Congress invests in air traffic controller training and mental health support.

What it does

This bill improves air traffic control training and staffing by expanding the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) program, which trains students at universities to become air traffic controllers. It authorizes $20 million per year through 2031 for grants to universities to develop curriculum and buy simulators, creates a $20 million annual fund for FAA facility training equipment, establishes bonus and retention programs for controllers, and requires the FAA to improve mental health training for aviation medical examiners and report on radar surveillance programs.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is public investment in air traffic control training infrastructure, controller retention, and mental health support—all aimed at improving workforce quality and aviation safety. This is straightforward workforce development legislation with no hidden carve-outs or narrow beneficiaries.

What the text implies

• The $20M annual CTI grant program may create competitive pressure on non-CTI training pathways, potentially consolidating controller training around university-based programs and reducing diversity in recruitment pipelines.
• Mental health training requirements for Aviation Medical Examiners could increase barriers to controller certification if examiners lack adequate training, potentially worsening controller shortages in the near term.
• The ANSR radar report requirement signals potential future spending on airport surveillance infrastructure, though no funding is authorized in this bill.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill invests public funds in training and retaining air traffic controllers, which directly improves aviation safety and workforce stability—a core public good. Mental health support for controllers and medical examiners addresses occupational stress that affects both controller wellbeing and public safety. No provisions restrict citizen rights or shift costs to the public.

Who stands to gain

• institutions of higher education (CTI program participants)
• aviation medical training providers
• FAA facility equipment vendors (simulators, training systems)

Named in the bill

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation, Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI), Enhanced-Collegiate Training Initiative (Enhanced-CTI), Aviation Accreditation Board International, Aviation Medical Examiners, Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), Airport Non-Cooperative Surveillance Radar (ANSR), Certified Professional Controllers (CPC)

Where it stands

11 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.

• Feb 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Feb 24, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 12 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,163,200 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

John Hoeven, the sponsor, reported $269,275 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Air Transport Association of America, Inc. (d/b/a Airlines for America) — $2,301,100 on 2 filings
• American Association of Airport Executives — $1,172,100 on 1 filing
• National Air Traffic Controllers Association — $360,000 on 1 filing
• Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association — $240,000 on 2 filings
• American Association of Airport Executives — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.