Board; 16 ‘‘(cc) the Secretary of Vet- 17 erans Affairs shall appoint 1 18 member to the Board; 19 ‘‘(dd) the Secretary of Edu- 20 cation shall appoint 1 member to 21 the Board; and 22 ‘‘(ee) the Administrator of 23 the National Aeronautics and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2879 IH Space Administration shall ap- 1 point 1 member to the Board. 2 ‘‘(II) TERMS.— 3 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The 4 members appointed under sub- 5 clause (I) shall serve for a term 6 of 3 years and may be re- 7 appointed. 8 ‘‘(bb) STAGGERING 9 TERMS.—To ensure subsequent 10 appointments to the Board are 11 staggered, of the 9 members first 12 appointed under subclause (I), 3 13 shall be appointed for a term of 14 1 year, 3 shall be appointed for a 15 term of 2 years, and 3 shall be 16 appointed for a term of 3 years. 17 ‘‘(III) CONSIDERATION.—In con- 18 sidering whom to appoint to the 19 Board, the Secretaries and Adminis- 20 trator referenced in subclause (I) 21 shall, to the maximum extent prac- 22 ticable, ensure the overall composition 23 of the Board adequately represents 24 the fields of aviation and academia. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the 1 Board shall be filled in the same manner as the 2 initial appointment. 3 ‘‘(C) STATUS.—All Members of the Board 4 shall have equal voting powers, regardless if 5 they are ex-officio members or appointed. 6 ‘‘(4) CHAIR OF THE BOARD.—The Board shall 7 choose a Chair of the Board from among the mem- 8 bers of the Board that are not ex-officio members 9 under paragraph (3)(A)(i). 10 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.— 11 ‘‘(A) MEETINGS.— 12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall 13 meet at the call of the Chair but not less 14 than 2 times each year and may, as appro- 15 priate, conduct business by telephone or 16 other electronic means. 17 ‘‘(ii) OPEN.— 18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 19 provided in subclause (II), a meeting 20 of the Board shall be open to the pub- 21 lic. 22 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—A meeting, 23 or any portion of a meeting, may be 24 closed if the Board, in public session, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2879 IH votes to close the meeting because the 1 matters to be discussed— 2 ‘‘(aa) relate solely to the in- 3 ternal personnel rules and prac- 4 tices of the Center; 5 ‘‘(bb) may result in disclo- 6 sure of commercial or financial 7 information obtained from a per- 8 son that is privileged or confiden- 9 tial; 10 ‘‘(cc) may disclose informa- 11 tion of a personal nature where 12 disclosure would constitute a 13 clearly unwarranted invasion of 14 personal privacy; or 15 ‘‘(dd) are matters that are 16 specifically exempted from disclo- 17 sure by Federal or State law. 18 ‘‘(iii) PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT.—At 19 least 1 week before a meeting of the 20 Board, and as soon as practicable there- 21 after if there are any changes to the infor- 22 mation described in subclauses (I) through 23 (III), the Board shall make a public an- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2879 IH nouncement of the meeting that de- 1 scribes— 2 ‘‘(I) the time, place, and subject 3 matter of the meeting; 4 ‘‘(II) whether the meeting is to 5 be open or closed to the public; and 6 ‘‘(III) the name and appropriate 7 contact information of a person who 8 can respond to requests for informa- 9 tion about the meeting. 10 ‘‘(iv) RECORD.—The Board shall keep 11 a transcript of minutes from each Board 12 meeting. Such transcript shall be made 13 available to the public in an accessible for- 14 mat, except for portions of the meeting 15 that are closed pursuant to subparagraph 16 (A)(ii)(II). 17 ‘‘(B) QUORUM.—A majority of members of 18 the Board shall constitute a quorum. 19 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTION.—No member of the 20 Board shall participate in any proceeding, ap- 21 plication, ruling or other determination, con- 22 tract claim, scholarship award, controversy, or 23 other matter in which the member, the mem- 24 ber’s employer or prospective employer, or the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2879 IH member’s spouse, partner, or minor child has a 1 direct financial interest. Any person who vio- 2 lates this subparagraph may be fined not more 3 than $10,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 4 years, or both. 5 ‘‘(D) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Board 6 shall appoint and fix the pay of an Executive 7 Director of the Center (in this section referred 8 to as the ‘Executive Director’) who shall— 9 ‘‘(i) serve as a Member of the Board; 10 ‘‘(ii) serve at the pleasure of the 11 Board, under such terms and conditions as 12 the Board shall establish; 13 ‘‘(iii) is subject to removal by the 14 Board at the discretion of the Board; and 15 ‘‘(iv) be responsible for the daily man- 16 agement and operation of the Center and 17 for carrying out the purposes and duties of 18 the Center. 