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Lawmakers Press FAA, Push Funding for Air Traffic Controller Hiring and Training
Summary
Members pressed for faster hiring and more training slots for air traffic controllers during appropriations markup, including a proposal to expand collegiate training pipelines and support the FAA Academy; Democrats and Republicans agreed more staffing is needed though differed on offsets and related policy.
Lawmakers from both parties pressed the Federal Aviation Administration and appropriations leaders during the FY2026 markup to accelerate hiring and training of air traffic controllers, citing staffing shortages and mandatory overtime that controllers have reported.
Representative Betty McCollum (D‑Minn.) offered a lengthy description of the problem and the subcommittee’s intent: “FAA currently has over 14,000 air traffic controllers…there is currently a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, forcing the existing workforce to work 6 days a week…last year, air traffic controllers logged over 2,000,000 overtime hours,” she said while introducing a discussion‑stage amendment intended to expand the collegiate…
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