49 U.S.C. § 44511 — Aviation research grants

(a) General Authority.— The FAA Administrator may give grants to colleges, universities, and nonprofit research organizations. The grants pay for aviation research in areas the Administrator thinks are needed for civil aviation's long-term growth. (b) Applications.— A college or nonprofit research organization that wants a grant may apply to the Administrator. The application must follow whatever form and content rules the Administrator sets. (c) Solicitation, Review, and Evaluation Process.— The Administrator must set up a process for asking for, reviewing, and judging grant applications. That process must: (1) give grants to proposals that have real merit and fit the FAA's mission; (2) spread grants fairly across different regions of the country; and (3) make sure historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-run nonprofit research organizations are considered for grants. (d) Records.— Anyone who gets a grant under this section must keep records the Administrator says are needed to audit and evaluate how the grant money was used. (e) Annual Report.— The Administrator must send an annual report to the House Committee on Science and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about how this section is being carried out. (f) Airport Cooperative Research Program.— (1) Establishment.— The Secretary of Transportation must run an airport cooperative research program that: (A) finds problems shared by airport operators that applied research could solve, but that existing federal research programs are not adequately addressing; and (B) funds research to solve those problems. (2) Governance.— The Secretary appoints an independent governing board for this program. Board members are picked from people nominated by national groups representing public airport operators, airport executives, state aviation officials, and scheduled airlines, and the board must include representatives of relevant federal agencies. Section 1013 of title 5 does not apply to this board. (3) Implementation.— The Secretary must arrange with the National Academy of Sciences to give the governing board staff support and to carry out board-proposed projects that the Secretary considers appropriate. (4) Report.— By September 30, 2012, the Secretary had to send Congress a report on the program.