Exempts Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from specific eligibility requirements of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, thus…

Official title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to except from certain requirements relating to eligibility for essential air service Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

This bill exempts Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from specific eligibility requirements of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, thus allowing certain communities in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to participate. As background, the Department of Transportation's EAS program subsidizes passenger airline service to eligible small and isolated communities. To participate in the program under current law, most places must meet the eligibility requirements, such as be a community that received EAS in FY2011. Alaska and Hawaii are generally exempt from most of the EAS eligibility requirements. This bill adds Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to that exemption.