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$372 million backs the U.S.-flag merchant fleet
The bill also directs $387.3 million to operations and training and $538.2 million to port facility grants. All three accounts sit in the House transportation and housing measure for fiscal 2027.
The House Transportation-HUD bill sets aside $6,000,000 for a pilot program that would move some high-activity air traffic control towers out of the contract tower program and into Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, staffing. The towers would become FAA-staffed visual flight rules towers, aimed at some of the busiest contract airports.
Why the tower matters
For pilots, airport users and nearby communities, tower staffing is not a back-office detail. It shapes how airports are run, how pilots get guidance and how much direct federal control the FAA keeps over busy airfields.
The proposal does not try to remake every tower at once. It starts with a test, and with airports where the volume is high enough that who is in the tower can affect the day-to-day rhythm of flight operations.
The money behind the test
The pilot money sits in the Office of the Secretary account in the Department of Transportation title. It is part of H.R. 9170, the fiscal 2027 transportation and housing appropriations measure.