Lawmakers press FAA over controller shortages and shutdown impacts as Bedford pledges hiring and dashboards
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Summary
Members pressed Administrator Bedford on the FAA's staffing shortfalls, effects of the government shutdown on controller retention, the 8,900 hiring target through 2028 and delayed workforce grant NOFOs; Bedford said the agency has hired 2,000+ trainees and reduced medical certification backlogs.
Multiple members used the hearing to press the FAA on a shortage of air‑traffic controllers and related workforce challenges. Administrator Bedford acknowledged the FAA was "already struggling with the shortage of qualified controllers" before the lapse in appropriations, said the shutdown exacerbated staffing triggers and that the agency had temporarily reduced operations at 40 high‑traffic airports to reduce controller workload.
Bedford told the committee the FAA met a fiscal‑year hiring goal by adding more than 2,000 controller trainees and remains on track to hire 8,900 additional trainees through 2028. Members asked whether that 8,900 figure is net of retirements; Bedford said it is a cumulative target over four years and that retirements and retention remain challenges.
Ranking Member Larson and others pressed the agency to deliver delayed Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for aviation workforce development grants. Bedford said the administration had recalibrated grant priorities after the change in administration, acknowledged the NOFOs were tardy and said the FAA was working to get them out quickly.
Chair and members asked for objective measures of safety performance including near‑misses and surface incursions. Bedford said the FAA has dashboards and weekly management meetings tracking metrics, including surface runway incursions and TCAS resolution advisories, and that trends had worsened during the lapse in funding; he promised to share a "report card" the FAA is developing.
Members highlighted mental‑health backlog and medical certifications; Bedford said the FAA reduced cases waiting longer than six months from over 5,000 to under 300 in the past five months and that new technology will make adjudication easier.