Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Sec. 110. Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. (a) Period of Applicability of Certain Amendments.—Effective September 29, 1998, section 125 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 (49 U.S.C. 47114 note; 110 Stat. 3220) is repealed. (b) Airport Improvement Program.— (1) Authorization of appropriations.—Section 48103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (A) by striking “September 30, 1996” and inserting “September 30, 1998”; and (B) by striking “$2,280,000,000” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: “$1,205,000,000 for the six-month period beginning October 1, 1998”. (2) Obligational authority.—Section 47104(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “September 30, 1998” and inserting “March 31, 1999”. (c) Aviation Insurance Program Amendments.— (1) Reimbursement of insured party’s subrogee.—Section 44309(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “(a) Losses.— “(1) Actions against united states.—A person may bring a civil action in a district court of the United States or in the United States Court of Federal Claims against the United States Government when— “(A) a loss insured under this chapter is in dispute; or “(B)(i) the person is subrogated under a contract between the person and a party insured under this chapter (other than section 44305(b)) to the rights of the insured party against the United States Government; and “(ii) the person has paid to the insured party, with the approval of the Secretary of Transportation, an amount for a physical damage loss that the Secretary has determined is a loss covered by insurance issued under this chapter (other than section 44305(b)). “(2) Limitation.—A civil action involving the same matter (except the action authorized by this subsection) may not be brought against an agent, officer, or employee of the Government carrying out this chapter.112 STAT. 2681–588 “(3) Procedure.—To the extent applicable, the procedure in an action brought under section 1346(a)(2) of title 28, United States Code, applies to an action under this subsection.”. (2) Extension of aviation insurance program.—Section 44310 of such title is amended by striking “December 31, 1998.” and inserting “March 31, 1999.”. (d) Eligibility of AIP Funds to Assess Y2K Compliance.— (1) Eligibility.—For fiscal year 1999 the term “airport development” under section 47102(3) of title 49, United States Code, may include activities of an airport sponsor of a commercial service airport (as defined by section 47102(7) of such title) to assess the Year 2000 processing capabilities of any airport facilities, technology systems, or equipment owned by the airport sponsor and directly related to airport activities, regardless of whether such facilities, systems, or equipment are otherwise eligible for assistance under chapter 471 of such title. Such activities may include testing associated with such assessment. (2) Limitations.— (A) Only funds apportioned to sponsors under section 47114(c) of title 49, United States Code, or to States under subsections (d) and (e) of section 47114 of such title, may be used for activities described in paragraph (1). (B) The expanded eligibility under paragraph (1) applies only to the assessment (and associated testing) with respect to the Year 2000 processing capabilities of airport facilities, systems, and equipment owned by the airport sponsor. (3) Definition.—In this subsection, the term “Year 2000 processing” means the processing (including, without limitation, calculating, comparing, sequencing, displaying, or storing), transmitting, or receiving of date or date/time data from, into, and between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the years 1999 and 2000, and leap year calculations. (e) Scorekeeping Adjustment.—Notwithstanding Rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping Guidelines set forth in the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference accompanying Conference Report No. 105–217, legislation in this section that would have been estimated by the Office of Management and Budget as changing direct spending or receipts under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 were it included in an Act other than an appropriation Act shall be treated as direct spending or receipts legislation, as appropriate, under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. (f) Joint Venture Agreements. (1) In general.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the following: “§ 41716. Joint venture agreements “(a) Definitions.—In this section, the following definitions apply: “(1) Joint venture agreement.—The term ‘joint venture agreement’ means an agreement entered into by a major air carrier on or after January 1, 1998, with regard to (A) codesharing, blocked-space arrangements, long-term wet leases (as defined in section 207.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) 112 STAT. 2681–589of a substantial number (as defined by the Secretary by regulation) of aircraft, or frequent flyer programs, or (B) any other cooperative working arrangement (as defined by the Secretary by regulation) between 2 or more major air carriers that affects more than 15 percent of the total number of available seat miles offered by the major air carriers. “(2) Major air carrier.—The term ‘major air carrier’ means a passenger air carrier that is certificated under chapter 411 of this title and included in Carrier Group III under criteria contained in section 04 of part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. “(b) Submission of Joint Venture Agreement—At least 30 days before a joint venture agreement may take effect, each of the major air carriers that entered into the agreement shall submit to the Secretary— “(1) a complete copy of the joint venture agreement and all related agreements; and “(2) other information and documentary material that the Secretary may require by regulation. “(c) Extension of Waiting Period.— “(1) In general.—The Secretary may extend the 30-day period referred to in subsection (b) until— “(A) in the case of a joint venture agreement with regard to code-sharing, the 150th day following the last day of such period; and “(B) in the case of any other joint venture agreement, the 60th day following the last day of such period. “(2) Publication of reasons for extension.