AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM JOINT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.

SEC. 709. AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM JOINT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.(a) Establishment.—(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall establish in the Federal Aviation Administration a joint planning and development office to manage work related to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. The office shall be known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office (in this section referred to as the “Office”).(2) The responsibilities of the Office shall include—(A) creating and carrying out an integrated plan for a Next Generation Air Transportation System pursuant to subsection (b);(B) overseeing research and development on that system; (C) creating a transition plan for the implementation of that system;(D) coordinating aviation and aeronautics research programs to achieve the goal of more effective and directed programs that will result in applicable research;117 STAT. 2583(E) coordinating goals and priorities and coordinating research activities within the Federal Government with United States aviation and aeronautical firms;(F) coordinating the development and utilization of new technologies to ensure that when available, they may be used to their fullest potential in aircraft and in the air traffic control system;(G) facilitating the transfer of technology from research programs such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program and the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to Federal agencies with operational responsibilities and to the private sector; and(H) reviewing activities relating to noise, emissions, fuel consumption, and safety conducted by Federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense.(3) The Office shall operate in conjunction with relevant programs in the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Transportation may request assistance from staff from those Departments and other Federal agencies.(4) In developing and carrying out its plans, the Office shall consult with the public and ensure the participation of experts from the private sector including representatives of commercial aviation, general aviation, aviation labor groups, aviation research and development entities, aircraft and air traffic control suppliers, and the space industry. (b) Integrated Plan.—The integrated plan shall be designed to ensure that the Next Generation Air Transportation System meets air transportation safety, security, mobility, efficiency, and capacity needs beyond those currently included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s operational evolution plan and accomplishes the goals under subsection (c). The integrated plan shall include—(1) a national vision statement for an air transportation system capable of meeting potential air traffic demand by 2025; (2) a description of the demand and the performance characteristics that will be required of the Nation’s future air transportation system, and an explanation of how those characteristics were derived, including the national goals, objectives, and policies the system is designed to further, and the underlying socioeconomic determinants, and associated models and analyses;(3) a multiagency research and development roadmap for creating the Next Generation Air Transportation System with the characteristics outlined under clause (ii), including—(A) the most significant technical obstacles and the research and development activities necessary to overcome them, including for each project, the role of each Federal agency, corporations, and universities;(B) the annual anticipated cost of carrying out the research and development activities; and (C) the technical milestones that will be used to evaluate the activities; and (4) a description of the operational concepts to meet the system performance requirements for all system users and a 117 STAT. 2584 timeline and anticipated expenditures needed to develop and deploy the system to meet the vision for 2025.(c) Goals.—The Next Generation Air Transportation System shall—(1) improve the level of safety, security, efficiency, quality, and affordability of the National Airspace System and aviation services;(2) take advantage of data from emerging ground-based and space-based communications, navigation, and surveillance technologies;(3) integrate data streams from multiple agencies and sources to enable situational awareness and seamless global operations for all appropriate users of the system, including users responsible for civil aviation, homeland security, and national security;(4) leverage investments in civil aviation, homeland security, and national security and build upon current air traffic management and infrastructure initiatives to meet system performance requirements for all system users;(5) be scalable to accommodate and encourage substantial growth in domestic and international transportation and anticipate and accommodate continuing technology upgrades and advances;(6) accommodate a wide range of aircraft operations, including airlines, air taxis, helicopters, general aviation, and unmanned aerial vehicles; and(7) take into consideration, to the greatest extent practicable, design of airport approach and departure flight paths to reduce exposure of noise and emissions pollution on affected residents. (d) Reports.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Science in the House of Representatives—(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the integrated plan required in subsection (b); and (2) annually at the time of the President’s budget request, a report describing the progress in carrying out the plan required under subsection (b) and any changes to that plan.(e) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2010.