AIRWAYS Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1935 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to improve the preparation and representation of certain students in aviation-related fields. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 13, 2023 Mr. WARNOCK (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARPER, Mr. COONS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. WYDEN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to improve the preparation and representation of certain students in aviation-related fields. 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 ‘‘Advancing Inclusion 4 and Representation in the Workforce of Aviation and 5 Transportation Systems Act’’ or the ‘‘AIRWAYS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1935 IS SEC. 2. EXPANDING AVIATION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 1 PROGRAMS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 3 program to provide grants for eligible projects to support 4 the education and recruitment of— 5 (1) aircraft pilots and the development of the 6 aircraft pilot workforce; 7 (2) aviation maintenance technical workers and 8 the development of the aviation maintenance work- 9 force; and 10 (3) aviation manufacturing technical workers 11 and the development of the aviation manufacturing 12 workforce. 13 (b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.— 14 (1) AIRCRAFT PILOT WORKFORCE.—An applica- 15 tion for a grant for an eligible project described in 16 subsection (a)(1) may be submitted by— 17 (A) an institution of higher education, a 18 postsecondary vocational institution, or a local 19 educational agency; 20 (B) a flight school that provides flight 21 training, as defined in part 61 of title 14, Code 22 of Federal Regulations, or that holds a pilot 23 school certificate under part 141 of title 14, 24 Code of Federal Regulations; 25 (C) a State or local governmental entity; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1935 IS (D) a non-profit organization that partici- 1 pates in the creation and delivery of workforce 2 programs; or 3 (E) an air carrier in partnership with an 4 institution of higher education, a postsecondary 5 vocational institution, or a local educational 6 agency, or a flight school described in subpara- 7 graph (B). 8 (2) AVIATION MAINTENANCE WORKFORCE.—An 9 application for a grant for an eligible project de- 10 scribed in subsection (a)(2) may be submitted by— 11 (A) an institution of higher education, a 12 postsecondary vocational institution, or a local 13 educational agency; 14 (B) a holder of a certificate issued under 15 part 21, 121, 135, or 145 of title 14, Code of 16 Federal Regulations, or a labor organization 17 representing aviation maintenance workers; 18 (C) a holder of a type or production certifi- 19 cate or similar authorization issued under sec- 20 tion 44704 of title 49, United States Code, or 21 a credible applicant for such a certificate as de- 22 termined by the Secretary; 23 (D) a State or local governmental entity; 24 or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1935 IS (E) a non-profit organization that partici- 1 pates in the creation and delivery of workforce 2 programs. 3 (3) AVIATION MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE.— 4 An application for a grant for an eligible project de- 5 scribed in subsection (a)(3) may be submitted by— 6 (A) an institution of higher education, a 7 postsecondary vocational institution, or a local 8 educational agency; 9 (B) a holder of a type or production cer- 10 tificate or similar authorization issued under 11 section 44704 of title 49, United States Code, 12 or a credible applicant for such a certificate as 13 determined by the Secretary; 14 (C) a State or local governmental entity; or 15 (D) a non-profit organization that partici- 16 pates in the creation and delivery of workforce 17 programs. 18 (4) FORM.—The Secretary shall specify the 19 form and manner in which to submit an application 20 for a grant for an eligible project under this section. 21 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—For purposes of this sec- 22 tion, an eligible project is a project— 23 (1) to create and deliver a program designed to 24 provide students enrolled in a public secondary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1935 IS school with meaningful aviation education that is de- 1 signed to help prepare the students to become air- 2 craft pilots, aerospace engineers, unmanned aircraft 3 systems operators, aviation maintenance technical 4 workers, or aviation manufacturing technical work- 5 ers; 6 (2) to support the professional development of 7 teachers and other educators in implementing the 8 program described in paragraph (1); 9 (3) to establish new educational programs that 10 teach technical skills used by aircraft pilots, in avia- 11 tion maintenance, or in aviation manufacturing, in- 12 cluding purchasing equipment, or to improve exist- 13 ing such programs; 14 (4) to establish scholarships or registered ap- 15 prenticeships for individuals pursuing employment 16 as aircraft pilots, or in the aviation maintenance and 17 aviation manufacturing industries; 18 (5) to support outreach about careers as air- 19 craft pilots, or careers in the aviation maintenance 20 and aviation manufacturing industries to— 21 (A) students enrolled in public elementary 22 schools and public secondary schools, and post- 23 secondary school students; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1935 IS (B) communities under represented in the 1 aviation pilot, maintenance, and manufacturing 2 industries, including women, minorities, and in- 3 dividuals in economically disadvantaged geo- 4 graphic areas and rural communities; 5 (6) to support educational opportunities related 6 to aircraft pilots, aviation maintenance, and aviation 7 manufacturing in economically disadvantaged geo- 8 graphic areas and rural communities; 9 (7) to support transition to aircraft pilot ca- 10 reers or careers in aviation maintenance and avia- 11 tion manufacturing, including for veterans and mem- 12 bers of the Armed Forces; or 13 (8) to otherwise expand the aircraft pilot, avia- 14 tion maintenance, and aviation manufacturing 15 workforces. 16 (d) GRANT APPLICATION REVIEW.—In reviewing and 17 selecting applications for grants for eligible projects under 18 this section, the Secretary shall— 19 (1) give priority to applicants that— 20 (A) provide an assurance to use grant 21 funds to encourage the participation of popu- 22 lations that are under represented in the avia- 23 tion industry, including women, minorities, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1935 IS individuals in economically disadvantaged geo- 1 graphic areas and rural communities; 2 (B) provide an assurance to use grant 3 funds to encourage the participation of popu- 4 lations that are under represented in the avia- 5 tion industry, including women, minorities, and 6 individuals in economically disadvantaged geo- 7 graphic areas and rural communities, to ad- 8 dress the workforce needs of rural and regional 9 airports; or 10 (C) provide an assurance to strengthen 11 aviation programs at a minority-serving institu- 12 tion, a public institution of higher education, or 13 a public postsecondary vocational institution; 14 and 15 (2) prior to selecting among competing applica- 16 tions, consult, as appropriate, with representatives of 17 aircraft repair stations, design and production ap- 18 proval holders, air carriers, labor organizations, 19 business aviation, general aviation, educational insti- 20 tutions, and other relevant aviation sectors. 21 (e) PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—A re- 22 cipient of a grant under this section may enter into a part- 23 nership agreement with an institution of higher education, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1935 IS a nonprofit organization, or another entity, to carry out 1 activities with the grant funds. 2 (f) GRANT AMOUNT.—The maximum amount of a 3 grant awarded for an eligible project under this section 4 for a fiscal year shall be $1,000,000. 5 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For each 6 of fiscal years 2024 through 2029, there is authorized to 7 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for mak- 8 ing grants for eligible projects under this section. 9 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) AIR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘air carrier’’ has 11 the meaning given that term in section 40102 of 12 title 49, United States Code. 13 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen- 14 tary school’’ has the meaning given that term in sec- 15 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 17 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 18 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 19 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High- 20 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 21 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 22 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 23 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1935 IS (5) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 1 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti- 2 tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 4 (6) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU- 5 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu- 6 tion’’ has the meaning given that term in section 7 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 8 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 9 (7) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 10 ondary school’’ has the meaning given that term in 11 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 13 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Transportation. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:43 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB