SB3031 would provide continuing FY2026 appropriations to pay FAA air traffic controllers and other essential FAA staff, and TSA screeners and related mission-support personnel, during a federal government shutdown. It would also authorize payments to contractors supporting those personnel and require expenditures to be charged to the applicable future appropriation when regular funding becomes law.
The act retroactively takes effect to September 30, 2025 and would terminate when regular appropriations are enacted or on September 30, 2026, whichever comes first.
At a Glance
What It Does
Section 2 authorizes a continuing appropriation for FY2026 to cover pay and benefits for FAA air traffic controllers and other essential FAA personnel, and TSA personnel and related mission-support staff, during a shutdown. It also authorizes payments to contractors providing support to those personnel and requires the expenditures to be charged to the future appropriation once regular appropriations are enacted.
Who It Affects
Directly affects FAA payroll and operations staff (air traffic controllers and related personnel) and TSA personnel (screeners and mission-support roles), as well as the contractors that support those workers.
Why It Matters
Preserves safety and security in air travel by preventing staff furloughs and service disruption during funding gaps, while tying the outlays to the eventual regular or continuing appropriation process.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The Keep America Flying Act of 2026 is a targeted funding tool designed to prevent a shutdown of essential aviation safety and security operations. It creates a temporary, continuing appropriation for FY2026 to ensure air traffic controllers and FAA staff who support the national airspace system continue to be paid and maintained in their duties during a lapse in federal funding.
It also covers TSA personnel responsible for screening and related mission-support functions, as well as the contractors that provide services to these employees. The bill specifies that these payments come from available Treasury funds not otherwise appropriated and must be charged against the future appropriation once Congress enacts regular funding.
Furthermore, it provides a retroactive effective date to align with dates surrounding the funding gap and sets a termination point when regular appropriations are enacted or by September 30, 2026, whichever occurs first. In short, the bill is a bridge funding measure aimed at maintaining uninterrupted aviation safety and security operations during a shutdown, with a clear sunset and retroactive start date.
It is narrowly tailored to the personnel and contractors directly involved in air traffic control and security screening rather than broad federal spending.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill funds payroll and benefits for FAA air traffic controllers and essential FAA staff during a shutdown.
It funds TSA screeners and related security mission-support personnel under the same framework.
Payments to contractors supporting FAA and TSA personnel are authorized under the act.
Expenditures are charged to the future appropriation when regular funding is enacted.
The act retroactively takes effect to Sept 30, 2025 and terminates when regular appropriations are enacted or by Sept 30, 2026.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Continuing appropriations for FAA and TSA personnel and contractors
Section 2 establishes a FY2026 continuing appropriation to cover pay, benefits, and other payments for air traffic controllers and other essential FAA personnel, as well as TSA screeners and mission-support staff, during periods when interim or full-year appropriations are not in effect. It also authorizes payments to contractors providing support to those personnel. The funding is drawn from money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated and is charged to the applicable future appropriation when regular funding is enacted. This provision ensures that critical safety and security functions remain staffed and operational despite a lapse in federal funding.
Termination
Section 3 defines when the continuing appropriations terminate. Funding and authority under this act expire upon the enactment into law of an appropriation for the funded purposes, the enactment of the applicable regular or continuing resolution without an appropriation for those purposes, or on September 30, 2026, whichever occurs first. This creates a defined sunset that aligns with the broader congressional appropriations process while preserving operations during a funding gap.
Retroactive effective date
Section 4 states that the act shall take effect as if enacted on September 30, 2025. This retroactive trigger is intended to cover gaps occurring around the end of fiscal year 2025, ensuring that payments and authorities apply from the identified retroactive start date. The retroactive design helps avoid disputes about eligibility for pay and contractor reimbursements tied to the shutdown period.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Government across all five countries.
Explore Government in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- FAA air traffic controllers and essential operational personnel, who receive pay and benefits during a funding gap and can maintain safety and reliability of the national airspace
- TSA screening personnel and related mission-support staff, who continue performing security duties without interruption during a shutdown
- Contractors providing payroll, IT, maintenance, and other support to FAA and TSA personnel, who receive payments for their services during the shutdown period
- Travelers and the flying public who benefit from continued air traffic control and security operations even when normal funding is disrupted
Who Bears the Cost
- U.S. Treasury and federal taxpayers, who finance the ongoing payroll and contractor payments during a funding gap
- Agencies (FAA, TSA, and DOT) obligated to administer and process the payments and manage the associated fiscal controls
- The broader federal budget, which absorbs this temporary outlay and faces closer scrutiny over the use of future appropriations as the regular process resumes
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether to guarantee uninterrupted safety-critical payroll and operations during a funding lapse by drawing on future appropriations, which preserves public safety but imports budgeting ambiguity and potential fiscal risk into the regular appropriations process.
The bill creates an emergency-like funding mechanism that preserves essential aviation safety and security functions during a government shutdown. While it protects operating continuity, it also introduces a dependency on future appropriations, which can complicate the fiscal planning and sequencing of regular funding.
By tying outlays to future congressional action, the measure risks ambiguity around timing and accountability if the regular appropriations process stalls or faces delays. The retroactive start date helps ensure retrospective eligibility but may raise questions about aligning payroll cycles and benefits with existing personnel policies.
Overall, the approach prioritizes safety and security in the short term while leaving open a set of implementation and budgetary questions for after the period of continuation ends.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.