[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3440 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3440
To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance aviation safety.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2008
Ms. Snowe (for herself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance aviation safety.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of
2008''.
SEC. 2. AVIATION SAFETY WHISTLEBLOWER INVESTIGATION OFFICE.
Section 106 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(s) Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the
Department of Transportation an Aviation Safety Whistleblower
Investigation Office (referred to in this subsection as the
`Office').
``(2) Director.--
``(A) Appointment.--The head of the Office shall be
the Director, who shall be appointed by the Secretary
of Transportation.
``(B) Qualifications.--The Director shall have a
demonstrated ability in investigations and knowledge
of, or experience in, aviation.
``(C) Term.--The Director shall be appointed for a
term of 5 years.
``(D) Vacancy.--Any individual appointed to fill a
vacancy in the position of the Director occurring
before the expiration of the term for which the
individual's predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed for the remainder of that term.
``(3) Complaints and investigations.--
``(A) Authority of director.--The Director shall--
``(i) receive complaints and information
submitted by employees of persons holding
certificates issued under title 14, Code of
Federal Regulations, and employees of the
Administration concerning the possible
existence of an activity relating to a
violation of an order, regulation, or standard
of the Administration or any other provision of
Federal law relating to aviation safety;
``(ii) assess complaints and information
submitted under clause (i) and determine
whether a substantial likelihood exists that a
violation of an order, regulation, or standard
of the Administration or any other provision of
Federal law relating to aviation safety may
have occurred; and
``(iii) based on findings of the assessment
conducted under clause (ii), submit written
recommendations to the Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration (referred to in
this subsection as the `Administrator') for
further investigation or corrective actions.
``(B) Disclosure of identities.--The Director shall
not disclose the identity of an individual who submits
a complaint or information under subparagraph (A)(i)
unless--
``(i) the individual provides written
consent to the disclosure; or
``(ii) the Director determines, in the
course of an investigation, that the disclosure
is unavoidable.
``(C) Independence of director.--The Secretary of
Transportation, the Administrator, or any officer or
employee of the Administration may not prevent or
prohibit the Director from--
``(i) initiating, carrying out, or
completing any assessment of a complaint or
information submitted subparagraph (A)(i); or
``(ii) reporting to Congress on any such
assessment.
``(D) Access to information.--In conducting an
assessment of a complaint or information submitted
under subparagraph (A)(i), the Director shall have
access to all records, reports, audits, reviews,
documents, papers, recommendations, and other material
necessary to determine whether a substantial likelihood
exists that a violation of an order, regulation, or
standard of the Administration or any other provision
of Federal law relating to aviation safety may have
occurred.
``(4) Responses to recommendations.--The Administrator
shall submit a written response to a recommendation submitted
by the Director under subparagraph (A)(iii) and retain records
related to any further investigations or corrective actions
taken in response to the recommendation.
``(5) Incident reports.--If the Director determines there
is a substantial likelihood that a violation of an order,
regulation, or standard of the Administration or any other
provision of Federal law relating to aviation safety may have
occurred that requires immediate corrective action, the
Director shall expeditiously report the potential violation to
the Administrator and the Inspector General of the Department
of Transportation.
``(6) Reporting of criminal violations to inspector
general.--If the Director has reasonable grounds to believe
that there has been a violation of Federal criminal law, the
Director shall expeditiously report the violation to the
Inspector General.
``(7) Annual reports to congress.--Not later than October 1
of each year, the Director shall submit a report to Congress
that contains--
``(A) information on the number of complaints
submitted and information received by the Director
under paragraph (3)(A)(i) during the preceding 12-month
period;
``(B) summaries of the submissions described in
subparagraph (A);
``(C) summaries of further investigations and
corrective actions recommended in response to the
submissions described in subparagraph (A); and
``(D) summaries of the responses of the
Administrator to the recommendations described in
subparagraph (C).''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Subsections (a) and (d) of section 40101 of title 49,
United States Code, directs the Federal Aviation Administration
(in this section referred to as the ``Administration'') to make
safety its highest priority.
(2) In 1996, to ensure that there would be no appearance of
a conflict of interest for the Administration in carrying out
its safety responsibilities, Congress amended section 40101(d)
of such title to remove the responsibilities of the
Administration to promote airlines.
(3) Despite these directives from Congress regarding the
priority of safety, the Administration--
(A) issued a vision statement in which it stated
that the vision of the Administration includes ``being
responsive to our customers and accountable to the
public''; and
(B) issued a customer service initiative in 2003,
which required aviation inspectors to treat air
carriers and other aviation certificate holders as
``customers'' rather than as regulated entities.
(4) The initiatives described in paragraph (3) appear to
have given regulated entities and Administration inspectors the
impression that the management of the Administration gives an
unduly high priority to the satisfaction of regulated entities
regarding its inspection and certification decisions and other
lawful actions of its safety inspectors.
(5) As a result of the emphasis on customer satisfaction,
some managers of the Administration have discouraged vigorous
enforcement and replaced inspectors whose lawful actions
adversely affected an air carrier.
