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Commerce Committee Reports FAA Investment and Modernization Act, Cameron Gulbransen Child Auto Safety Act, Nominees
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved S. 1300, the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007, as amended, which would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and modernize the nation’s air traffic control system, and S. 694, the Cameron Gulbransen Child Auto Safety Act of 2007, as amended, which would mandate motor vehicle safety standards to improve rearward visibility and prevent backover injury. The Committee also approved David J. Gribbin, IV, to be General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and promotions for U.S. Coast Guard officers. The bills and nominees now await consideration on the Senate floor.
S. 1300, Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007
Introduced by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 would:
- Reauthorize the FAA’s four major accounts: Operations; Facilities & Equipment; the Airport Improvement Program; and Research, Engineering, and Development at a level of more than $65 billion from 2008 through 2011.
- Dedicate funding of approximately $400 million annually for modernizing the air traffic control system through the establishment of the Air Traffic Modernization Fund. The fund would be supported through a surcharge of $25 per flight on commercial and high-end general aviation (GA) jet flights. Approximately 90% of GA aircraft would be exempt from the surcharge. The funding generated from the $25 surcharge will be entirely dedicated to modernization costs approved by the Air Traffic Control Modernization Oversight Board, which would be established by the Act.
- Provide approximately $16 billion for airport infrastructure grants and would streamline the Passenger Facility Charge process.
- Strengthen environmental programs, including provisions that would guarantee $300 million annually for airports to address noise and other environmental issues.
- Provide funding for the Essential Air Service (EAS) program at a level of $133 million annually, an increase of $6 million per year. The Act also would provide the DOT with flexibility to encourage better service by incorporating financial incentives into EAS contracts, or signing longer term contracts.
- Restore equity to the air traffic controller collective bargaining process by requiring mediation and arbitration when labor disputes reach an impasse.
S. 694, Cameron Gulbransen Child Auto Safety Act of 2007
Introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Senator John Sununu (R-N.H.), the Cameron Gulbransen Child Auto Safety Act would:
- Require the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to initiate a rulemaking to consider amending or prescribing Federal motor vehicle safety standards to require power windows and panels to reverse direction when they detect an obstruction to prevent children from being trapped, injured, or killed. If the Secretary should prescribe new standards, they would be enacted within 30 months of the bill’s enactment. If not, the Secretary would send a report to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee describing the reasoning for not prescribing the standards.
- Require the Secretary, within 12 months of the date of enactment, to initiate a rulemaking to expand the required field of view to enable the driver to detect the presence of a person or object behind the vehicle in order to prevent death and injury resulting from backing incidents, particularly incidents involving small children and disabled persons.
- Require the Secretary to determine a phase-in period for compliance which could not exceed 48 months from the date on which the final rule was issued.
- Require the Secretary to issue regulations to require vehicles that are equipped with an automatic transmission that includes a “Park” position to have a system that requires the brake to be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of “Park.” This system would need to function in any key position in which the transmission can be shifted out of “Park” and apply to cars and light trucks manufactured on or after September 1, 2010.
- Require the Secretary, not later than six months after the date of enactment, to establish and maintain a database of injuries and deaths in non-traffic, non-crash events involving cars and light trucks.
- Require the Secretary, not later than six months after the date of enactment, to provide information about hazards to children in non-traffic, non-crash incident situations by supplementing an existing consumer information program relating to child safety or by creating a new consumer information program relating to child safety.
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18th - |
Senator Hutchison Calls for Improved Bus Safety Standards
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today called for improved safety of over-the-road buses and enhanced National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations governing bus safety during a Senate Surface Transportation Subco...
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18th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for DTV Transition Hearing
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the Full Committee hearing on Oversight of the DTV Transition: Countdown to February 2009, scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. The full witness list is below.
With February 17, 2009 less than five months away, the Committee will assess the Federal Communication...
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18th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for U.S.-Korea Automobile Trade Imbalance Hearing
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the upcoming Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism Subcommittee hearing on The Imbalance in U.S.-Korea Automobile Trade, scheduled for September 24, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. A full witness list is below.
The hearing will examine the reasons for the imbalance in U.S.-Korea bilateral ...
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17th - |
Commerce Committee to Examine Consumer Privacy Issues Related to Broadband Service Providers
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Full Committee hearing on Broadband Providers and Consumer Privacy, scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.
The Committee will examine broadband provider practices with respect to consumer privacy.
Broadband Providers and Consumer PrivacyFull CommitteeDate: Thursday, Septemb...
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16th - |
Senator Hutchison Commends Dept. of Commerce for Helping Nursing Homes with DTV Converter Box Program
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) today commended the U.S. Department of Commerce and Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez for allowing residents with post office boxes and those living in nursing homes to participate in the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program. Previously, only residents with physical addresses could participate. This meant that those who ...
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16th - |
Inouye Calls for Immediate Passage of S.1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) delivered the following statement at today’s hearing on why broadband matters.
“In our hearing today we explore why broadband matters. Broadband matters because broadband communications have become the great economic engine of our time. Broadband deployment drives opportunities for business, education, ...
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16th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Bus Safety Hearing
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12th - |
Commerce Committee to Hear Testimony from Corporation for Public Broadcasting Nominees
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12th - |
Commerce Committee to Review Progress of DTV Transition with FCC, NTIA
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12th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Hearing on Consumer Benefits of Broadband
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11th - |
Commerce Committee Releases MARAD Bill Financial Disclosure Certification
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today filed its report on S. 2997, the Maritime Administration Act for Fiscal Year 2009. In accordance with Senate Rule XLIV, the Committee provides the attached financial disclosure certification.
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11th - |
Commerce Committee Cancels Hearing to Examine Marine Protected Areas
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10th - |
Senator Hutchison Cosponsors Calling Card Legislation to Help Consumers
- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today signed on as a cosponsor to legislation that would assist consumers with pre-paid calling cards and ensure that fees and terms are easier to understand. The bill, S. 2998, would require pre-paid calling card providers and distributors to disclose the numbe...
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9th - |
Commerce Committee to Hold Hearing on Consumer Benefits of Broadband
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8th - |
Commerce Committee to Examine Marine Protected Areas
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8th - |
Commerce Committee Announces Witnesses for Prepaid Calling Card Hearing
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