Sec. 716. Establishment of Office of Aviation Consumer Protection
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Section 102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— in subsection (e)(1)— in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 7 and inserting 8 ; and in subparagraph (A), by striking and an Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy and inserting an Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, and an Assistant Secretary for Aviation Consumer Protection ; and by adding at the end the following: There is established in the Department an Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (referred to in this subsection as the Office ) to administer and enforce the aviation consumer protection and civil rights authorities provided to the Department by statute, including those under section 41712— to assist, educate, and protect passengers; to monitor compliance with, conduct investigations relating to, and enforce, including by taking appropriate action to address violations of, aviation consumer protection, civil rights, and aviation economic requirements; and to promulgate, as appropriate, aviation consumer protection and civil rights regulations.
The Office shall be headed by the Assistant Secretary for Aviation Consumer Protection (referred to in this subsection as the Assistant Secretary ). Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection that is a unit within the Office of the General Counsel of the Department which is headed by the Assistant General Counsel for Aviation Consumer Protection, shall cease to exist. The Department shall determine which employees are necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the new Office of Aviation Consumer Protection and those employees shall be transferred from the Office of the General Counsel as appropriate to the newly established Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
To the extent the Office of the General Counsel retains any attorney or hires any new attorney to advise the newly established Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, those attorneys will be located in the remaining offices within the Office of the General Counsel. The Assistant Secretary shall coordinate with the General Counsel appointed under subsection (e)(1)(E), in accordance with section 1.26 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), on all legal matters relating to— aviation consumer protection; and the duties and activities of the Office described in subparagraphs
(A)through
(C)of paragraph (1). The Assistant Secretary shall submit to the Secretary, who shall submit to Congress and make publicly available on the website of the Department, an annual report that, with respect to matters under the jurisdiction of the Department, or otherwise within the statutory authority of the Department— analyzes trends in aviation consumer protection, civil rights, and licensing; identifies major challenges facing passengers; and addresses any other relevant issues, as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appropriate. There is authorized to be appropriated $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, and $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. .