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N A T I O N A L A I R T R A F F I C C O N T R O L L E R S A S S O C I A T I O N | W W W . N AT C A . O R G N i W To d a y 29 29 29 29 ISSUES Full Background Issue Issue The FAA, like much of the federal government, has faced an unstable and unpredictable funding stream for the better part of two decades. Funding disruptions and budgetary shortfalls have negatively affected all aspects of the FAA, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS). Even when the FAA is not facing the threat of a shutdown, multiple administrations from both parties have submitted insufficient budget requests to Congress. FAA's requests have fallen well-short of what it needs to adequately address its staffing, modernization, and infrastructure needs. This continues to be one of the most serious challenges facing the FAA and the NAS. Without stable and sufficient funding, the FAA will be hard-pressed to address its controller staffing shortage and maintain capacity, let alone modernize the physical and technological infrastructure of the system while also expanding it for new users including unmanned aircraft systems, advanced air mobility systems, commercial space launches, and supersonic aircraft. What's The Difference Between FAA "Authorization" and "Appropriations"? Simply defined, FAA authorization sets the policies on a wide range of issues related to aviation, establishing the rules and details for programs within the Agency. An FAA appropriations bill allows the agency to pay for those programs and activities. When there is a lapse in appropriations, the FAA cannot spend the federal government's money, which shuts down most programs and activities. When there is a lapse in authorization, the FAA is not permitted to perform most of its functions. The 119th Congress will not have to address FAA reauthorization, which passed in May 2024 and does not expire until 2029. T h e FA A R e a u t h o r i z a t i o n A c t o f 2 0 24 The FAA is currently operating under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law in May 2024. This five-year reauthorization act authorized the FAA to continue to operate, while also establishing, continuing, and/ or modifying FAA programs, activities, and policy priorities. It also authorized the collection of taxes into and expenditure of funds from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund). Significantly, this law requires the FAA, for the first time, to conduct maximum hiring of new air traffic controller trainees for five years (the duration of his bill) and to adopt the Collaborative Resource Workgroup's (CRWG) controller staffing model that NATCA and the FAA's Air Traffic Organization collaboratively developed. The law also requires the FAA to use the CRWG CPC staffing targets as the basis for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Controller Workforce Plan (CWP). FAA reauthorization was one of NATCA's top legislative priorities and NATCA is thankful to all members of Congress who championed, supported, and voted in favor of the bill. FA A A p p r o p r i a t i o n s The FAA's funding stream has been constrained by the lack of "regular order" in the appropriations process. In fact, 1996 was the last time all 12 appropriations bills were enacted by the start of the new fiscal year. A standalone Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill – which funds the FAA – has not been enacted since 2006. Over the past two decades, Congress instead has used temporary, short-term funding measures called continuing resolutions (CRs), as well as omnibus spending packages (funding bills that combine multiple appropriations bills together) or some combination of the two, to fund the government. To begin FY 2024, Congress was unable to pass a THUD appropriations bill to fund the FAA, instead opting for multiple short-term CRs. In early March 2024, the FAA was funded for the remainder of the fiscal year, through Sept. 30, 2024 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 covering six of the 12 appropriations bills. To begin FY 2025 Congress has passed two additional CRs, on Sept. 25 and Dec. 20, 2024, the last of which funds the government through March 14, 2025. To this day, unstable FAA funding continues to cause damage to the NAS, some of which is irreversible. The unpredictability of a stop-and-go funding stream, and specifically stringing together

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