American Association of Airport Executives
March 11, 2024
On March 11, the White House unveiled a fiscal year 2025 budget request that proposes $3.35 billion for AIP and $8 billion over the next five years to upgrade FAA facilities and radars. The budget release comes just days after the President signed into law a six-bill minibus appropriations package that included funding for DOT and FAA in FY24 and as lawmakers are still trying to wrap up six other appropriations bills for the current fiscal year including one that funds DHS, TSA, and CBP.
Although the administration's FY25 budget request proposes flat funding for AIP, we will be pressing Congress to up that amount to $4 billion with the expectation that Congress will complete action on the FAA reauthorization bill and authorize higher funding levels for airport infrastructure. The White House plan does not include additional funding for supplemental discretionary grants, which lawmakers used in the FY24 appropriations process to fund $532.4 million in congressional earmarks and other airport infrastructure projects.
On the DHS front, the White House is proposing to fund almost 3,500 additional Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) to meet rising demand. However, the budget request again calls for transitioning TSA's responsibility for staffing exit lanes to airports – a move that would save the agency almost $111 million next year—as well as eliminating funding for Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) reimbursement grants and airport LEO-operated canine teams. We will continue to urge Congress to reject these cost-shifting proposals.
[Read on: White House Releases Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request (aaae.org)]
