The fate of $140 million slated for an air traffic controller pay raise remains unknown while the Homeland Security Department operates without appropriations. SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images
Air traffic controller pay raise stalled by DHS shutdown
A House appropriations bill that previously authorized a 3.8% pay raise for air traffic controllers remains on hold as Senate Democrats continue to call for immigration policy reforms.
The current government shutdown of the Homeland Security Department is not only disparately impacting paychecks across the federal government’s third largest agency, it has also placed a proposed pay raise for air traffic controllers in jeopardy.
After the House passed an appropriations package to fund DHS, Senate Democrats withdrew their support for the budget plan, instead pressing for immigration enforcement reforms following multiple fatal shootings of citizens by DHS employees.
The DHS budget impasse will stretch at minimum another week while the Senate remains in recess until Feb. 23 after failing to reach a funding deal prior to the department’s appropriations running out last week. But it will also leave the fate of a proposed 3.8% pay raise for air traffic controllers an open question.
The House appropriations minibus for the Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies baked in $140 million into the DHS portion of the funding package for the air traffic controller raises in fiscal 2026.
That funding would go into effect if the Federal Aviation Administrator determines “in his sole discretion, that improvements in workforce scheduling, staffing utilization, or other operational efficiencies are achieved that contribute to addressing workforce shortfalls and enhancing aviation safety.”
But despite the FAA and the Transportation Department having full-year appropriations, because the Senate carved out DHS funding, the $140 million remains on hold.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., cited the pay raise as one of several detrimental impacts of the DHS shutdown in his opening remarks of a Feb. 11 hearing.
"I will end with this: the appropriations process shouldn’t be used as a proxy for other policy disputes. Discussions on reforms, oversight, and accountability across government can happen without leveraging other agencies as collateral," he said.
The proposed raise is targeted to help recruitment and retention efforts for air traffic controllers, which have been a focus of the agency for years but received renewed attention following a collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial airliner near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed all 67 people on both aircraft in January 2025.
According to the FAA’s air traffic controller workforce plan, the agency had roughly 10,730 Certified Professional Controllers in fiscal 2024 and anticipated losing an estimated 6,872 between fiscal 2025 and 2028, due to a mix of retirements, attrition, promotions and transfers and other reasons.
Meanwhile, the bulk of DHS employees will continue to report to work without pay during the shutdown, with roughly 23,000 employees placed on furlough. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officials are expected to utilize funding provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to continue operations.