Airport Alert: House Subcommittee Approves FY26 DOT/FAA Spending Bill With $4 Billion for AIP

July 14, 2025

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies met late this afternoon and approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2026 DOT/FAA spending bill on a party-line vote of 9 to 7. The measure includes funding for several airport priorities including $4 billion for AIP and $313.7 billion for supplemental AIP grants, earmarks, and airport-related PFAS programs. The House measure also proposes to increase funding for ATC modernization efforts and the facilities and equipment account to $5 billion, a significant increase over previous years.
 
Big Picture 
 
The House proposal includes $23.3 billion for the FAA, which is more than $2.3 billion above the current level. On the operations front, the bill includes $10.4 billion to “fully fund air traffic control operations and allow the FAA to hire 2,500 air traffic controllers to replace the retiring workforce.”
 
Airport Funding 
 
As we reported in our alert yesterday, the measure proposes $4 billion for the traditional AIP account and slightly more than $313.7 million for supplemental AIP funding. Of the latter amount, $283.7 million is reserved for 88 earmarks and $30 million to help airports convert to fluorine-free firefighting foam. We expect the committee will release the list of airport earmarks later this week. 
 
Small Community Programs 
 
The House bill includes not less than $279 million for the FAA Contract Tower Program -- $23 million more than the current level. It also includes $15 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program to help small airports retain and attract commercial air service.
 
It also proposes to increase discretionary funding for the EAS program from $450 million to $514 million in FY26 -- rejecting the administration’s proposal to cut funding for the program by $308 million. Overall funding would climb to almost $688 million with revenue generated from overflight fees. 
 
What’s Next?
 
The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider its version of the FY26 DOT/FAA spending bill on July 24.

Additional Info

• House Appropriations Committee Press Release.
• Bill Summary.
• Bill Text.
• More Details from AAAE.
• AAAE Priorities for FY26 DOT/FAA Appropriations Bill.