No additional costs to the United States would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 12484 in the current fiscal year or in any of the 5 following fiscal years. COMPLIANCE WITH CLAUSE 2(1) OF RULE XI OF THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (1) With reference to clause 2(1) (3) (A) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives no separate hearings were held on the subject matter of this legislation by the Subcommittee on Investigations and Review. However, the Subcommittee on Aviation held hearings on this subject matter which resulted in the reported bill. (2) With respect to clause 2(1)(3)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives the bill, as reported, does not provide for new budget authority or increased tax expenditures. Accordingly, a statement pursuant to section 308 (a) of the Congressional Budget Act is not required. (3) With reference to clause 2(1) (3) (C) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the committee has not received an estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act. (4) With reference to clause 2(1) (3) (D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee has not received a report from the Committee on Government Operations pertaining to this subject matter. (5) With reference to clause 2(1) (4) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 12484 does not authorize funds and will not directly affect prices and costs. Therefore, H.R. 12484 as reported, would not have an inflationary impact on the national economy. VOTE The Committee ordered the bill reported by voice vote. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): FEDERAL AVIATION ACT OF 1958 TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE IV-AIR CARRIER ECONOMIC REGULATION Sec. 401. Certificate of public convenience and necessity. (a) Certificate required. (b) Application for certificate. (c) [Notice of application] Application procedure. H.R. 1582 TITLE IV-AIR CARRIER ECONOMIC REGULATION CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY Certificate Required SEC. 401. (a) [Notice of Application] Application Procedure (c) (1) Upon the filing of any such application, the Board shall give due notice thereof to the public by posting a notice of such application in the office of the secretary of the Board and to such other persons as the Board may by regulations determine. Any interested person may file with the Board a protest or memorandum of opposition to or in support of the issuance of a certificate. [Such application shall be set for a public hearing, and the Board shall dispose of such application as speedily as possible.] Unless the Board determines that the public interest requires that such application be dismissed within the time requirements set forth in the rules prescribed pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection or the application requests authority to engage in foreign air transportation, the application shall be set for a public hearing and shall be decided by the Board within the time requirements for categories of cases and classes of applications set forth in such rules. (2) (A) Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Board shall in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, prescribe rules which establish time periods within which the Board will (A) issue an order dismissing an application for a certificate on the basis that the public interest requires such dismissal, and (B) issue a final decision on such application if it has not been dismissed on the basis that the public interest requires such dismissal. (B) Any order of dismissal made pursuant to this section shall be deemed a final order subject to judicial review as prescribed in section 1006 of this Act. H.R. 1582 AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL AVIATION ACT OF 1958 SEPTEMBER 16, 1976.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. JONES of Alabama, from the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, submitted the following REPORT [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Public Works and Transportation, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 15026) to amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to authorize reduced fare transportation on space-available basis for elderly persons, young persons, and handicapped persons, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That (a) section 403(b)(1) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1373(b)(1)) is amended by striking out "to ministers of religion on a space available basis." and inserting in lieu thereof "on a space-available basis to any minister of religion, any person who is sixty years of age or older, and to any handicapped person and any attendant required by such handicapped person. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 'handicapped person' means any person who has severely impaired vision or hearing, and any other physically or mentally handicapped person as defined by the Board.". (b) Within six months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Board skall study and report to Congress on the feasibility and economic impact of air carriers and foreign air carriers providing reduced-rate transportation on a space-available basis to persons twenty-one years of age or younger. SEC. 2. Section 401(d) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1371 (d)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: "(4) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any citizen of the United States who undertakes, within the State of California, the carriage of persons or property as a common carrier for compensation or hire with aircraft capable of carrying thirty or more persons pursuant to authority granted by the Public Utilities Commission of such State is authorized "(i) to establish service for persons and property which includes transportation by such citizen over its routes in California and transportation by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation; and "(ii) subject to the requirements of section 412 of this title, to enter into an agreement with any air carrier or foreign air carrier for the estab lishment of joint fares, rates, and services for such through service. (B) The joint fares or rates established under clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall be the lowest of "(i) the sum of the