The Latest From Washington
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: DOT Secretary Duffy Discusses ATC Modernization and Other Issues During House Transportation Committee Hearing
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy appeared before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today for an oversight hearing on the Department’s policies, programs, and budget priorities.
07/16/2025
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: House Committee Stresses It Is Time to Pass Expanded Counter-UAS Legislation
The House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Surveillance, Sabotage, and Strikes: Industry Perspectives on How Drone Warfare Abroad Is Transforming Threats at Home” this morning.
07/15/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Subcommittee Approves FY26 DOT/FAA Spending Bill With $4 Billion for AIP
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies met late this afternoon and approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2026 DOT/FAA spending bill on a party-line vote of 9 to 7.
07/14/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Committee Unveils FY26 DOT/FAA Spending Bill; Proposes $4 Billion For AIP
The House Appropriations Committee unveiled its FY26 transportation spending bill, and the measure proposes $4 billion for the traditional AIP account and slightly more than $313.7 million in supplemental AIP funding.
07/13/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases $674.3 Million in FY25 AIP Grants for Projects at 323 Airports
The FAA released a list of over $674 million in infrastructure grant awards as part of the FY25 Airport Improvement Program, including $397.4 million in entitlement grants and $276.8 million in discretionary grants.
07/11/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases $397.6 Million in FY25 AIP Grants for Projects at 248 Airports
The FAA released a list of over $397 million in infrastructure grant awards as part of the FY25 AIP, including $270.0 million in entitlement grants and $127.5 million in discretionary grants.
07/09/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Senate Confirms Bryan Bedford As FAA Administrator
The Senate voted to confirm Bryan Bedford to be the next Administrator of the FAA.
07/09/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: AAAE Seeks Feedback on Updated DOT/FAA NEPA Implementation Guidance
AAAE is seeking feedback from our members on recently released guidance documents from the DOT and FAA that implement their responsibilities under NEPA.
07/09/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: DOT and FAA Provide Opportunity for Comments on Updated NEPA Implementation Guidance
DOT and FAA published notices and provided an opportunity for public comments on their updated guidance documents that implement NEPA, which the department and agency released earlier this week.
07/03/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Approves Reconciliation Package
After a marathon session, the House passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – a massive budget reconciliation package that extends the 2017 tax cuts and contains $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization.
07/03/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: DOT and FAA Release Updated NEPA Implementation Guidance; Orders Take Effect Immediately
The DOT released significant updates to the guidance documents that implement NEPA for the department and FAA, including a long-awaited update to FAA Order 1050.1.
07/01/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Senate Commerce Committee Advances Bedford Nomination
The Senate Commerce Committee approved Bryan Bedford to be the Administrator of the FAA.
06/25/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases $364 Million in FY25 AIP Grants for Projects at 289 Airports
The FAA released a list of over $364 million in infrastructure grant awards as part of the FY25 AIP, including $268.0 million in entitlement grants and $96.6 million in discretionary grants.
06/25/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Committee Advances FY26 DHS/TSA/CBP Spending Bill
The House Appropriations Committee approved on a party-line vote of 36-27 its version of the fiscal year 2026 spending bill for DHA and its component agencies, including TSA and CBP.
06/24/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Rodney Scott Confirmed as CBP Commissioner
The Senate confirmed Rodney Scott as the CBP Commissioner.
06/18/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: AAAE Supports DOT Proposal to Limit New Mandates in Guidance Documents
AAAE expressed support to DOT for a proposed rule that would implement department policies and procedures to govern the issuance of new regulations and guidance documents by its operating administrations, including the FAA.
06/17/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: FY26 DHS Appropriations Report Released, More Good News for Airports
In advance of consideration of the FY26 funding bill for DHS by the full House Appropriations Committee tomorrow morning, the Committee released its FY26 report.
06/11/2025
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: Lawmakers Question Bedford about ATC Reform and 1,500-Hour Rule
Lawmakers questioned Bryan Bedford about air traffic control reform, the 1,500-hour pilot training rule, and small community issues at a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing.
06/11/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House DHS Subcommittee Unveils FY26 Funding Recommendations; Key Priorities Addressed
The House Appropriations Subcommittee unveiled its proposed FY26 spending bill for DHS and its component agencies, including TSA and CBP.
06/08/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Senate Commerce Committee Proposes $12.5 billion for Air Traffic Control Modernization
The Senate Commerce Committee released their proposal for the budget reconciliation bill, which includes $12.5 billion to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system.
06/06/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: President Trump Issues Executive Orders to Promote New Entrants and Drone Security
President Trump issued three executive orders aimed at addressing safety and security concerns associated with UAS, or drones, and promoting the integration and development of UAS, eVTOL aircraft, and supersonic aircraft into the NAS.
06/06/2025
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: AAAE Responds to FAA's Request for Feedback on Removal of Aircraft Registration Data from Public Dissemination
AAAE submitted comments to the FAA in response to the agency’s request for feedback on implementation of a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 that allows private aircraft owners to remove certain personally identifiable information (PII) from the aircraft registration database.
06/05/2025
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: House Aviation Hearing on FAA Reauthorization Law: Safety, ATC Modernization and GA Fees Top Issues
The Aviation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing titled "FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024: Stakeholder Perspectives on Implementation One Year Later."
06/04/2025
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: FAA Acting Administrator Rocheleau Discusses Administration’s FY26 Budget Request
FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau discussed the administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request and its plans to hire more controllers and upgrade the aging air traffic control system during a hearing today before the House transportation appropriations subcommittee.
06/04/2025
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: White House Releases More Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Details
The Trump administration released additional details regarding the proposed FY26 budgets for federal departments and agencies, including DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP.
05/30/2025
