Airport Alert: House Subcommittee Approves FY25 DOT/FAA Spending Bill With $4 Billion for AIP
House Subcommittee Approves FY25 DOT/FAA Spending Bill With $4 Billion for AIP
June 27, 2024
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies met this morning and quickly approved by voice vote its version of the FY25 DOT/FAA funding measure. The measure will next be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, July 10. A companion measure has yet to be introduced in the Senate, although we expect the process to begin ramping up in the upper chamber in July as well. Ultimately, lawmakers will have to reconcile differences between the House and Senate measures – a process that is unlikely to be completed until after the November elections.
As we noted in our Alert yesterday, the House bill proposes $4 billion for AIP consistent with the authorized funding levels included in the recently enacted FAA reauthorization bill. Of the $4 billion, the bill designates $163.6 million for administration expenses; $15 million for the Airport Cooperative Research Program; $43.4 million for Airport Technology Research; and $10 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. The House measure also proposes an additional $257 million in general fund resources to fund 84 airport earmarks rather than taking those funds from base AIP funding. The FAA Contract Tower Program would be funded at $256 million – a $50.6 million increase over FY24.
Overall, the measure includes $21.7 billion in total budgetary resources for the FAA. Of that amount, $13.6 billion is proposed for FAA operations, which committee leaders say would allow the agency to hire 2,000 air traffic controllers to replace the retiring workforce. The bill proposes $3.5 billion for FAA facilities and equipment, which is $358 million above the FY24 enacted level. The FAA research, engineering, and development account is funded at $260 million.
Unfortunately, the measure does not include funding for supplemental discretionary AIP grants. The House measure also fails to propose funding authorized in the FAA reauthorization bill to assist airports with transitioning to fluorine-free firefighting foam as requested by AAAE, airports, and a large contingent of House lawmakers. AAAE’s priorities for the FY25 DOT/FAA spending bill may be viewed here.
As we have noted, House Republicans are moving forward with partisan FY25 spending bills at overall funding at levels well below what is acceptable to House or Senate Democrats. Subcommittee Democrats voiced their opposition to the bill during the vote today, and both full committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Ranking Member Mike Quigley (D-IL) made clear during this morning’s session that the bill as drafted would not earn support from committee Democrats.
Additional details on the House bill, including a list of airport earmarks, will be included in the yet-to-be-released committee report to accompany the legislation. That document is typically made available when the bill is considered by the full committee.
June 27, 2024
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies met this morning and quickly approved by voice vote its version of the FY25 DOT/FAA funding measure. The measure will next be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, July 10. A companion measure has yet to be introduced in the Senate, although we expect the process to begin ramping up in the upper chamber in July as well. Ultimately, lawmakers will have to reconcile differences between the House and Senate measures – a process that is unlikely to be completed until after the November elections.
As we noted in our Alert yesterday, the House bill proposes $4 billion for AIP consistent with the authorized funding levels included in the recently enacted FAA reauthorization bill. Of the $4 billion, the bill designates $163.6 million for administration expenses; $15 million for the Airport Cooperative Research Program; $43.4 million for Airport Technology Research; and $10 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. The House measure also proposes an additional $257 million in general fund resources to fund 84 airport earmarks rather than taking those funds from base AIP funding. The FAA Contract Tower Program would be funded at $256 million – a $50.6 million increase over FY24.
Overall, the measure includes $21.7 billion in total budgetary resources for the FAA. Of that amount, $13.6 billion is proposed for FAA operations, which committee leaders say would allow the agency to hire 2,000 air traffic controllers to replace the retiring workforce. The bill proposes $3.5 billion for FAA facilities and equipment, which is $358 million above the FY24 enacted level. The FAA research, engineering, and development account is funded at $260 million.
Unfortunately, the measure does not include funding for supplemental discretionary AIP grants. The House measure also fails to propose funding authorized in the FAA reauthorization bill to assist airports with transitioning to fluorine-free firefighting foam as requested by AAAE, airports, and a large contingent of House lawmakers. AAAE’s priorities for the FY25 DOT/FAA spending bill may be viewed here.
As we have noted, House Republicans are moving forward with partisan FY25 spending bills at overall funding at levels well below what is acceptable to House or Senate Democrats. Subcommittee Democrats voiced their opposition to the bill during the vote today, and both full committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Ranking Member Mike Quigley (D-IL) made clear during this morning’s session that the bill as drafted would not earn support from committee Democrats.
Additional details on the House bill, including a list of airport earmarks, will be included in the yet-to-be-released committee report to accompany the legislation. That document is typically made available when the bill is considered by the full committee.
