Congress To Consider FAA Budget Bill

U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers released plans for a $22.2 billion budget for the FAA in fiscal year 2026 under a comprehensive funding package that combines full-year appropriations for multiple government agencies. 

Combining the budgets of the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148) would avert a government shutdown if passed before the January 30 deadline. 

The House is slated to vote on the package this week before it heads to the Senate, which is not in session until next week. Thus, the Senate would have just five days to pass the bill before the current stopgap funding expires, but it faces the prospect of a major snowstorm bottlenecking the return of lawmakers.

As for the FAA budget, the bill would provide a $1.22 billion increase over FY 2025 levels, including an additional $235 million for the Air Traffic Organization and $824 million for FAA facilities and equipment. The bill would provide $10.341 billion for air traffic control operations-related functions, including funding for the FAA to hire 2,500 air traffic controllers.

In all, the FAA’s operations budget would be set at $13.7 billion, $13 billion of which would be paid through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. The facilities and equipment account, meanwhile, would receive $4 billion.

The National Air Transportation Association noted that the bill does not include the Rotor Act, which Senate Commerce Committee leaders had pushed to include in the conference agreement. “NATA is still analyzing details of the bill’s funding levels and Congressional directives, but we applaud this significant step toward FY 2026 funding and avoiding another dangerous and costly government shutdown,” the association said.