FAA Research and Development Act of 2023

IB Union Calendar No. 110 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3559 [Report No. 118–139, Part I] To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and development, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2023 Mr. LUCAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned JULY 11, 2023 Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] JULY 11, 2023 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 22, 2023] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3559 RH A BILL To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and development, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3559 RH 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. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘FAA Research and Development Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE I —FAA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION Sec. 101. Report on implementation; funding for safety research and development. TITLE II —FAA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES Sec. 201. Aviation fuel research, development, and usage. Sec. 202. Continuous lower energy, emission, and noise (CLEEN). Sec. 203. Strategy on hydrogen aviation research and development. Sec. 204. Report on future electric grid resiliency. Sec. 205. Air traffic surveillance over oceans and other remote locations. Sec. 206. Utilization of space-based assets to improve air traffic control and avia- tion safety. Sec. 207. Aviation weather technology review. Sec. 208. Air traffic surface operations safety. Sec. 209. Airport and airfield pavement technology research program. Sec. 210. Technology review of artificial intelligence and machine learning tech- nologies. Sec. 211. Research plan for commercial supersonic research. Sec. 212. Electromagnetic spectrum research and development. Sec. 213. Aviation structures, materials, and advanced manufacturing research and development. Sec. 214. Research plan on the remote tower program. Sec. 215. Air traffic control training. Sec. 216. Report on aviation cybersecurity directives. Sec. 217. Rule of construction regarding collaborations. Sec. 218. Turbulence research and development. Sec. 219. Research, development, and demonstration programs. Sec. 220. Limitation. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3559 RH (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia- 2 tion Administration. 3 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 4 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 5 means the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 6 nology of the House of Representatives and the Com- 7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 8 the Senate. 9 (3) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Federal 10 Aviation Administration. 11 (4) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na- 12 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Transportation. 15 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 16 Subsection (a) of section 48102 of title 49, United 17 States Code, is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’; 19 (2) in paragraph (15) by striking the period at 20 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 21 (3) by adding at the end the following new para- 22 graphs: 23 ‘‘(16) $255,130,000; for fiscal year 2024; 24 ‘‘(17) $261,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3559 RH ‘‘(18) $267,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 1 ‘‘(19) $273,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and 2 ‘‘(20) $279,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.’’. 3 TITLE I —FAA RESEARCH AND 4 DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION 5 SEC. 101. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION; FUNDING FOR 6 SAFETY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 7 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 8 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 9 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 10 report on the allocation of funding pursuant to section 11 48102 of title 49, United States Code, to the Secretary of 12 Transportation to conduct civil aviation research and de- 13 velopment and to assess the implementation of section 14 48102(b)(2) of such title. 15 TITLE II —FAA RESEARCH AND 16 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 17 SEC. 201. AVIATION FUEL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 18 USAGE. 19 (a) ROADMAP.—Not later than nine months after the 20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 21 tation shall coordinate with the Administrator of NASA, 22 the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Envi- 23 ronmental Protection Agency, and consult relevant stake- 24 holders, including those in industry and academia, to pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3559 RH pare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 1 a coordinated research and development roadmap to safely 2 eliminate the use of leaded aviation fuel in existing and 3 future certified piston-engine aircraft. Such roadmap 4 shall— 5 (1) identify activities to accelerate the develop- 6 ment, testing, and certification of safe and lead-free 7 fuel for use in general aviation aircraft, including 8 requisite airport refueling infrastructure; and 9 (2) consider the feasibility of widespread use of 10 such safe and lead-free aviation fuel by not later than 11 2028. 12 (b) PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIVATE INDUSTRY.—The 13 Administrator shall coordinate with industry and pilot op- 14 erators regarding research programs for mass production 15 and distribution of unleaded aviation gasoline for market 16 viability engine safety, and define criteria to explore incen- 17 tive programs to reduce lead emissions for communities in 18 need. 19 SEC. 202. CONTINUOUS LOWER ENERGY, EMISSION, AND 20 NOISE (CLEEN). 21 The Administrator shall consider expanding the 22 CLEEN program under section 47511 of title 49, United 23 States Code, and broadening eligibility for the CLEEN pro- 24 gram to new entrants to the aviation system. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3559 RH SEC. 203. STRATEGY ON HYDROGEN AVIATION RESEARCH 1 AND DEVELOPMENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consultation 3 with the Administrator of NASA and the heads of other rel- 4 evant Federal agencies, shall lead the development of a re- 5 search and development strategy on the safe use of hydrogen 6 as part of a sustainable future for aviation. Such strategy 7 shall consider the following: 8 (1) The feasibility, opportunities, challenges, and 9 pathways toward the potential and safe uses of hydro- 10 gen in aviation. 