The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee today approved along party lines its piece of the budget reconciliation package, including a $12.5 billion bump for air traffic control technology upgrades and controller funding. Also, eliminated in the bill are green technology grants—including for sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, and other low-emissions projects—that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Originally, the committee planned to add $15 billion in air traffic control funding, but that was scaled back through a manager’s amendment to meet Republican funding targets. The committee passed the bill after ruling out dozens of amendments; well over 100 were filed. There was no debate on the amendments.
These included one from the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington), to gut the entire T&I portion of the reconciliation bill, except for the additional ATC funding and targeted money for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Larsen noted that while portions of the bill cut funding and increase taxes, the Coast Guard and ATC sections “make critical investments…It’s been well documented...by multiple aviation safety experts that the current ATC infrastructure is becoming unsustainable. Increased investment in our air traffic control system is undoubtedly needed.”
However, he also voiced his objection to the Republican-led reconciliation: “Unfortunately, this funding was included in this legislation to be bundled into a larger partisan bill that makes unprecedented cuts in food assistance for children and decimates Medicaid to provide tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Among the myriad provisions voted down was a Larsen amendment to prohibit the use of any funds to either privatize or sell off portions of the ATC system and one from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) to require the FAA to update and brief Congress on its procurement rules and how it is preventing conflicts of interest and “outright fraud.” The latter targeted reports that surfaced earlier this year that the FAA was considering canceling a Verizon communications contract in favor of one with Starlink.
Rep. Julia Brownley (D-California), meanwhile, was rebuffed in her attempt to restore the green funding grants and include additional grants in the future.
The ATC funding has received strong support from a cross-section of stakeholders, with more than 50 signing off on a letter stressing the need for the additional budget. T&I Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri) noted that stakeholders have stressed the need to act to improve the safety and reliability of the aviation system.
“In response, the committee will provide $12.5 billion downpayment for air traffic control modernization efforts to allow the administration to immediately get to work, replacing critical telecommunications infrastructure and radar systems to invest in runway safety and airport surveillance, projects, replace air traffic control towers and recons, and fund air traffic control and recruitment, retention, and training,” he said.
The bill will be stitched together with other portions of an overarching budget reconciliation package for full House consideration.