19 ‘‘(E) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL.—The 20 Board shall designate to the Executive Director 21 the authority to appoint additional personnel as 22 the Board considers appropriate and necessary 23 to carry out the purposes and duties of the 24 Center. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(F) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—Nothing in 1 this section may be construed to withhold dis- 2 closure of information or records that are sub- 3 ject to disclosure under section 552 of title 5. 4 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF THE CENTER.—The purpose of the 5 Center is to— 6 ‘‘(1) develop a skilled and robust U.S. aviation 7 and aerospace workforce; 8 ‘‘(2) provide a forum to support collaboration 9 and cooperation between governmental, non-govern- 10 mental, and private aviation and aerospace sector 11 stakeholders regarding the advancement of the U.S. 12 aviation and aerospace workforce, including general, 13 business, and commercial aviation, education, labor, 14 manufacturing and international organizations; and 15 ‘‘(3) serve as a repository for research con- 16 ducted by institutions of higher education, research 17 institutions, or other stakeholders regarding the 18 aviation and aerospace workforce, or related tech- 19 nical and skill development. 20 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF THE CENTER.—In order to accom- 21 plish the purpose described in subsection (c), the Center 22 shall perform the following duties: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(1) Improve access to aviation and aerospace 1 education and related skills training to help grow the 2 U.S. aviation and aerospace workforce, including— 3 ‘‘(A) assessing the current U.S. aviation 4 and aerospace workforce challenges and identi- 5 fying actions to address these challenges, in- 6 cluding by developing a comprehensive work- 7 force strategy; 8 ‘‘(B) establishing scholarship, apprentice- 9 ship, internship or mentorship programs for in- 10 dividuals who wish to pursue a career in an 11 aviation- or aerospace-related field, including 12 individuals in economically disadvantaged areas 13 or individuals who are members of underrep- 14 resented groups in the aviation and aerospace 15 sector; 16 ‘‘(C) supporting the development of avia- 17 tion and aerospace education curricula, includ- 18 ing syllabi, training materials, and lesson plans, 19 for use by middle schools and high schools, in- 20 stitutions of higher education, secondary edu- 21 cation institutions, or technical training and vo- 22 cational schools; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:02 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2879.IH H2879 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 2879 IH ‘‘(D) building awareness of youth-oriented 1 aviation and aerospace programs and other out- 2 reach programs. 3 ‘‘(2) Support the personnel or veterans of the 4 Armed Forces seeking to transition to a career in 5 civil aviation or aerospace through outreach, train- 6 ing, apprenticeships, or other means. 7 ‘‘(3) Amplify and support the research and de- 8 velopment efforts conducted as part of the National 9 Aviation Research Plan, as required under section 10 44501(c), and work done at the Centers of Excel- 11 lence and Technical Centers of the Federal Aviation 12 Administration regarding the aviation and aerospace 13 workforce, or related technical and skills develop- 14 ment, including organizing and hosting symposiums, 15 conferences, and other forums as appropriate, be- 16 tween the Federal Aviation Administration, aviation 17 and aerospace stakeholders, and other interested 18 parties, to discuss current and future research ef- 19 forts and technical work. 20 ‘‘(e) GRANTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to accomplish the 22 purpos [Text truncated for display. 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