Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are preparing a $15 billion package to revamp the country’s aging air-traffic control system, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The proposal would provide more than $4.7 billion to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aging telecommunications network and $3 billion for radar system replacement, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. It would also include funding to upgrade air traffic control towers and bolster controller hiring and recruitment, among other priorities, they said. 

The committee plans to hold a session April 30 on its portion of the reconciliation bill Congress intends to pass this year. The air traffic reforms would be part of that. The committee is still finalizing the plan, so changes are possible, the people said.

A spokesperson for the committee said that while the legislation was not final and changes could be made, Chairman Sam Graves was committed to modernization efforts.

The proposal marks an opening bid to answer longstanding calls from the industry to upgrade critical infrastructure, which have gained momentum after a deadly midair collision near Washington earlier this year.

The Trump administration is working on its own proposal, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said is under review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. Duffy said he plans to relay that plan to Congress soon. The FAA has separately been testing the use of SpaceX’s Starlink at some of its facilities. 

Elon Musk is the chief executive officer of SpaceX and his company’s involvement with the FAA’s modernization efforts has raised concerns about conflicts of interest.

Efforts to overhaul the air traffic control system have picked up speed since a U.S. military helicopter and American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January, the worst U.S. civil aviation disaster in decades. 

Safety watchdogs have been sounding the alarm about the state of air traffic control for years. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office warned in a December report that the FAA should take urgent action to update its systems, pointing out that a 2023 risk assessment found 76% were either unsustainable or potentially unsustainable. 

In 2024, the FAA offered details on the condition of its air traffic control towers and radar systems, saying that the average tower age was 40 years and the majority of radar systems were approaching that age as well. 

“Structural deficiencies and maintenance-related issues are becoming more frequent and apparent,” according to the agency. “Aging facilities add risk to the system, including risk of service disruptions.”