Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he “aggressively” supported the Big Beautiful Bill Act on Monday, but admitted it is only “a start” at meeting the Federal Aviation Administration’s needs as it works to overhaul its air traffic control system.
The bill allots an initial $12.5 billion for the FAA to update outdated equipment. Some problems air traffic controllers have had in the past are phantom aircraft on radar and equipment outages that led to a large outage on April 28.
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While appearing on CNBC’s Squawkbox, Duffy said the current funding in the reconciliation bill before Congress is “not enough.”
“$12.5 billion is really important, it gives us a start to build this project, which is why I aggressively support the big, beautiful bill, but it’s not enough, again, we need more money,” Duffy said. “The Senate has and is thinking about giving us some more money, and I think the American people want it. So if we get the cash, we’re going to do it differently. Congress doesn’t have faith in the FAA.”
Duffy explained that the FAA upgrades will bring a “different kind of team” to help implement the changes.
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“We’re going to have a different kind of team, and if you think about it, you have two chairmen in the House and the Senate, [Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)] and [Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO)]; the president cares about aviation,” Duffy said. “You have me, who cares, an industry that cares, the American people care. There’s no better time to fix our air traffic control system.”
The Big Beautiful Bill Act is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Republicans hope to have it on President Donald Trump’s desk by July 4.