Congress locks in airport security funding, blocking budget raids on passenger fees
S. 2378 — SAFEGUARDS Act of 2025 · Filed by Jerry Moran (R-KS) · 12 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 22, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill dedicates revenue from the 9/11 Security Fee (a per-passenger airline fee) exclusively to aviation security improvements, blocking its diversion to other federal purposes. It establishes two dedicated funds: the Aviation Security Capital Fund (receiving $250M annually through 2025, then $500M annually from 2026 onward) and the Aviation Security Checkpoint Technology Fund (receiving $250M annually from 2026 onward), both funded from the security fee and available for TSA grants to airports and security contractors for screening equipment, technology upgrades, and personnel support.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a revenue-dedication statute: it carves out and locks in specific portions of existing passenger fees for defined security purposes, preventing fungible use elsewhere in the federal budget. This is a fiscal-control measure, not a new tax or subsidy.
What the text implies
- The retroactive grant authority (allowing TSA to approve projects back to January 1, 2023) may create accounting ambiguity and potential for after-the-fact justification of spending that was not originally budgeted under this framework.
- Doubling the Aviation Security Capital Fund from $250M to $500M annually (2026 onward) assumes the 9/11 Security Fee will remain at or above current collection levels; if passenger volumes decline or the fee is reduced, the fund may fall short of the mandated deposit amount.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
aviation security technology vendors; airport operators and authorities; TSA contractors and integrators