June 2, 2026
As we previously reported, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies recently approved a fiscal year 2027 transportation spending bill that includes $4 billion for AIP and funding for other airport priorities.
The House bill proposes almost $271 million for supplemental AIP grants, congressional earmarks, and funding to help airports transition to fluorine-free firefighting foam. Today, the committee released the accompanying report and unveiled the list of earmarks, which may be viewed here.
The report provides more details on the committee’s views on air traffic control modernization, and it calls on the FAA to continue to work with aviation stakeholders to expedite ATC modernization timelines. The bill includes $30 million to upgrade aging FAA-owned air traffic control towers, and the committee encourages the FAA “to evaluate all towers of concern for replacement….”
What's Next? The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill tomorrow morning. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider its version of the FY27 DOT/FAA spending bill later this month.
Below are highlights from the House bill and sections from the committee report released earlier today.
Funding for FAA Programs
FAA: The House bill proposes almost $22.7 billion for the FAA. The funding will allow the agency to “hire 2,300 air traffic controllers and replace dated telecommunication infrastructure.”
Operations: The bill includes almost $14.2 billion for FAA operations. Of that amount, almost $9.3 billion is for the Air Traffic Organization and more than $1.5 billion is for the Airspace Modernization Office.
Facilities and Equipment: The bill language includes $4 billion for FAA facilities and equipment – the same as current funding level and the same amount the administration requested.
Research, Engineering, and Development: The House measure includes $230 million for research, engineering, and development – $65 million more than the administration requested.
Airport Improvement Program
Traditional AIP Funding: The House bill includes $4 billion for the traditional AIP account in FY27 – the same amount authorized in the FAA bill. Of that amount, $160 million is for administration expenses, $15 million for the Airport Cooperative Research Program, almost $42.2 million for Airport Technology Research, and $15 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program.
Supplemental AIP Funding/Earmarks: It proposes an additional $270.86 million for supplemental AIP funding. Of that amount, $240.86 million is reserved for earmarks, known as “community project funding.” A committee summary indicates that the funding will pay for “118 airport improvement projects requested by 101 Members.” Those earmarks may be viewed here.
Funding to Help Airports Transition to Fluorine-Free Firefighting Foam: Another $17.5 million of the supplemental AIP funding is reserved for the PFAS replacement program. The FAA bill authorized a total of $350 million over five years to help transition to fluorine-free firefighting foam. The FY26 transportation spending package did not include separate and dedicated funding for the PFAS replacement program.
Advanced Air Mobility Pilot Program: The remaining $12.5 million of the supplemental AIP funding is reserved for the advanced air mobility pilot program.
Continued EDS Prohibition: The bill continues the longstanding prohibition against the use of AIP funds for “the replacement of baggage conveyor systems, reconfiguration of terminal baggage areas, or other airport improvements that are necessary to install bulk explosive detection systems.”
Discretionary Grants/Tower Projects: The Committee report “encourages the FAA to consider the full range of aviation activities at an airport and their associated metrics when considering projects for discretionary airport grants.” It also encourages the agency “to prioritize discretionary grants for tower projects at airports that do not have a tower but have been accepted into the Federal Contract Tower Program.”
Noise Abatement Runway Use: The Committee report “encourages the FAA to work with small hub airports, particularly those that also serve military aircraft, with multiple runways to determine if designating a noise-preferred runway under a Noise Abatement Runway Use Program would maintain safety while providing community benefit.”
Reimbursable Agreements: “The Committee directs the FAA to report on its progress towards making reimbursable agreements with block grant states more transparent.” It also encourages the FAA “to make meaningful progress towards reforms.”
Small Community Programs
Contract Towers: The House bill includes not less than $303 million for the FAA Contract Tower Program – $23.8 million more than the current level. That proposed increase would fund all 266 contract towers currently in the program and allow the FAA to add other airports to the program during the next fiscal year.
Contract Tower Transition Pilot Program: The bill includes $6 million to convert high activity contract towers to FAA-staffed facilities – the same amount included in the final F26 DOT spending package. The FY27 bill requires that at least one tower to be located at a small hub airport with more than 1 million passenger enplanements and 40,000 itinerant operations in calendar year 2024 and be located within 100 miles of at least two “military operations areas.”
Contract Tower Level of Effort: "The Committee directs the FAA to use maximum discretion when assessing vendor compliance with performance level clauses in federal contract tower contracts. The Committee directs the FAA to, at a minimum, consider (1) the labor market for controllers, (2) whether such vendor has made incremental improvement in performance and staffing, and (3) efforts of the vendor to address insufficient staffing or performance."
