Notam Improvement Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 346) to establish a task force on improvements for notices to air missions, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``NOTAM Improvement Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. FAA TASK FORCE ON NOTAM IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a task force to be known as the FAA Task Force on NOTAM Improvement (in this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Composition.--The Task Force shall consist of members appointed by the Administrator, including at least one member of each of the following:
(1) Air carrier representatives.
(2) Airport representatives.
(3) Labor union representatives of airline pilots.
(4) Labor union representatives of aircraft dispatchers.
(5) The labor union certified under section 7111 of title 5, United States Code, to represent FAA air traffic control specialists assigned to the United States NOTAMs Office.
(6) The labor union certified under section 7111 of title 5, United States Code, to represent FAA aeronautical information specialists.
(7) General and business aviation representatives.
(8) Aviation safety experts with knowledge of NOTAMs.
(9) Human factors experts.
(10) Computer system architecture and cybersecurity experts.
(c) Duties.--The duties of the Task Force shall include--
(1) reviewing existing methods for publishing NOTAMs and flight operations information to pilots;
(2) reviewing regulations, policies, systems, and international standards relating to NOTAMs, including their content and presentation to pilots;
(3) evaluating and determining best practices to organize, prioritize, and present flight operations information in a manner that optimizes pilot review and retention of relevant information; and
(4) providing recommendations for--
(A) improving the publication and delivery of NOTAM information in a manner that prioritizes or highlights the most important information, and optimizes pilot review and retention of relevant information;
(B) ways to ensure that NOTAMs are complete, accurate, timely, relevant to safe flight operations, and contain pertinent information;
(C) any best practices that the FAA should consider to improve the accuracy and understandability of NOTAMs and the display of flight operations information;
(D) ways to work with air carriers, other airspace users, and aviation service providers to implement solutions that are aligned with the recommendations under this paragraph; and
(E) ways to ensure the stability, resiliency, and cybersecurity of the NOTAM computer system.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the establishment of the Task Force, the Task Force shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report detailing--
(1) the results of the reviews and evaluations of the Task Force under paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c);
(2) the best practices identified and recommendations provided by the Task Force under subsection (c)(4);
(3) any recommendations of the Task Force for additional regulatory or policy actions to improve the publication of NOTAMs; and
(4) the degree to which implementing the recommendations of the Task Force described under paragraph (2) will address National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendation A- 18-024.
(e) Applicable Law.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Task Force.
(f) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate on the later of--
(1) the date on which the Task Force submits the report required under subsection (d); or
(2) the date that is 18 months after the date on which the Task Force is established under subsection (a).
(g) Authority.--The Administrator shall have the authority to carry out the recommendations of the Task Force detailed in the report required under subsection (d).
(h) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to require the FAA to duplicate any prior, ongoing, or planned efforts related to the improvement of NOTAMs, including any efforts related to implementing any previously enacted requirements.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) FAA.--The term ``FAA'' means the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) NOTAM.--The term ``NOTAM'' means a notice containing information (which is not known sufficiently in advance to publicize by other means) concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any component (including a facility, service, or procedure thereof) or hazard in the National Airspace System, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations. SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
Not later than September 30, 2024, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall make the following improvements:
(1) Complete implementation of a Federal NOTAM System (in this section referred to as a ``FNS'').
(2) Implement a back-up system to the FNS.
(3) Brief the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on a plan to enhance the capability to deliver information through the FNS that is machine-readable, filterable, and in the format used by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to promote further global harmonization among neighboring Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and provide users of the National Airspace System with one consistent format for domestic and international operations.
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Mr. STAUBER. 346.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of my bipartisan legislation that improves the safety of air travel.
NOTAMs provide current, up-to-the-minute data to pilots on any aspect of their flight. Unfortunately, NOTAMs are often buried in lengthy reports, conflating important safety information with more common alerts. These inefficiencies have created some life-threatening situations over the years.
On January 11, 2023, all U.S. domestic flights were grounded for the first time since 9/11. The NOTAM system crashed. Old and antiquated, it comes as no real surprise that the system easily went down.
Unfortunately, leadership at the Department of Transportation has left me uninspired. Instead of focusing resources on safety improvements and upgrades, Secretary Buttigieg has spent his time retitling programs and systems.
I will tell you that no pilot cares what the system is called, just that it works and provides her with the information she needs to get her crew and her passengers to safety.
Mr. Speaker, I have been advocating for NOTAM upgrades for 4 years. My legislation, which creates a task force at the FAA with important input from safety experts, industry professionals, and unions to address both the efficiency and resiliency of the NOTAM system, has passed out of the House in both the 116th and the 117th Congresses.
However, it is only after a disastrous event that this legislation finally got the traction it deserves. We must stop reacting in Congress. We must be thoughtful, considerate, and proactive in how we legislate.
I thank my good friend and colleague, Mr. DeSaulnier, for his support and his leadership on this legislation and Senators Klobuchar and Capito for pushing the legislation in the Senate.
I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation before another failure of the NOTAM system occurs. Our pilots, our crews, and our passengers are counting on us.
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Burchett), my good friend.
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 346 is a key step toward safeguarding the integrity and safety of America's national airspace.
This legislation proves that Congress can rise to the challenges of the day, and I urge all Members to support the bill.
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