Congress moves to block FAA layoffs for a year after plane crashes
H.R. 2431 — Don't Cut FAA Workers Act of 2025 · Filed by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prevents the FAA from laying off 10 or more employees at a single location (or 250+ nationwide) within one year after a fatal aviation accident, unless Congress explicitly approves the layoffs in writing. The stated purpose is to protect FAA workers from mass terminations in the aftermath of a crash, when public attention and safety concerns are highest.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a procedural constraint on executive action (FAA layoffs) triggered by a specific event (fatal aviation accident), requiring congressional approval to override. It is fundamentally a check on administrative discretion, not a subsidy, deregulation, or commemorative act.
What the text implies
- The one-year freeze applies to ALL mass layoffs within 12 months of ANY fatal accident, regardless of whether the layoffs are causally related to the accident or to safety failures that caused it.
- Congress must affirmatively approve layoffs via joint resolution within 60 days; silence = automatic block. This inverts normal administrative procedure and gives Congress a veto over routine FAA personnel decisions.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
FAA federal employees (job security protection)