Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) allocation in the House-approved spending package will not support the needed upgrades to air traffic operations.
“They put $12.5 billion into the ‘big, beautiful bill’ that’s going to go towards this infrastructure project. That won’t be enough,” Duffy told reporters.
“I know the Senate is going to look, can they find money to put into this bill, but we are going to need them to fully fund this project,” he added at a press conference, during which he also provided updates on improvements to Newark Liberty International Airport after severe delays and cancellations caused chaos amid outages and a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Deadly air crashes and communication lapses have plagued the FAA, warranting a series of investigations on the causes behind aviation mishaps.
Duffy has repeatedly said low staffing numbers and outdated technology are at the root of various incidents that require significant funding.
“We need it all up front, that’s a big ask for the Congress to give us the money all up front that is necessary if we’re going to be successful at this project,” the Transportation chief said Wednesday. “And again, you can’t make us go through years of permits for laying new fiber. We need it now.”
“And I think Democrats and Republicans are going to agree that, yes, with certain guardrails around giving you relief on permitting and giving you the money up front with those guardrails, I think they’re going to buy into that idea,” he added.
President Trump has been supportive of an aviation overhaul and restructuring requirements for air traffic controllers, a position that remains understaffed.
Duffy said he aspires to install brand new equipment across the board, including “new Telecom, new radar, new radios,” as well as updates to front and back ends of the air traffic control system.
In early May, the Transportation secretary also outlined a new recruitment and retention plan for air traffic controllers that includes incentives for retirement eligible workers to stay on longer amid changing policies.