Cole Remarks at Budget Hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration

Thank you, Chairman Womack, and thank you Ranking Member Clyburn. Welcome Administrator Rocheleau. Thank you for coming before us today and for your decades of public service. Administrator Rocheleau, as we start the Fiscal Year 2026 process, I am focused on providing effective fiscal support to the FAA. We know you need resources to ensure the safety of our national airspace, support American manufacturers and innovators, and invest in infrastructure that improves the efficiency and reliability of our aviation system. 

This subcommittee will support your efforts as we develop our Fiscal Year 2026 bill. This will include addressing some of our aging air traffic infrastructure that is no longer sustainable in its current form and could become an operational risk. I will reiterate what Chairman Womack stated earlier – our commitment to safety and security will be steadfast and unified. We will begin to do this within the confines of the President’s budget, while we wait to receive your broader air traffic proposal.

Now, as you know, air traffic infrastructure isn’t the only challenging aspect of our national airspace system. Personnel levels are also a systemic concern, and in particular the men and women who control our skies that are trained at the sole FAA Academy located in Oklahoma.

The training provided in Oklahoma City is unmatched, and I appreciated having the opportunity to speak with you several weeks ago about your efforts to improve the completion rate of the brilliant students who attend the Academy. As we discussed, the Academy must be successful, and to be successful it must be properly resourced with the latest technology and best instructors. In FY24, while I was Chairman of this subcommittee, I worked to ensure the Academy received a significant increase for air traffic and technical operations training enhancements to enhance throughput for air traffic control trainees. 

This Committee also ensured that in our final FY25 appropriation, we provided funding to train an additional 2,000 air traffic controllers, and I understand your budget request for FY26 contemplates pushing that number, potentially to as high as 2,500. As we advance the FY26 appropriations, I look forward to working with your administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fund the critical safety missions and transportation infrastructure needs of this country. 

Thank you, Chairman Womack. I yield back.