Fair and Open Skies Act

Fair and Open Skies Act

This bill amends the policy considerations the Department of Transportation (DOT) must take into account when issuing a foreign air carrier permit. (This allows foreign air carriers to operate in U.S. air space.) DOT must consider preventing the undermining of labor standards when determining whether the foreign air transportation will be in the public interest.

Further, the bill amends the requirements for the Department of State and DOT in formulating U.S. international air transportation policy. Under current law, the State Department and DOT must develop a negotiating policy emphasizing the greatest degree of competition compatible with a well-functioning international air transportation system and include specific considerations; this is amended to also include preventing the undermining of labor standards.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4021 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4021

 To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure that authorizations 
 issued by the Secretary of Transportation to foreign air carriers do 
         not undermine labor standards, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2023

 Mr. DeSaulnier (for himself, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carbajal, 
 Mr. Ryan, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Bost, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Bacon, and 
Mr. Johnson of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
         to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure that authorizations 
 issued by the Secretary of Transportation to foreign air carriers do 
         not undermine labor standards, 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 ``Fair and Open Skies Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC INTEREST TEST.

    Section 41302(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``under an agreement 
        with the United States Government; or'' and inserting ``; 
        and''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``the foreign air 
        transportation'' and inserting ``after considering the totality 
        of the circumstances, including the factors set forth in 
        section 40101(a), the foreign air transportation''.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC INTEREST REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Policy.--Section 40101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(17) preventing the undermining of labor standards.''.
    (b) International Air Transportation.--Section 40101(e) of title 
49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) preventing the undermining of labor standards.''.
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