(b) Modification of Initiative.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall modify the customer service initiative,
mission, and vision statements, and other statements of policy of the
Administration--
(1) to remove any reference to air carriers and other
entities regulated by the Administration as ``customers'';
(2) to clarify that in regulating safety, the only
customers of the Administration are individuals traveling on
aircraft; and
(3) to clarify that air carriers and other entities
regulated by the Administration do not have the right to select
the employees of the Administration who will inspect their
operations.
(c) Safety Priority.--In carrying out the Administrator's
responsibilities, the Administrator shall ensure that safety is given a
higher priority than preventing the dissatisfaction of an air carrier
or other entity regulated by the Administration with an employee of the
Administration.
SEC. 4. POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS FOR FLIGHT STANDARDS INSPECTORS.
(a) In General.--Section 44711 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Post-Employment Restrictions for Flight Standards
Inspectors.--
``(1) Prohibition.--A person holding an operating
certificate issued under title 14, Code of Federal Regulations,
may not engage in employment negotiations, knowingly employ, or
make a contractual arrangement of employment with an employee
of the Federal Aviation Administration if the individual, in
the preceding 2-year period--
``(A) served as, or was responsible for oversight
of, a flight standards inspector of the Agency; and
``(B) had responsibility to inspect, or oversee
inspection of, the operations of the certificate
holder.
``(2) Written and oral communications.--For purposes of
paragraph (1), an individual shall be considered to be acting
as an agent or representative of a certificate holder in a
matter before the Administration if the individual makes any
written or oral communication on behalf of the certificate
holder to the Administration (or any of its officers or
employees) in connection with a particular matter, whether or
not involving a specific party and without regard to whether
the individual has participated in, or had responsibility for,
the particular matter while serving as a flight standards
inspector of the Administration.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall not
apply to an individual employed by a certificate holder as of the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. ASSIGNMENT OF PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORY INSPECTORS.
(a) In General.--An individual serving as a principal supervisory
inspector of the Administration may not be responsible for overseeing
the operations of a single air carrier for a continuous period of more
than 5 years.
(b) Transitional Provision.--An individual serving as a principal
supervisory inspector of the Agency with respect to an air carrier as
of the date of enactment of this Act may be responsible for overseeing
the operations of the carrier until the last day of the 5-year period
specified in subsection (a) or the last day of the 2-year period
beginning on such date of enactment, whichever is later.
(c) Issuance of Order.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall issue an order to carry out this section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as may be necessary to
carry out this section.
SEC. 6. IMPROVED VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE REPORTING SYSTEM.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``Voluntary Disclosure
Reporting Program'' means the program established by the Federal
Aviation Administration through Advisory Circular 00-58A, dated
September 8, 2006.
(b) Verification and Evaluation.--The Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall modify the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting
Program to require inspectors to--
(1) verify that air carriers implement comprehensive
solutions to correct the underlying causes of the violations
voluntarily disclosed by such air carriers; and
(2) evaluate, before accepting a new report of a previously
disclosed violation, whether the air carrier took the actions
described in paragraph (1).
(c) Supervisory Review of Voluntary Self-Disclosures.--The
Administrator shall establish a process by which voluntary self-
disclosures received from air carriers are reviewed and approved by a
supervisor after the initial paper review by an inspector.
SEC. 7. NATIONAL REVIEW TEAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall establish a National Review Team, comprised of
Federal Aviation Administration inspectors who are serving or have
served as principal supervisory inspectors.
(b) Responsibilities.--The National Review Team shall conduct
periodic, unannounced audits of air carrier operations and maintenance
practices and procedures to evaluate air carrier oversight carried out
by the Federal Aviation Administration throughout the United States.
(c) Supervision.--The National Review Team shall be directly
supervised by the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety.
(d) Limitation.--The Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety
shall prohibit each member of the National Review Team from
participating in any audit described in subsection (b) if such member
had previously had the responsibility for inspecting, or overseeing the
inspection of, the operations of the air carrier that is the subject of
such audit.
SEC. 8. HEADQUARTERS REVIEW OF AIR TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT SYSTEM
DATABASE.
(a) Reviews.--The Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall establish a process by which the air
transportation oversight system database of the Federal Aviation
Administration is reviewed by a team of employees of the Administration
on a monthly basis to ensure--
(1) the identification of any trends in regulatory
compliance; and
(2) that appropriate corrective actions are taken in
accordance with Administration regulations, advisory
directives, policies, and procedures.
(b) Monthly Team Reports.--
(1) In general.--The team of employees conducting a monthly
review of the air transportation oversight system database
under subsection (a) shall submit a report on the results of
the review to the Administrator, the Associate Administrator
for Aviation Safety, and the Director of Flight Standards.
(2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall identify--
(A) any trends in regulatory compliance discovered
by the team of employees in conducting the monthly
review; and
(B) any corrective actions taken or proposed to be
taken in response to the trends.
(c) Quarterly Reports to Congress.--The Administrator shall submit
a quarterly report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that--
(1) describes the results of the reviews of the air
transportation oversight system database conducted under this
section; and
(2) includes copies of reports received under subsection
(b).
SEC. 9. RULEMAKING.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall
prescribe regulations to carry out this Act and the amendments made by
this Act.
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