Hearing Report: FAA Acting Administrator Rocheleau Discusses Administration’s FY26 Budget Request
June 4, 2025
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau discussed the administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request and its plans to hire more controllers and upgrade the aging air traffic control system during a hearing today before the House transportation appropriations subcommittee.Witness: FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau
FY26 Budget Request
- Rocheleau told lawmakers that the administration is requesting $22 billion for the FAA in FY26 including $4 billion for Facilities and Equipment. Coupled with the $5 billion from Bipartisan Infrastructure law, total funding for the agency would climb to $27 billion next year – about $1 billion more than the current level.
- On the ATC front, Rocheleau said that the administration is requesting $1 billion to upgrade the FAA’s telecommunications infrastructure by replacing copper wire with fiber optic cable. He said the change “will ensure long-term stability and the operational efficiency needed to both support existing operations, future needs, as well as meet ever-evolving cybersecurity and resiliency requirements.”
- Rocheleau highlighted the administration’s request for $450 million to begin replacing the aging radar system. He said the radar replacement initiative will “enhance surveillance capabilities and avoid delays for the flying public.”
- The Acting Administrator told lawmakers that it will take the FAA three to four years to upgrade the ATC system, and he acknowledged that the agency would need additional support from Congress without saying how much the administration’s ATC modernization plan will cost. The Housed-passed reconciliation package includes $12.5 billion for ATC modernization, which lawmakers see as a downpayment for a broader effort.
- Controller staffing was a hot topic again at today’s hearing. Rocheleau told lawmakers that the administration is requesting more than $97 million to “supercharge” air traffic controller hiring and training. To help boost the number of controllers, the FAA is offering 30 percent pay increase to new controllers and bonuses to experienced controllers who are eligible to retire but haven’t reached the mandatory retirement age of 56.
- Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle asked Rocheleau about the time it is taking the FAA to distribute airport infrastructure grants. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) asked if personnel cuts related to the Administration’s DOGE efforts are slowing project approval. Rocheleau said DOGE actions are not impacting airport grants and instead pointed to the backlog of BIL grant announcements that the new administration inherited from the previous administration – a theme previously laid out by DOT Secretary Sean Duffy.
- Rocheleau told lawmakers that the agency is getting out 465 grants worth about $1.7 billion. He went on to say that delays are starting to “decrease significantly” and that he expects the administration to release to hundreds of million dollars in grants in in the next two weeks. He also said that the FAA is streamlining the grant approval process by moving away from paper and using artificial intelligence to help identify CATEX projects.
- Rep. Aguilar also highlighted provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill aimed at “reducing regulatory overreach in land use approvals” at airports and streamlining the PFC application and approval process. Airports urged Congress to provide regulatory relief in these two areas during consideration of the FAA bill.
