General Aviation Protection Act
A BILL
To protect the national security of the United States by strengthening review of foreign adversary investments in the general aviation sector, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Mandatory CFIUS filing for covered aviation transactions
“(8) Covered aviation transaction—The term covered aviation transaction means any covered transaction in which—
“(A) the acquirer is a foreign person from a country of concern; and
“(B) the United States business is a covered general aviation entity.
“(9) Covered general aviation entity—The term covered general aviation entity means any United States business that—
“(A) holds an FAA production certificate issued pursuant to part 21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, for the manufacture of aircraft engines, propellers, or airframes intended for use in the United States civil aviation fleet;
“(B) designs, manufactures, or sells avionics or flight control systems, including autopilot systems, glass cockpit displays, or air-to-ground data link systems, intended primarily for general aviation aircraft, as that term is defined in section 40102(a)(17) of title 49, United States Code;
“(C) is a type certificate holder or production certificate holder under part 21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, for helicopters or light rotorcraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less; or
“(D) holds a certificate of approval as an FAA-certificated pilot school under part 141 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or an aviation training center under part 142 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and is located within 50 nautical miles of a military installation (as such term is defined in section 802.227 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations).”
“(hh) Covered aviation transaction—The Committee shall require a declaration under this subclause for a covered aviation transaction.”
“(11) with respect to a covered aviation transaction—
“(A) the applicability of the acquirer’s home country’s military-civil fusion policies, or analogous policies, to the acquired United States business;
“(B) the dual-use potential of the products, technologies, or manufacturing processes of the acquired business for unmanned aerial systems or military aviation platforms; and
“(C) the acquired business’s participation in FAA certification programs, supply chains supporting Federal agencies, or flight training programs that train foreign nationals;
“(12) if a business has an ultimate foreign parent entity on the NS-CMIC List, the Entity List maintained under part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, or the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List; and”
Sec. 3 Extended CFIUS real-estate jurisdiction for general aviation facilities
“(IV) is general aviation airport certificated under part 139 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or any real property—
“(aa) used or intended to be used as a fixed-base operator facility, hangar, flight school campus, or general aviation maintenance facility; and
“(bb) located within 50 nautical miles of a military installation (as such term is defined in section 802.227 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations) or within 10 nautical miles of Class B or Class C airspace surrounding a major civil-military joint-use airport.”
Sec. 4 Rebuttable presumption of prohibition for foreign adversary acquisitions of general aviation companies
“(r) Rebuttable presumption of prohibition for covered aviation transactions
“(1) Presumption—Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a covered aviation transaction shall be prohibited with respect to any covered aviation transaction in which the acquirer—
“(A) is an entity owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a country of concern, including any entity in which a government of a country of concern holds, directly or indirectly, a 5-percent or greater equity interest;
“(B) is an entity on the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List (NS-CMIC List) maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or any subsidiary, parent, affiliate, or successor entity thereof;
“(C) is an entity, based on credible evidence as determined by the Committee, that is acting as a conduit, nominee, or front company for any entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B); or
“(D) derives 10 percent or more of its operating income, as determined under the General Accepted Accounting Principles published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, from an entity based in a country of concern.
“(2) Rebuttal—The presumption established under paragraph (1) may be rebutted only by the acquirer, by clear and convincing evidence submitted to the Committee demonstrating that—
“(A) the transaction does not create any risk of transfer of technology, manufacturing know-how, FAA certification data, or engineering talent to a country of concern;
“(B) enforceable, verifiable mitigation measures exist that would prevent any such transfer;
“(C) the transaction does not undermine the availability or integrity of the United States civil aviation supply chain; and
“(D) approval of the transaction is in the national security interest of the United States.
“(3) No mitigation for certain entities—With respect to any acquirer that is an entity listed on the NS-CMIC List or any entity in which the government of a country of concern holds, directly or indirectly, 25 percent or greater equity or voting interest, no mitigation agreement under subsection (l) shall be considered sufficient to rebut the presumption established under paragraph (1). The President may only approve such a transaction upon a written determination to Congress, included in the reporting required under subsection (m), that approval is in the paramount national security interest of the United States.”