Airport Alert: House Committee Clears Bill to Protect Aviation During Government Shutdown

December 18, 2025

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today cleared several bills by voice vote including a bipartisan plan to protect federal aviation workers and prevent disruptions in the National Airspace System during a government shutdown.

H.R. 6086, the Aviation Funding Solvency Act, would allow the FAA to dip into the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to pay air traffic controllers and other FAA employees during a government shutdown. The fund covers war risk insurance claims by airlines and currently has a balance of more than $2.6 billion. 

AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli yesterday sent a letter to Committee leaders urging lawmakers to pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act. The Modern Skies Coalition, which includes AAAE, USCTA, and a long list of aviation stakeholders, also lined up in support of the legislation.

The Committee also approved H.R. 6427, the Airport Regulatory Relief Act, a narrow proposal aimed at streamlining the way GA airports use state highway specifications for certain runway projects. Specifically, the bill allows states “to notify – rather than request – the Secretary of Transportation of their intention to use those specifications.”

The panel also passed H.R. 3410, a bill that would require the FAA to set a course for the approval of supersonic jet transport. And it cleared H.R. 6460, a bill that would provide the FAA with the authority “to authorize recreational unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations in certain sectors of the airspace….”