—If the Secretary extends the 30-day period referred to in subsection (b), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register the Secretary’s reasons for making the extension. “(d) Termination of Waiting Period.—At any time after the date of submission of a joint venture agreement under subsection (b), the Secretary may terminate the waiting periods referred to in subsections (b) and (c) with respect to the agreement. “(e) Regulations.—The effectiveness of a joint venture agreement may not be delayed due to any failure of the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this section. “(f) Memorandum to Prevent Duplicative Reviews.—Promptly after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall consult with the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in order to establish, through a written memorandum of understanding, preclearance procedures to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort by the Secretary and the Assistant Attorney General under this section and the antitrust laws of the United States, respectively. “(g) Prior Agreements.—With respect to a joint venture agreement entered into before the date of enactment of this section as to which the Secretary finds that— “(1) the parties submitted the agreement to the Secretary before such date of enactment; and “(2) the parties submitted all information on the agreement requested by the Secretary, the waiting period described in paragraphs (2) and (3) shall begin on the date, as determined by the Secretary, on which all such information was submitted and end on the last day to which the period could be extended under this section.112 STAT. 2681–590 “(h) Limitation on Statutory Construction.—The authority granted to the Secretary under this section shall not in any way limit the authority of the Attorney General to enforce the antitrust laws as defined in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12).”. (2) Conforming amendment.—The analysis for subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the following: “41716. Joint venture agreements.”. (g) Competitive Practices in the Airline Industry.— (1) National research council.— (a) Study.—The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences shall complete a comprehensive update of the 1991 study of airline deregulation prepared by the Transportation Research Board of the Council. The update shall include updated versions of the chapters contained in the study pertaining to competitive issues in the airline industry as well as recommendations for changes in the statutory framework under which the airline industry operates. (b) Report by National Research Council—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Research Council shall transmit to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation a report containing the results of the study conducted under paragraph (a). (c) Report by the Secretary.—Not later than 2 months after the date on which the Secretary receives the report of the National Research Council under paragraph (b), the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report containing the response of the Secretary to the findings and recommendations of the National Research Council. (2) Report to congress.—The Secretary shall conduct a study and transmit to Congress a report that includes— (a) a description of any complaints received by the Secretary concerning acts of unfair competition or predatory pricing in the airline industry (including the number of such complaints) and of specific examples of such acts; (b) a description of the options of the Secretary for addressing any acts of unfair competition or predatory pricing identified under paragraph (a); (c) an analysis of the guidelines proposed in Docket OST–98–3713, including information documenting and quantifying the impact of the guidelines on the items listed in subsection (3)(c); and (d) a description of the manner in which the Secretary plans to coordinate the handling of predatory pricing and unfair competition complaints against air carriers filed with the Secretary and similar complaints filed with the Attorney General, including methods to ensure efficient use of limited government resources and to ensure that all parties avoid duplicate requests by government agencies for information unless each of the agencies needs the information to carry out its statutory responsibilities. (3) Guidelines.—112 STAT. 2681–591 (a) Issuance.—The Secretary shall not issue final guidelines in Docket OST–98–3713 before the date of transmittal to Congress of a report under subsection (2). (b) Transmittal to congress.—If the Secretary issues final guidelines in Docket OST–98–3713, the Secretary shall transmit the guidelines to Congress. (c) Impact of guidelines.—If, as a result of the study conducted under subsection (2), the Secretary decides to issue final guidelines in Docket OST–98–3713 that are different from the guidelines originally proposed, the Secretary shall, as part of the transmittal under paragraph (b), include information that documents and quantifies the impact of the guidelines on the following: (i) Scheduled service to small- and medium-sized communities. (ii) Airfares, including the availability of senior citizen, Internet, and standby discounts on routes covered by the guidelines. (iii) The incentive and ability of major air carriers to offer low airfares. (iv) The incentive of new entrant air carriers to offer low airfares. (v) The ability of air carriers to offer inclusive leisure travel for which airfares are not separately advertised. (vi) Members of frequent flyer programs. (vii) The ability of air carriers to carry nonorigination and destination traffic on the portion of routes that are served by new entrant air carriers covered by the guidelines. (viii) Airline employees. (4) Consultation.—In conducting the study under section (2), the Secretary shall consult with the Attorney General, major air carriers, new entrant air carriers, airport and community leaders, academic and economic experts, and airline employees and passengers. (5) Effective date.—The guidelines adopted in Docket OST–98–3713, or any similar guidelines, shall not become effective before the last day of the 12-week period beginning on the date of transmittal to Congress of final guidelines in Docket OST–98–3713, except that a week shall not count toward such 12-week period unless the House of Representatives is in session for legislative business at least 1 day during the week.