Executive Summary

• A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation to ensure funding for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) activities is available during future government shutdowns; one of the largest costs of the recent 43-day shutdown was the disruption to FAA activities.
• Air traffic controllers were among the essential federal employees required to work during the shutdown without pay; however, many did not show up to work for a litany of reasons, causing flight delays and cancellations at airports across the country.
• The House and Senate bills are a step in the right direction to prevent one of the largest disruptions and costs of past shutdowns from occurring in the future.

Introduction

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation to ensure funding for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) activities is available during future federal government shutdowns. The 43-day shutdown that began on October 1 and ended on November 12 imposed costs on both the federal budget and the U.S. economy. One of the largest costs was the disruption of FAA activities and the subsequent impact on air travel. Air traffic controllers were among the roughly 730,000 essential federal employees required to work during the shutdown without pay. Many air traffic controllers chose not to report to work, causing long delays and cancellations at major airports across the country. The FAA issued an emergency order in early November requiring airlines to scale down daily flights at 40 major airports across the country by as much as 10 percent (these restrictions were lifted on November 16).

The House’s Aviation Funding Solvency Act (H.R. 6086) and the Senate’s Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2025 (S. 1045) are a step in the right direction to prevent the recurrence of one of the largest and costliest disruptions of past government shutdowns. This insight reviews both bills.

The House Bill

The Aviation Funding Solvency Act was introduced in the House by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), along with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls (R-TX), and Representative Andre Carson (D-IN).

The bill would use funding from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to fund FAA activities during any future government shutdown. The fund typically covers war risk insurance claims by airlines and currently has a balance of about $2.6 billion. During a shutdown, the funds would be available to fund the activities of two FAA accounts: Operations, and Facilities and Equipment. The funds would be available from the start of any lapse in appropriations legislation until new appropriations legislation or a continuing resolution (CR) is signed into law.

The bill would effectively establish a cap on the amount of funding that could be withdrawn from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund by requiring the fund to maintain a $1 billion balance. So, for example, if its balance is still $2.6 billion when the next government shutdown starts, a maximum of $1.6 billion could be withdrawn to cover FAA activities. If the FAA administrator determines the amount is insufficient to fund all activities during a shutdown, the bill mandates that paying air traffic controllers be the priority.

When a shutdown ends either through the enactment of appropriations legislation or a CR, H.R. 6086 would require the total sum withdrawn from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to cover FAA activities to be charged to the appropriation fund or authorization that finances the activities when the government is not shut down. This would ensure repayment of the “borrowed” funds to the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund.

The Senate Bill

The Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2025 was introduced in the Senate by Aviation, Space, and Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS).

The bill would use funding from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) to fund FAA activities during a government shutdown. The AATF is the primary funding source for federal aviation programs, and its primary source of income is taxes paid by users of the national aviation system. The AATF currently has a balance of about $20 billion. During a shutdown, the funds would be available to finance the activities of four FAA accounts: Operations; Facilities and Equipment; Research, Engineering, and Development; and Grants-in-Aid for Airports. The funds would be available from the start of any lapse in appropriations until new appropriations legislation or a CR is signed into law.

When a shutdown ends, either through the enactment of appropriations legislation or a CR, the bill would require the total sum withdrawn from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to cover FAA activities to be charged to the appropriation fund or authorization that funds the activities when the government is not shut down. This would ensure repayment of the “borrowed” funds to the AATF.

Budgetary Impact

The Congressional Budget Office has not provided an official cost estimate of H.R. 6086 or S. 1045. It is not unreasonable to assume the bills would score differently given their different funding mechanisms, parameters for using those funding mechanisms, and the individual FAA accounts that would be funded by the bills during a shutdown.