HR 10683: Modern Skies Act

HR 10683 in plain English: The Modern Skies Act would appropriate $10 billion for a pilot program to modernize the U.S. air traffic control system, and provide additional funding to upgrade airport infrastructure, consolidate facilities, and improve aviation technology nationwide.

Stated purpose

The Modern Skies Act aims to authorize supplemental funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, including a pilot grant program to help modernize, rehabilitate, or reconstruct aging main terminals at a specific category of mid-sized hub airports.

Key points

• Appropriates $10 billion for an air traffic control modernization pilot program
• Provides $7.2 billion to implement a common automation platform and common controller workstations
• Allocates $300 million to consolidate terminal air traffic control facilities under the pilot program
• Provides $5 billion in discretionary grants for airport terminal development projects
• Allocates $2 billion for cloud computing infrastructure supporting the national airspace system

Arguments supporters make

• Many mid-sized airport terminals were built decades ago and are outdated, creating safety, capacity, and passenger experience problems that federal investment can help fix.
• Covering up to 90% of costs makes major renovations feasible for airports that could not otherwise afford large-scale modernization on their own.
• Improved terminals can boost regional economic activity, attract new airlines, and strengthen connections between small communities and the national air system.

Arguments opponents make

• Limiting grants to no more than 3 airports means the vast majority of airports with aging infrastructure receive nothing, raising questions about fairness in how winners are chosen.
• A 90% federal cost share places a large financial burden on taxpayers for what are essentially local or regional infrastructure assets that primarily benefit specific communities.
• The eligibility criteria are narrow and specific, which could steer grants toward a small, pre-determined set of airports rather than those with the greatest genuine need.

Tradeoffs

Concentrating substantial federal dollars on just three airports may produce model projects that other airports can learn from, but it leaves most aging airports without help and asks federal taxpayers broadly to fund infrastructure that serves limited geographic areas.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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