[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3192 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3192
To establish an aerospace fellowship program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 14, 2020
Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an aerospace fellowship program, and for other purposes.
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 ``National Air Grant Fellowship
Program Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL AIR GRANT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Program Maintenance.--The Administrator shall maintain within
the Administration a program to be known as the ``National Air Grant
Fellowship Program''. The National Air Grant Fellowship Program shall
be administered by a National Air Grant Office within the
Administration.
(b) Program Elements.--The National Air Grant Fellowship Program
shall provide support for the fellowship program under section 3.
(c) Responsibilities of Administrator.--
(1) Guidelines.--The Administrator shall establish
guidelines related to the activities and responsibilities of
air grant fellowships under section 3.
(2) Qualifications.--The Administrator shall by regulation
prescribe the qualifications required for designation of air
grant fellowships under section 3.
(3) Authority.--In order to carry out the provisions of
this Act, the Administrator may--
(A) appoint, assign the duties, transfer, and fix
the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary,
in accordance with civil service laws;
(B) make appointments with respect to temporary and
intermittent services to the extent authorized by
section 3109 of title 5, United States Code;
(C) enter into contracts, cooperative agreements,
and other transactions without regard to section 6101
of title 41, United States Code;
(D) notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31,
United States Code, accept donations and voluntary and
uncompensated services;
(E) accept funds from other Federal departments and
agencies, including agencies within the Administration,
to pay for and add to activities authorized by this
Act; and
(F) promulgate such rules and regulations as may be
necessary and appropriate.
(d) Director of National Air Grant Fellowship Program.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall appoint, as the
Director of the National Air Grant Fellowship Program, a
qualified individual who has appropriate administrative
experience and knowledge or expertise in fields related to
aerospace. The Director shall be appointed and compensated,
without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing
appointments in the competitive service, at a rate payable
under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Duties.--Subject to the supervision of the
Administrator, the Director shall administer the National Air
Grant Fellowship Program and oversee the operation of the
National Air Grant Office. In addition to any other duty
prescribed by law or assigned by the Administrator, the
Director shall--
(A) cooperate with institutions of higher education
that offer degrees in fields related to aerospace;
(B) encourage the participation of graduate and
post-graduate students in the National Air Grant
Fellowship Program; and
(C) cooperate and coordinate with other Federal
activities in fields related to aerospace.
SEC. 3. FELLOWSHIPS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall support a program of
fellowships for qualified individuals at the graduate and post-graduate
level. The fellowships shall be in fields related to aerospace and
awarded pursuant to guidelines established by the Administrator. The
Administrator shall strive to ensure equal access for minority and
economically disadvantaged students to the program carried out under
this subsection.
(b) Aerospace Policy Fellowship.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall award aerospace
policy fellowships to support the placement of individuals at
the graduate level of education in fields related to aerospace
in positions with--
(A) the executive branch of the United States
Government; and
(B) the legislative branch of the United States
Government.
(2) Placement priorities for legislative fellowships.--
(A) In general.--In considering the placement of
individuals receiving a fellowship for a legislative
branch position under paragraph (1)(B), the
Administrator shall give priority to placement of such
individuals in the following:
(i) Positions in offices of, or with
Members on, committees of Congress that have
jurisdiction over the Federal Aviation
Administration.
(ii) Positions in offices of Members of
Congress that have a demonstrated interest in
aerospace policy.
(B) Equitable distribution.--In placing fellows in
positions described under subparagraph (A), the
Administrator shall ensure that placements are equally
distributed among the political parties.
(3) Duration.--A fellowship awarded under this subsection
shall be for a period of not more than 1 year.
(c) Restriction on Use of Funds.--Amounts available for fellowships
under this section, including amounts accepted under section 2(c)(3)(E)
or appropriated under section 5 to carry out this section, shall be
used only for award of such fellowships and administrative costs of
implementing this section.
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.
Each department, agency, or other instrumentality of the Federal
Government that is engaged in or concerned with, or that has authority
over, matters relating to aerospace--
(1) may, upon a written request from the Administrator,
make available, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, any
personnel (with their consent and without prejudice to their
position and rating), service, or facility that the
Administrator deems necessary to carry out any provision of
this Act;
(2) shall, upon a written request from the Administrator,
furnish any available data or other information that the
Administrator deems necessary to carry out any provision of
this Act; and
(3) shall cooperate with the Administration and duly
authorized officials thereof.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to carry out
this Act. Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence shall
remain available until expended.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
(3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Air Grant Fellowship Program, appointed pursuant
to section 2(d).
(4) Fields related to aerospace.--The term ``fields related
to aerospace'' means any discipline or field that is concerned
with, or likely to improve, the development, assessment,
operation, safety, or repair of aircraft and other airborne
objects and systems, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(A) Aerospace engineering.
(B) Aerospace physiology.
(C) Aeronautical engineering.
(D) Airworthiness engineering.
(E) Electrical engineering.
(F) Human factors.
(G) Software engineering.
(H) Systems engineering.
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