Signs FAA Reauthorization Act Into Law
Statement by the President George W. Bush, Friday, December
12, 2003:
Today, I have signed
into law H.R. 2115, the "Vision 100 -- Century of Aviation
Reauthorization Act." The Act is designed to strengthen America's
aviation sector, provide needed authority to the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), and enhance the safety of the traveling
public.
Subtitle A of title II of the Act amends section 106 of title 49
of the United States Code to abolish the Air Traffic Services
Subcommittee of the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council
and creates, separate from the Council, an Air Traffic Services
Committee (ATSC). Section 106 as amended vests in the ATSC
substantial governmental authority, including the power to approve
the FAA's strategic plan for the air traffic control system,
certain large procurements, appointment and pay of the FAA Chief
Operating Officer, FAA major reorganizations, and the FAA cost
accounting and financial management structure. Under section
106(p)(6)(C), as amended, the members of the abolished Air Traffic
Services Subcommittee of the Council automatically become the
members of the ATSC, but only to "serve in an advisory capacity,"
with the ATSC beginning to exercise non-advisory authority when the
ATSC members have been appointed by the President by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Accordingly, in light of section
106(p)(6)(C), the executive branch shall construe the provisions of
section 106(p) and 106(r) that refer to approval or other
non-advisory functions of the ATSC to require, from the date of
enactment of the Act through the date on which the last
Senate-confirmed Presidential appointment is made to the ATSC, only
notice to the ATSC and an opportunity for the ATSC to express its
views.
Section
106(p)(7)(B)(iii) of title 49, as enacted by section 202 of the
bill, purports to limit the qualifications of the pool of persons
from whom the President may select ATSC members in a manner that
rules out a large portion of those persons best qualified by
experience and knowledge to fill the office. Congressional
participation in such appointments is limited by the Appointments
Clause of the Constitution to the Senate's provision of advice and
consent with respect to Presidential nominees. The executive branch
shall construe the provisions concerning qualifications in section
106(p)(7)(B)(iii) as advisory, as is consistent with the
Appointments Clause.
Section 47171 of title 49, as enacted by section 304(a) of the
Act, purports to mandate the process for cooperation among agencies
in the executive branch in conducting environ-mental reviews for
certain airport projects. In particular, section 47171(i) purports
to require one part of the executive branch to report to committees
of Congress when a second part of the executive branch has not met
the first part's deadlines for action on certain environmental
reviews, and then requires the second part to explain to the
committees why it did not meet the deadline and what actions it
intends to take to complete the relevant matter. The executive
branch shall implement section 47171 in a manner and to the extent
consistent with the President's constitutional authority to
supervise the unitary executive branch.
The executive branch
shall construe and implement section 323(b)(2) of the Act, relating
to certain disputes, in a manner consistent with the constitutional
authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive
branch. The executive branch shall construe the provisions of
section 411(i) of the Act, concerning the provision of executive
branch information and records to the National Commission on Small
Community Air Service, in a manner consistent with the President's
constitutional authority to withhold information the disclosure of
which could impair the foreign relations, the national security,
the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of
the Executive's constitutional duties.
The executive branch shall construe and implement section 46111
of title 49, as enacted by section 601(a) of the Act, relating to
access to and use of classified information, in a manner consistent
with the President's constitutional authority to classify and
control access to information bearing on the national security.
The executive branch shall implement sections 702 and 703 of the
Act, which relate to the award of certain government scholarships,
in a manner consistent with the equal protection requirements of
the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the
Constitution.
Section 44511(f) of
title 49, as enacted by section 712 of the Act, requires the
Secretary of Transportation to appoint "an independent governing
board" for a 4-year airport cooperative research pilot program. The
executive branch shall construe the reference to the board as
"independent" to mean independence within the Department of
Transportation from the FAA, while the board remains subject to the
statutory authority of the Secretary as the head of the Department
and the President's constitutional authority to supervise the
unitary executive branch. Moreover, the executive branch shall
construe the provisions for nomination of candidates for the board
by particular officials or organizations as advisory, as is
consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.
The executive branch shall construe as advisory the provisions
of section 812(a) of the Act that purport to direct or burden the
conduct of negotiations by the executive branch with foreign
governments, international organizations, or other entities abroad.
Such provisions, if construed as mandatory rather than advisory,
would impermissibly interfere with the President's constitutional
authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs, participate in
international negotiations, and supervise the unitary executive
branch.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE