Airport Alert: Congress Moving to Extend Federal Funding Through December 20
Congress Moving to Extend Federal Funding Through December 20
September 25, 2024
By a vote of 341 to 82, the House of Representatives has just approved a continuing resolution (CR) that extends federal funding through December 20. The Senate is expected to approve the measure later today. The temporary funding measure also extends authorities for the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to protect certain facilities from unmanned aircraft through the period of the CR.
Approval of the continuing funding resolution was necessary since Congress has failed to approve and send to the President a single appropriations measure for the fiscal year (2025) that begins on October 1. With federal funding now secured into late December and with critical elections only 41 days away, the House and Senate are adjourning to return after the elections in November for what could prove to be an important lame duck session, including possible action to complete the FY25 appropriations cycle. Depending on the outcome of the elections, there is a possibility that final action to fund the federal government for FY25 could extend into next year.
Either way, it is critical that airports remain engaged to ensure that eventual final FY25 spending bills for DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP address critical airport priorities. A reminder of the status of those bills and airport funding priorities follows.
Status of FY25 Annual Funding Bills: The House Appropriations Committee has approved all 12 FY25 annual spending bills, and five of those have cleared the full House of Representatives, including the FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP spending bill. House Republican leaders were planning to bring the FY25 DOT/FAA spending bill to the House floor before the August recess. But those plans faded away, in part, due to disputes over proposed cuts for Amtrak.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved 11 of the 12 FY25 spending bills between July 11 and August 1. The only one it hasn’t cleared is the FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP spending bill. Senate Appropriations Committee leaders nixed a planned markup of that measure because of partisan disputes over issues related to the border, immigration, and the Secret Service. Unlike their counterparts in the House, the full Senate has not cleared a single FY25 appropriations bill.
Status of FY25 DOT/FAA Spending Bills: Both the House and Senate have addressed a number of identified airport priorities in their respective FY25 DOT/FAA spending bills. Both versions include $4 billion for AIP – $650 million more than the FY24 enacted level and the same amount that Congress authorized in the FAA bill. Both bills include another round of funding for airport earmarks. The Senate bill recommends an additional $230 million for supplemental airport grants beyond traditional AIP funding and $70 million to help airports transition to fluorine-free firefighting foam. As a reminder, the FAA bill authorized $350 million for a new PFAS replacement program. If the yet-to-be-negotiated final version of the FY25 DOT/FAA spending bill includes $70 million for airport to transition to fluorine-free firefighting foam as the Senate Appropriations Committee recommends, that funding level could be the first step toward Congress funding the entire $350 million over a five-year period. Both the House and Senate FAA spending bills propose significant increases for the popular Contract Tower Program and additional funding for the Essential Air Service and Small Community Air Service Development Programs.
Status of FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP Spending Bills: The FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP spending bill, totaling $64.1 billion in discretionary funding, was one of five bills that cleared the House. Notably, the House bill includes funding for several critical airport priorities, including: $111 million for TSA personnel to monitor exit lanes at airports, rejecting the proposal from the administration to shift this cost to airports; $45.6 million to restore funding for LEO grants; $34.1 million to restore funding for state and local-led canine teams; funding for more than 2,000 new TSOs to meet the anticipated 4.5 percent increase in travel volumes; $175.2 million for the purchase and deployment of the latest security checkpoint technology, nearly double the amount requested; $13.94 million to complete reimbursement to airports for in-line explosive detection systems (EDS) installed before December 31, 2007; and $20.8 million to hire 150 new CBP officers, which is well below existing shortfalls but matches the budget request.
The committee report accompanying the House DHS spending bill also included helpful but non-binding language regarding TSA’s aviation worker screening Airport Security Program amendment that “requires airports to significantly increase airport-performed physical screening of employees and procure EDS equipment for the first time.” The report notes that the mandate “will require the establishment of screening operations at airports that parallel existing TSA staffing and infrastructure, impose an undue burden on airport operators and are being implemented without conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis or risk assessment to justify the change.” The House report goes on to urge TSA to rescind the amendment and solicit a formal round of notice and comment to understand the full financial and operational impacts on airports. While this language is a marginally helpful signal from Congress, it will not eliminate or alleviate the aviation worker screening requirements that went into effect today at Category X, I, and II airports after one year of informed compliance or requirements for airports to submit their EDS equipment plans by October 25. We will, however, continue to urge Congress to rescind the EDS implementation requirements proposed to go into effect in April of 2026.
The Senate Appropriations Committee was able to advance 11 FY25 spending bills. But the committee failed to consider the FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP appropriations measure. The Senate Appropriations Committee may release a “chair’s mark” later this fall that could include recommended Senate funding totals that would inform negotiations between the House and Senate on a final FY25 DHS/TSA/CBP spending bill.
Final Thought: Although there is a pause in the action on FY25 funding bills with passage of the CR today and the adjournment of the House and Senate until November, we need to be ready to mobilize quickly to ensure that final funding bills for the fiscal year ahead address critical airport priorities. Stay tuned for further updates and potential calls to action.