11 (2) The use of hydrogen in addition to research 12 and development efforts, including electrification, 13 operational efficiencies and other alternatives to tra- 14 ditional aviation fuel. 15 (b) TRANSMITTAL.—Not later than one year after the 16 date of the enactment of the Act, the Administrator shall 17 transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress the re- 18 search and development strategy required under subsection 19 (a). 20 (c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—Based on the re- 21 sults of the research and development strategy under sub- 22 section (a), the Administrator, in coordination with the Ad- 23 ministrator of NASA, may conduct research and develop- 24 ment activities into the following: 25 (1) The qualification of hydrogen aviation fuel. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3559 RH (2) The safe transition to such fuel for aircraft. 1 (3) The advancement of certification efforts for 2 such fuel. 3 (4) Risk mitigation measures for the use of such 4 fuel in aircraft systems, including propulsion and 5 storage systems. 6 SEC. 204. REPORT ON FUTURE ELECTRIC GRID RESILIENCY. 7 Not later than two years after the date of the enact- 8 ment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with 9 the Secretary of Energy, shall submit to the appropriate 10 committees of Congress a report on the model use of the elec- 11 trical grid to support future electric advanced air mobility, 12 including cost, challenges, and opportunities for clean gen- 13 eration of electricity relating to such support. 14 SEC. 205. AIR TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE OVER OCEANS AND 15 OTHER REMOTE LOCATIONS. 16 (a) AIR TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE OVER OCEANS.— 17 Subject to the availability of appropriations for such pur- 18 pose, the Administrator, in consultation with the Adminis- 19 trator of NASA and the heads of other relevant Federal 20 agencies, shall carry out research, development, demonstra- 21 tion, and testing on civilian air traffic surveillance over 22 oceans and other remote locations. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3559 RH (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the research, de- 1 velopment, demonstration, and testing under subsection (a), 2 the Administrator shall— 3 (1) consider the need for international interoper- 4 ability of technologies, data, operations, and air traf- 5 fic control systems; 6 (2) examine the status of using air traffic sur- 7 veillance technologies, including space-based Auto- 8 matic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, to facilitate 9 the implementation of minimal separation standards 10 over United States-controlled oceanic airspace; 11 (3) identify mitigating approaches to reducing 12 any operational challenges, associated costs, or work- 13 load impacts; and 14 (4) use testing, data collection, evaluation, and 15 analysis on the use of air traffic surveillance tech- 16 nologies, including space-based Automatic Dependent 17 Surveillance-Broadcast, to support the activities de- 18 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (3). 19 (c) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Administrator may carry 20 out a pilot program to test and evaluate air traffic surveil- 21 lance equipment over United States-controlled oceanic air- 22 space and other remote locations. 23 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 24 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3559 RH to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 1 activities carried out under this section. 2 SEC. 206. UTILIZATION OF SPACE-BASED ASSETS TO IM- 3 PROVE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AND AVIATION 4 SAFETY. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of appro- 6 priations for such purpose, the Administrator, in coordina- 7 tion with the Administrator of NASA, and in consultation 8 with industry stakeholders, shall carry out research, devel- 9 opment, and testing of the use of air traffic Space-Based 10 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) 11 data. 12 (b) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the re- 13 search, development, and testing under subsection (a) the 14 Administrator shall focus on the following: 15 (1) Monitoring and automatically reporting air 16 turbulence events. 17 (2) Providing space-based multilateration sur- 18 veillance. 19 (3) Identifying global positioning system (GPS) 20 and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) dis- 21 ruptions affecting air traffic services and assessing 22 the impact of such events on the safety of air traffic 23 and the National Airspace System. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3559 RH (4) Evaluating the feasibility of implementing 1 and using aviation safety technologies and systems 2 using space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance- 3 Broadcast data. 4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 5 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide 6 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 7 research and development under subsection (a) and the ac- 8 tivities researched pursuant to subsection (b). 9 SEC. 207. AVIATION WEATHER TECHNOLOGY REVIEW. 10 (a) REVIEW.—The Administrator, in consultation 11 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos- 12 pheric Administration, shall conduct a review of current 13 and planned research, modeling, and technology capabili- 14 ties that have the potential to more accurately detect and 15 predict weather impacts to aviation, including for un- 16 manned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility oper- 17 ations, inform how advanced predictive models can enhance 18 aviation operations, and increase national airspace system 19 safety and efficiency. 20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 21 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 22 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report con- 23 taining the results of the review conducted under subsection 24 (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3559.RH H3559 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3559 RH SEC. 208. AIR TRAFFIC SURFACE OPERATIONS SAFETY. 1 (a) RESEARCH.—Subject to the availability of appro- 2 priations for such purpose, the Administrator, in consulta- 3 tion with the Administrator of NASA and the heads of other 4 appropriate Federal agencies, shall continu [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]