Airborne Position Reference Tools: The report voices support for airborne position reference tools to be deployed at contract towers. Specifically, it states “that there are additional safety gains from equipping air traffic control towers with airborne position reference tools.”
Small Community Air Service Development: As mentioned above, the House bill includes $15 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program – the same as the current funding level and $15 million more than the administration requested.
Essential Air Service: The House bill includes almost $538.3 million in discretionary funding for the Essential Air Service Program – $24.6 million above the current level and $396.3 million more than the administration requested. Coupled with an estimated $174.7 million from overflight fees, the overall funding level for EAS would rise to almost $713 million in FY27. (Note: the projected revenue from overflight fees is slightly higher than the estimate in the administration’s FY27 budget request.)
Remote Towers: The report acknowledges the interest in using remote towers “as a safe, cost-effective alternative to brick-and-mortar towers at small and non-towered airports across the country and as a potential opportunity to address controller resource constraints.” The Committee also “urges the FAA to finish its system design review of such systems and move towards the approval of a performance-based standard for the technology so that airports may begin utilizing approved remote tower systems expeditiously.”
Operations
Aircraft Noise: “The Committee directs the FAA to support the continued reduction of aircraft noise and engage regularly with communities affected by aircraft noise. The Committee further directs the FAA to implement the sections of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118–63) related to aircraft noise and noise mitigation, including establishing the aircraft noise advisory committee responsible for assessing alternative noise metrics to the day night level standard, updating AIP eligibilities related to noise barriers, evaluating noise impact as a consideration when implementing flight procedures, and others.”
FAA Reauthorization Implementation: “The Committee commends the FAA on the progress it has made towards completing the mandates required by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, but notes many mandates remain to be completed. The Committee directs the FAA to, not later than 120 days after the enactment of this Act, provide an update to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on its implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and the status of sections that are not yet complete, including all outstanding rulemakings.”
Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative: “The Committee recognizes the urgent national need to safely eliminate and replace the use of leaded aviation gasoline for piston engine aircrafts. Congress has consistently supported the FAA’s Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) to support this objective and to ensure that a technically sound unleaded replacement fuel is identified, tested, and approved in time to meet the 2030 deadline. The Committee directs the FAA to prioritize and focus its resources on the timely approval of fuel candidates in the PAFI program.”
Part 161: “The Committee encourages the FAA to work in good faith with airport operators pursuing the Part 161 process and provide clear feedback to applicants whose applications are not approved. The FAA should also review and improve Part 161 compliance guidance.”
Risks of Counter UAS Mechanisms: “The Committee directs the FAA to brief the House and Senate Appropriations Committees within 180 days of the enactment of this Act on the risks to the national airspace system of counter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capabilities, including directed energy measures, deployed or potentially deployed by Federal, state, local, and private agencies, and the risk mitigations available to such agencies and the FAA. Such briefing should also cover efforts the FAA takes to coordinate with each of those entities for counter UAS deployment.”
Risk-Based Approach to UAS Authorizations: “The Committee encourages the FAA to further exercise its authorities….to use risk-based approaches for authorizing UAS flights, without initiating rulemaking when possible.”
Spectrum Coordination: “The Committee directs the FAA to coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the impact of spectrum utilization on national airspace system and aircraft operations. Specifically, the Committee directs the FAA to establish, with the FCC and any other relevant Federal partner, a permanent interagency working group to consult on potential spectrum impacts on aviation systems, including radio altimeters and other critical avionics. Any FAA-identified risks to aviation safety resulting from changes in spectrum use shall be communicated to the FCC.”
FAA Staffing Levels: The committee report hits on staffing reductions at the FAA during the current administration: “The committee notes that the FAA has experienced a high rate of staffing changes in fiscal year 2025 and the beginning of fiscal year 2026 due to retirements, the deferred resignation program, and other administrative actions. The Committee notes that the FAA has numerous critical positions, including those that perform support functions like maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, and aviation safety assistants.”
The report goes on to state, “the Committee emphasizes the importance of adequate staffing levels to support the FAA’s core functions and directs the FAA to review staffing needs across all offices and to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to maintain a fully operational and effective workforce. The Committee is particularly interested in ensuring the FAA is properly staffed with the technicians needed to support the FAA’s ATC modernization efforts and to ensure new systems and equipment are maintained in a good state-of-repair.”
