FAA Could Get $15B to Update Air Traffic Control Systems

The money would help replace outdated ATC technology, update aspects of the system that need improvement, and facilitate the hiring of new controllers, the committee said in a statement on Tuesday. The modernization effort is especially critical, the statement said, in light of “aviation tragedies in recent months,” likely a reference to a January midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

The collision, which killed 67 people, raised concerns about the integrity of the ATC system at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) and air traffic congestion generally. A recent report by The New York Times linked the disaster to possible pilot error as well as ATC issues.

The U.S. aviation industry has also seen a number of high-profile equipment failures, fires, near misses, and small aircraft crashes in 2025, stoking anxiety about air travel, though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says investigations for airplane accidents are actually down this year.

The text of the budget plan sets aside $4.7 billion for telecommunications infrastructure updates, $3 billion for radar systems replacements, $2.64 billion for the modernization of ATC towers and terminal radar approach control facilities, and $2 billion for air route traffic control center improvements. Smaller allotments were made for runway safety projects, airport surveillance efforts, unstaffed infrastructure maintenance, and ATC recruitment and retention.

The planned allocation for the FAA is part of a larger package advanced by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It includes new funding for the U.S. Coast Guard to crack down on drug smuggling and a provision that would make electric vehicle owners pay into the Highway Trust Fund, which currently raises money through a federal fuel tax.

Committee chairman Sam Graves of Missouri said the proposal also includes cuts that would reduce the national deficit by over $10 billion.