USCTA Alert

June 30, 2025

The Senate is continuing to slog through a long list of Democratic amendments to the budget reconciliation package. As Republicans successfully defeat repeated efforts by their Democratic colleagues to change the underlying bill, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) has filed an amendment that would provide funding to replace air traffic control towers including those in the FAA Contract Tower Program.
 
As we have previously reported, the Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill includes $12.5 billion to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system. Of that amount, $4.75 billion is slated for telecommunications upgrades and $3 billion for radar system replacement – the same funding levels included in the House-passed version of the bill.
 
Despite similarities, there are key differences between the House and Senate proposals. Unlike the House bill, for instance, the Senate plan excludes funding to replace aging ATC towers. As a reminder, the House-passed bill includes not less than $240 million to replace contract towers and other sponsor-owned towers. 
 
Durbin’s amendment would replace the Senate plan with $15 billion for ATC modernization – the higher amount initially proposed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. His amendment would also restore the $240 million for tower replacement. It is unclear if the Senate will vote on the Durbin amendment, but it would likely suffer the same fate as other Democratic amendments that have been rejected on party-line votes.
 
GOP leaders are working to send a final reconciliation bill to the President by July 4. We will keep you posted as the debate on this reconciliation package continues.