applicable fare or rate for service in California approved by such Public Utilities Commission and the applicable fare or rate for that part of the through service provided by the air carrier or foreign air carrier; “(ii) a joint fare or rate established by the Board in accordance with section 100. of this Act.". "(iii) a joint fare or raté established by the Board in accordance with section 1002 of this Act.". SEC. 3. Section 401(o)(2) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1371 (0) (2)) is amended by striking out "no air carrier certificated under subsection (a) of this section is" and inserting in lieu thereof "there are not at least two air carriers certificated under subsection (a) of this section which are". Amend the title so as to read:' A bill to amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to authorize reduced fare transportation on a space-available basis for elderly persons and handicapped persons, and for other purposes. H.R. 15026 as reported, is designed to increase the availability of air service for the elderly and the handicapped, to improve air service for passengers using intrastate carriers in California, and to increase the cost effectiveness of Department of Defense contracts for air transportation. REDUCED AIR FARES FOR THE ELDERLY AND THE HANDICAPPED II.R. 15026, as reported would permit the CAB to approve reduced air fares on a standby basis for persons 60 years of age or older, and for the handicapped, and would require the CAB to study the economic feasibility of reduced fares for the youth. Under existing law, the Civil Aeronautics Board is limited in its ability to approve reduced fares for deserving groups such as elderly persons, young persons, and the handicapped. Section 404 (b) of the Federal Aviation Act prohibits air carriers from adopting fares which result in "unjust discrimination." This statutory concept has been interpreted to preclude the offer of special services to only a select patron or group of patrons. Fares which are only available to select groups such as young persons, elderly persons, and the handicapped have been considered prima facie discriminatory, and such fares have been justified only when there are extraordinary economic factors. It is not sufficient justification to demonstrate that the fares would be profitable to the carrier; rather it is necessary to show other economic benefits, such as that the fares would develop a substantial amount of new traffic or that the fares are needed to meet competition. H.R. 15026 would remove this presumption of unlawful discrimination and allow CAB to approve these fares, if the fares met the economic tests generally applied to discount fares. H.R. 15026 would make air transportation more widely available to the public. Every citizen needs the mobility which air transportation affords. Unfortunately, however, inflation has placed air transportation well beyond the reach of many consumers. The problem is particularly severe for the elderly and the handicapped. Members of these groups tend to have below-average incomes and, in many cases they are particularly dependent upon public transportation because they are unable to drive private automobiles. H.R. 1583 There have been a number of successful experiments with reduced fares for the elderly. Hawaiian Air Lines offered reduced standby fares for senior citizens for seven years, from 1967 to 1973. While this fare was in effect, the carrier's senior citizen traffic grew 340 percent while its overall traffic was growing only 80 percent. In Canada, reduced fares for the elderly have been offered by domestic airlines for the past eight years. These fares have sometimes been offered on a standby basis, and sometimes on a reserved-seat basis. The discounts have ranged from ten to fifty percent. Since the carriers have offered these fares voluntarily, it is reasonable to infer that the fares have been economically successful. Although reduced fares for youth were included in H.R. 15026 as introduced, the reported bill provides for a CAB study of feasibility and economic impact of reduced fares for youth. Testimony at the hearing indicated that when youth fares were in effect in the 1960's there was a question as to whether these fares covered the long-run costs of carrying the reduced-fare passengers. If these costs are not covered, normal fare passengers will have to pay higher fares. The testimony also indicated that there were difficulties with the standby feature of the fare, with some passengers making multiple reservations to insure that space would be available. Thus, there is a need for further study of reduced fares for youth to consider such questions as: 1. To what extent would reduced fares for youth generate new traffic and to what extent would the fares be used by passengers who would travel by air in any event? 2. Would reduced fares for youth cover the costs of providing service, in the short run and in the long run? 3. Would reduced fares for youth require increases or decreases in the fares paid by other passengers? 4. Can steps be taken to overcome the problems which previously arose from the standby feature of reduced youth fares? THROUGH SERVICE BY INTRASTATE CARRIERS IN CALIFORNIA H.R. 15026, as reported, also includes provisions designed to provide improved air service for those members of the traveling public who use intrastate carriers. These provisions are based on H.R. 10560, on which hearings were held earlier this year. The intrastate air carriers, such as Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California, are now providing valuable service for the traveling public. In some markets, intrastate carriers provide the only service, and in other markets they provide important competitive service. The intrastate carriers operate modern jet and turboprop equipment, and frequently provide services at fares below those generally offered by interstate carriers. The intrastate carriers are unable to offer through ticketing and baggage service for passengers who wish to connect from an intrastate carrier to an interstate carrier. Under existing law the sale of such through tickets is considered interstate transportation which must be authorized by CAB. Two of the California intrastate carriers previously applied to the CAB for authority to enter into through ticketing agreements, but the Board denied their application. H.R. 1583 |