“FAA Funding Flexibility and Continuity Act”

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Let the FAA Keep its Money

AKA “FAA trust fund efficiency act”


Which agency/agencies promulgated the regulation? *
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) • Department of Transportation (DOT) / Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Which title, parts, and/or sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) should be rescinded? *
• 31 U.S.C. § 1502 – the Apportionment statute subjecting FAA’s Airport and Airway Trust Fund accounts (Operations; Facilities & Equipment; Research, Engineering & Development) to quarterly spending ceilings. • OMB Circular A-11 – the implementing guidance that requires quarterly apportionment of user-fee and trust-fund accounts.
What is your name?
—OPTIONAL--
Is your proposed rescission a notice of proposed rulemaking, final rule, direct final rule, interim final rule, or interpretive rule? *
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
What is the name of the regulation being rescinded, if applicable? *
“FAA Funding Flexibility and Continuity Act”
Please provide a short summary of the justifications for the rescission. *
Quarterly apportionment forces FAA to halt hiring, contracting, and capital obligations whenever a quarter’s allotment is spent—even if significant trust-fund balances remain. Exempting these accounts from § 1502 and OMB Circular A-11 apportionment restores multi-year obligation authority, smoothing staffing and project funding for air-traffic controllers, safety inspectors, and NextGen modernization.
Please insert the address of the agency. [NPRM, DFR, and IFR only]
Office of Management and Budget 725 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20503
Please insert the contact information for the agency. *
OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov
What is the background for the regulation being rescinded? *
Under the Antideficiency Act and Apportionment statutes (31 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1502) and as implemented by OMB Circular A-11, all federal accounts—including FAA’s trust-fund receipts from excise taxes and user fees—are subject to quarterly spending ceilings. This creates artificial “cliffs” in FAA’s ability to obligate dedicated Aviation Trust Fund resources.
Explain the reasons for the rescission. *
Removing FAA trust-fund accounts from quarterly apportionment: • Allows immediate obligation of user fees upon receipt, aligning expenditures with operational needs. • Prevents unnecessary hiring freezes of controllers and inspectors. • Ensures uninterrupted funding for critical capital projects and technology upgrades.
Describe the text of the relevant C.F.R. provisions as it will exist after the rescission. *
— 31 U.S.C. § 1502 amended to add: “The trust-fund accounts established under 49 U.S.C. chapter 950 (Airport and Airway Trust Fund) are exempt from quarterly apportionment requirements.” — OMB Circular A-11 revised to exempt FAA’s Operations; Facilities & Equipment; and Research, Engineering & Development trust-fund accounts from apportionment, allowing full-year carryforward and obligation. All other apportionment rules continue to apply to DOT’s annually appropriated accounts.
Please insert the name of the current agency head. *
Russel Vought; Chris Rocheleau
Please insert the title of the agency head. *
Director, Office of Management and Budget; Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration

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