The U.S. House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved a $23.3 billion budget for the FAA in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, more than a $2.3 billion increase over the agency’s funding in the current year and including enough for the hiring of 2,500 air traffic controllers. The FY2026 transportation, housing, and urban development (THUD) bill passed 35-to-28 after a nearly eight-hour markup, drawing opposition from Democrats over funding measures primarily involving the HUD side of the bill.
Several steps still lie ahead for the FY2026 budget: the bill must still receive consideration on the full House floor, and the Senate must consider its own version before the House and Senate can agree on a final bill.
For the FAA, the bill represents a significant boost in air traffic control funding with $10.368 billion allocated to fully fund ATC operations and the largest yet budget—$5 billion—for the facilities and equipment account. This would represent a $1.824 billion increase there alone.
The $13.48 billion overall operations budget would mark a $269 million increase from FY 2025, albeit still $90 million below the administration’s request. A $379 million budget for the Aircraft Certification Service includes additional funding for inspector training to strengthen oversight and rebuild expertise that had been depleting in recent years.
In addition, the bill directs the FAA to carry out measures in the FAA reauthorization bill related to modernizing and digitizing certification processes and increasing international harmonization.
The bill contains numerous directives on furthering advanced air mobility and beyond-visual-line-of-sight efforts; accelerating communications, navigation, and surveillance technologies in offshore regions; improving the regulatory backlog and protecting parts manufacturing approval data; boosting staffing in the aeromedical division to reduce backlogs there; and increasing the use of technology for better safety data review.
Among many other directives is a pilot program for mobile clearances for general aviation, along with the continuation of business aviation privacy protections from flight tracking and the ban on heavy aircraft at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport.
While other accounts scaled up, research and development funding would be cut to $230 million under the bill, a $50 million decrease from current levels. Airport Improvement Program funding would remain level at $4 billion.
NBAA welcomed the bill, saying it contains several important provisions to enhance aviation safety, security, technology, and workforce development. NBAA praised a measure that reiterates opposition to transferring operation of the ATC system to a not-for-profit, independent, private corporation.
“NBAA commends the committee for recognizing the urgent need to enhance the safety and reliability of ATC, while also preserving congressional and FAA oversight of our National Airspace System,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “This forward-looking measure provides the DOT with the necessary funding and guidance to help advance our nation’s aviation industry.”
NBAA further supported measures that foster alternative propulsion and the introduction of AAM vehicles, improve flight security for business aviation, and increase awareness of pilot and ATC mental health and wellness.
“This DOT funding package includes many positive steps that will cement our country’s longstanding position as a global leader in aviation,” Bolen added. “We now encourage lawmakers in the House and Senate to act swiftly in passing this bill.”