Duffy, Schmitt propose bill seeking over $30 billion for air traffic control overhaul
by Mary McCue Bell · The Washington TimesTransportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri are spearheading new funding legislation to advance air traffic control modernization with a $30 billion price tag.
Flanked by aviation industry stakeholders at Washington Reagan National Airport, the two jointly endorsed a major new funding push to modernize America’s air traffic control infrastructure: the Modern Skies Act.
The Modern Skies Act, introduced Monday, aims to replace aging facilities and upgrade telecommunications infrastructure.
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“I think this idea that we have to accept technology from decades ago or aging infrastructure is not a mindset that, like I said, the greatest country ever should have,” Mr. Schmitt said. “And I think this legislation goes a long way in providing that support.”
The bill would appropriate $10.1 billion next fiscal year for air traffic control: $300 million to consolidate terminal facilities, $600 million for flow management technology, $2 billion for cloud and telecom infrastructure and $7.2 billion for a common automation platform and controller workstations.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said modernization is not just about replacing old equipment but about giving controllers reliable tools.
“The $12.5 billion that Congress provided last year helped get this effort moving, and we’re seeing meaningful progress,” he said. “But there’s a large amount of work still remaining, and this additional $30 billion would allow the FAA to accelerate replacement of the aging infrastructure, deploy modern technology and build a system capable, finally, of meeting the demands of the future.”
Following severe telecommunications failures and an accidentally cut fiber-optic cable that triggered ground stops and delayed more than 9,500 flights across the Northeast earlier this month, Mr. Duffy renewed his funding request.
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“As we look forward, I think the American people want the job completed. They want us to finish what we’ve started, and to finish what we started, we need more money,” he said Monday.
Under the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the FAA received $12.5 billion as an “initial down payment,” Administrator Bryan Bedford said, adding that it originally asked for $30 billion for modernization writ large.
The first phase of the modernization effort is now estimated at $16 billion, Mr. Bedford told a House Appropriations subcommittee earlier this month.
Some lawmakers, however, remain wary.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation, and others have pressed FAA officials for firm milestones and greater transparency, citing a report this month that found the agency still lacks a full cost estimate for the broader modernization effort.
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Mary McCue Bell
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