110 STAT. 3230 PUBLIC LAW 104-264—OCT. 9, 1996 circulars, bulletins, and other official publications of the Administration; and "(iv) any obligation imposed on the Administrator, or power conferred on the Administrator, by the Air Tr^fic Management System Performance Improvement Act of 1996 (or any amendment made by that Act); "(B) shall offer advice and counsel to the President with respect to the appointment and qualifications of any officer or employee of the Administration to be appointed by the President or as a political appointee; "(C) may delegate, and authorize successive redelegations of, to an officer or employee of the Administration any function, power, or duty conferred upon the Administrator, unless such delegation is prohibited by law; and "(D) except as otherwise provided for in this title, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall not be required to coordinate, submit for approval or concurrence, or seek the advice or views of the Secretary or any other officer or employee of the Department of Transportation on any matter with respect to which the Administrator is the final authority. "(3) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL APPOINTEE. —For purposes of this subsection, the term 'political appointee' means any individual who— "(A) is employed in a position listed in sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 (relating to the Executive Schedule); "(B) is a limited term appointee, limited emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service, as defined under paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of section 3132(a) of title 5; or "(C) is employed in a position in the executive branch of the Government of a confidential or policy-determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.". 49 USC 106 note. (b) PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AUTHORITY. — Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this title limits any authority granted to the Administrator by statute or by delegation that was in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 224. REGULATIONS. Section 106(f), as amended by section 223 of this Act, is further amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: " (3) REGULATIONS. — "(A) IN GENERAL. —In the performance of the functions of the Administrator and the Administration, the Administrator is authorized to issue, rescind, and revise such regulations as are necessary to carry out those functions. Ilie issuance of such regulations shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5. The Administrator shall act upon all petitions for rulemaking no later than 6 months after the date such petitions are filed by dismissing such petitions, by informing the petitioner of an intention to dismiss, or by issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking
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