Airport Alert: House Approves Temporary Funding Patch

After several efforts over the past few days to extend federal funding beyond midnight tonight failed overwhelmingly, House Republican leaders late this afternoon unveiled and managed to gain passage with overwhelming bipartisan support of a continuing resolution that extends federal funding through March 14, 2025. The measure also provides $110 billion in supplemental disaster relief, extends federal counter-UAS authorities through March 14, and allows FAA to expend resources as necessary to avoid disruptions to air traffic services. Other extraneous and controversial provisions in earlier versions that had drawn fire, including a proposed debt limit extension and a pay increase for Members of Congress, were jettisoned.

The House-passed measure is expected to clear the Senate soon and avert a government shutdown.

As we noted in our earlier Alert, the incoming Congress will be responsible for finalizing all the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) spending bills, hopefully before March 14. While it is difficult to predict what a final FY25 spending package will look like when it is negotiated early in 2025, it is expected that the House and Senate FY25 appropriations measures pending at the end of 2024 will form the foundation of ongoing negotiations and a final agreement. It will be a top AAAE priority to ensure that the final funding package for FY25 includes the airport wins we’ve been successful in gaining as part of the pending House and Senate DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP funding bills, as outlined in letters from AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders this fall.

Passage of the continuing resolution will effectively wrap up the activity of the 118th Congress. Get ready for a busy year ahead in 2025 on federal funding issues and other important airport priorities.