$12.5B Slotted for ATC Revamp After Congress Approves Federal Budget

Trump’s championed ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ set to fund air safety reform efforts.

Caleb Revill

Thursday, July 03, 2025 at 07:34 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

An air traffic control tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The "Big Beautiful Bill" has passed Congress, allocating $12.5 billion for comprehensive air traffic control (ATC) modernization and aviation safety reforms.
Approved by Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, despite some bipartisan opposition, the bill is now set to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Key funding allocations include $3 billion for radar system replacements, $4.75 billion for telecommunications and infrastructure, $500 million for runway safety technologies, and $1.9 billion to build a new ATC center.
The FAA is mandated to submit quarterly reports detailing expenditures from this budget, with an original $1 billion for ATC recruitment and training having been reallocated to other budget lines.

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The “Big Beautiful Bill” is on course to allocate $12.5 billion for air traffic control (ATC) modernization and aviation safety reform efforts after Republican majorities in both the House and Senate voted to approve the new federal budget this week.

The bill was initially approved by the House in late May. A month later, the Senate voted 51-50 to approve an amended version of the bill, which went back to the House for another approval on Thursday.