OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Salaries and Expenses For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General to carry out the provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, $44,840,000: Provided, That the Inspector General shall have all necessary authority, in carrying out the duties specified in the Inspector General Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 3) to investigate allegations of fraud, including false statements to the Government (18 U.S.C. 1001), by any person or entity that is subject to regulation by the Department: Provided further, That the funds made available under this heading shall be used to investigate pursuant to section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, relating to unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition by domestic and foreign air earners and ticket agents: Provided further, That it is the sense of the Senate, that for purposes of the preceding proviso, the terms “unfair or deceptive practices” and “unfair methods of competition” include the failure to disclose to a passenger or a ticket agent whether the flight on which the passenger is ticketed or has requested to purchase a ticket is overbooked, unless the Secretary certifies such disclosure by a carrier is technologically infeasible: Provided further, That 113 STAT. 1014the funds made available under this heading shall be used: (1) to investigate pursuant to section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, relating to unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition by air carriers and foreign air carriers; (2) for monitoring by the Inspector General of the compliance of domestic and foreign air carriers with respect to paragraph (1) of this proviso; and (3) for the submission to the appropriate committees of Congress by the Inspector General, not later than July 15, 2000, of a report on the extent to which actual or potential barriers exist to consumer access to comparative price and service information from independent sources on the purchase of passenger air transportation: Provided further, That it is the sense of the Senate, that for purposes of the preceding proviso, the terms “unfair or deceptive practices” and “unfair methods of competition” mean the offering for sale to the public for any route, class, and time of service through any technology or means of communication a fare that is different than that offered through other technology or means of communication: Provided further, That it is the sense of the Senate that funds made available under this heading shall be used for the submission to the appropriate committees of Congress by the Inspector General a report on the extent to which air carriers and foreign air carriers deny travel to airline consumers with non-refundable tickets from one carrier to another.