Facilities and Equipment
ATC Modernization: The Committee directs the FAA “to continue active engagement with industry, system users, manufacturers, and workforce representatives to identify opportunities to expedite ATC modernization timelines, streamline procurement processes, and deploy resilient, scalable technologies across NAS.” It also recommends that the agency give particular attention “to reducing dependence on legacy systems, improving data integration, and strengthening system redundancy and cybersecurity.”
“The Committee recognizes that achieving a fully modernized and resilient NAS will require sustained and, where necessary, additional targeted investments, and expects the FAA to clearly articulate funding requirements aligned with accelerated modernization objectives,” the report states. “The Committee further expects the FAA to provide the House and Senate Appropriations Committees with any barriers to timely technology refresh and deployment, including legal and resource constraints.”
Tower Replacement: The report points out that “there are multiple FAA-operated air traffic control towers in the NAS that are aging and beyond their useful life or located at airports that have seen immense growth and need to be considered for replacement or significant updates.” The bill includes $30 million “to continue to address tower needs.” And the Committee “encourages the FAA to evaluate all towers of concern for replacement, including at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Gerald R. Ford International Airport.”
Airport Ground Surveillance: “The Committee supports the FAA’s comprehensive strategy to reduce close calls on the runways of our nation’s airports” The bill includes $11 million for FAA’s airport ground surveillance portfolio. Of that amount, $2.5 million “is to further support the expansion of the Surface Awareness Initiative, or a follow-on program, and to provide additional functionality to SAI systems at airports of all sizes where automated alerting would address identified risks.”
Common Automation Platform: “The Committee continues to support the FAA’s efforts to consolidate and improve the integration of its current ATC systems and displays. As the FAA works with third parties to define, develop, test, procure, and implement these improvements, the FAA shall consult with appropriate Federal departments or agencies to fully vet risks, including cyber risks, posed by such third parties, including those that have legal or business relationships with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or any other entity otherwise owned or controlled by any governmental organization of the PRC.”
Common Controller Workstation: The report highlights “the significant operational and long-term sustainment benefits of deploying a common controller workstation at FAA facilities.” It goes on to encourage the FAA “to efficiently rollout common workstations across ATC facilities as the agency modernizes facilities and systems.”
Contracting: “As the FAA works to modernize the air traffic management system, related components, and software, the Committee encourages the FAA to strongly consider the use of off-the-shelf systems, minimize one-off system specifications that increase costs, and ensure interoperability of future systems. The Committee also encourages the FAA to consider innovative contracting mechanisms and infrastructure-as-a-service models where the FAA can reduce total lifecycle costs of air traffic equipment and software. The FAA should engage industry and the FAA workforce on making these improvements.”
Research, Engineering, and Development
Aviation Workforce Development Program: The report voices support for “increasing the strength and number of aviation professionals who are well-trained and can be relied upon to make air travel safe and efficient.” The bill includes $40 million for the aviation workforce development program.
Radio Altimeters: The bill includes $3 million for the FAA “to accelerate testing, certification, and implementation of new radio altimeter capabilities consistent with the next generation avionics standards.” The report directs the FAA to provide an updated report “on the roadmap and timeline for development, testing and certification of the capabilities.”
Counter-UAS Research: The bill includes $7 million for “Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C–UAS) research through the acquisition and use of specialized instrumentation such as an anechoic chamber to establish a structured, controlled test environment.”
Miscellaneous
Airport Access Study: “The Committee recognizes the importance of airport facilities, including gates, baggage handling, and check in areas, to an efficient and competitive airline industry. The Committee notes that the Department’s last comprehensive study of airport business practices and their impact on commercial air carriers was conducted in 1999. Given the significant evolution of the airline industry over the past two decades, the Committee encourages the Department to update the October 1999 ‘Airport Business Practices and Their Impact on Airline Competition’ report to reflect the current operating environment.”
Private Sector Investment/TIFIA for Airports: The Committee directs DOT “to promote policies and administrative practices that encourage private sector investment in airport infrastructure projects, including those eligible for assistance under TIFIA.” It also “encourages the Department, when evaluating airport projects for TIFIA loans, to consider to the maximum extent possible, the total cost of the project, rather than distinguishing between revenue-generating and non-revenue-generating components. The Committee believes that integrated terminal, landside, and passenger-facilitation investments function collectively to improve system performance, enhance safety and security, and support economic growth.”
Cost Free Space: The House bill includes a AAAE-backed proposal that would continue to prohibit the FAA from requiring airports to provide space free of charge in airport-owned buildings.
Additional Info
House Appropriations Committee Press Release.
Democratic Bill Summary.
Bill Text.
Committee Report.