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Congressional spending deal provides funding for 2,500 new air traffic controllers, $2.4 billion for Amtrak
The air traffic control tower at New York's Laguardia Airport after the FAA ordered flight cuts at 40 major airports amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy
The air traffic control tower at New York's Laguardia Airport after the FAA ordered flight cuts at 40 major airports amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy
Congressional spending deal provides funding for 2,500 new air traffic controllers, $2.4 billion for Amtrak
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A bipartisan spending deal announced Tuesday provides funding for 2,500 air traffic controllers and $2.4 billion for U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak.
The funding deal also includes $514 million to subsidize air services to rural communities in a program called the Essential Air Service program, rejecting a White House proposal to cut the program by 50%, and boosts annual funding to modernize air traffic control towers by $824 million.
The bill provides $2 million for an independent study on the airspace in the Washington, DC area after a January 2025 crash between a U.S. Army helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet killed 67 people and exposed significant weaknesses in aviation safety.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
