Agreement Reached on Final FY24 DOT/FAA Spending Bill; Funding Details Emerge
March 3, 2024
Congressional leaders on March 3, released the details of a six-bill consolidated appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024 that includes final funding amounts for the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration for the current fiscal year that runs through September. As we reported, Congress late last week extended funding for DOT/FAA and agencies covered by these six annual funding bills through March 8. The release of the final versions of these six measures today should allow Congress to finally pass the package this week prior to the expiration of the latest round of temporary funding at midnight on Friday.
Importantly for airports, the final agreement released today by the bipartisan leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees includes $3.35 billion in AIP funding and $532.4 million in supplemental funding, $482.4 million of which is for airport earmarks. The agreement calls for $12.73 billion for FAA operations, which would allow for the hiring of 1,800 new air traffic controllers; $3.19 billion for FAA facilities and equipment; $280 million for research, engineering, and development; and $205.4 million for the Contract Tower Program. Additional details follow:
FAA Funding
Overall, the final measure includes just over $20 billion in funding for FAA, just over $1 billion above the FY23 enacted level.
Operations: The final House/Senate agreement includes $12.73 billion for FAA operations, a level that will allow the agency to hire 1,800 new air traffic controllers.
FAA Facilities and Equipment: The agreement includes $3.19 billion for FAA facilities and equipment, $250 million above the FY23 amount.
Research, Engineering, and Development: The agreement includes $280 million for research, engineering, and development, $25 million more than FY23.
Airport Infrastructure Funding
AIP Funding: The agreement includes $3.35 billion for the traditional AIP account in FY24 – the same as FY23. Of that amount, $152.2 million is designated for administration expenses, $15 million is for the Airport Cooperative Research Program, $41.8 million is for Airport Technology Research, and $10 million is for the Small Community Air Service Development Program.
The agreement further directs that not less than $25 million in AIP funding be utilized for the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) and voluntary airport low emission (VALE) programs. FAA is directed to engage with airport sponsors at major hubs to identify projects suitable for the VALE program, such as energy efficiency, energy resiliency, and renewable energy projects that would help prevent power disruptions or outages. Not less than $5 million is to be used for eligible hydrogen and fuel cell-related activities through ZEV and VALE.
Additionally, the agreement clarifies that grants can be made available to airports including those in nonattainment and maintenance areas for work necessary to construct or modify airport facilities to provide low-emission fuel systems, gate electrification, other related air quality improvements, acquisition of airport-owned vehicles or ground support equipment with low-emission technology, provided such vehicles are used exclusively on airport property or to transport passengers and employees between the airport and the airport's consolidated rental facility or an intermodal surface transportation facility adjacent to the airport.
Congressional Earmarks: Approximately $482.4 million of the $532.4 million in supplemental funding provided by the agreement would be reserved for congressional earmarks, which are officially known as 'Congressionally Directed Spending.' The airport projects and other earmarks funded in the agreement may be viewed here, beginning at page 61.
Supplemental AIP Funding: The agreement includes $50 million from the general fund for supplemental AIP discretionary grants.
Airport Environmental Mitigation: The agreement provides no less than $5 million to fund demonstration projects for airports to collect and remove contaminates caused by AFFF and other PFAS waste resulting solely from aviation operations and to field test and measure lab-proven innovative destruction technologies, including RCRA-permitted incineration to measurable reduce and mitigate the aviation impacts on surface and groundwater quality at the airport or within five miles of the airport. Lawmakers have also directed FAA to 'develop a transition plan for part 139 airports to use the new military specification (MIL–SPEC) for firefighting foam, including for any supplemental equipment needed to utilize these products.' The agency is also directed to 'use AIP funds to help airports transition to PFAS-free authorized firefighting agents.' FAA is also directed to 'work with the EPA, DOD, industry, and academic institutions to find innovative solutions to safely contain or destroy existing PFAS chemicals at airports, such as through plasma gasification.'
Small Community Programs
Contract Tower Program: The agreement includes $205.4 million for the FAA Contract Tower Program – a record amount that would help fund all 264 contract towers currently in the program and allow the FAA to add other airports to the program during the fiscal year. That funding is $11.4 million more than the House and Senate proposed and $17.6 million above the FY23 enacted level.
Essential Air Service: The agreement includes $348.6 million in discretionary funding for the Essential Air Service Program. Coupled with an estimated $154.1 million from overflight fees, the overall funding level for EAS would rise to almost $503 million in FY24.
Small Community Air Service Development: $10 million is provided for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. This is the same amount that Congress approved for the program in FY23.
Other
Cost Free Space: The agreement retains a AAAE-backed proposal that would continue to prohibit the FAA from requiring airports to provide space free of charge in airport-owned buildings.
Airport Cooperative Research Program: The agreement includes $15 million in AIP funding for the Airport Cooperative Research Program. FAA is directed to use funding from the program to 'update its research on transportation network companies and fee setting at airports, survey of airport ground transportation laws, and best practices on ground transportation.'
Contract Weather Observers: The agreement would continue to block the FAA from eliminating the Contact Weather Observers program at any airport.
What's Next?
With the release of the text of the six-bill package today, Appropriations Committee leaders hope to give their colleagues in the House and Senate sufficient time to digest details and vote on the consolidated funding measure prior to the expiration of funding at midnight on March 8. Funding for the agencies and departments covered by the remaining six appropriations measures – including the Department of Homeland Security – expires on March 22 under the terms of the continuing resolution signed into law last Friday. The path forward for those measures is less certain.
Additional Details
• The text of the six-bill funding measure is here.
• The joint explanatory statement accompanying the DOT/FAA/Housing portion of the six-bill package is here.
