Transportation This Week: Aviation Safety, Rail Funding Battles, and Amtrak's ADA Reckoning

The Big Picture

Congress is juggling three fronts in transportation legislation simultaneously — aviation airspace safety is moving through committee, a House-Senate standoff over FAA and rail appropriations is shaping up to be one of the year's defining infrastructure fights, and Amtrak is facing long-overdue pressure to comply with accessibility law.

Thread 1: Aviation Safety Takes Center Stage With ALERT Act Markup

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure moved this week on H.R. 7613, the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026, introduced by Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). The markup signals that aviation safety remains a priority for House Republicans heading into the spring legislative calendar.

The bill focuses on airspace safety and risk transparency — issues that have drawn sustained attention following a series of aviation incidents. Separately, Rep. Josh Gottheimer's (D-NJ) Don't Cut FAA Workers Act remains in play, which would prohibit the FAA from conducting mass layoffs within one year of a fatal aviation accident without prior congressional approval. The bill defines a mass layoff as affecting 10 or more employees at a single site or 250 or more agency-wide over any 90-day period.

Aviation stakeholders are also pressing Congress to move the Aviation Funding Solvency Act (H.R. 6086), which would provide continuing appropriations from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to sustain FAA programs. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has called on Congress to act swiftly, following the House's earlier passage of a $22.2 billion FAA funding package — approved 217 to 214 — as part of a broader DOT appropriations bill that ended a partial government shutdown.

Drone security at airports is also drawing legislative attention. Sen. Mike Lee's (R-UT) SHIELD U Act would expand counter-drone authority to state, local, and airport law enforcement, authorizing radio frequency jamming technology and requiring each commercial airport to establish a drone threat tactical response task force.

On the industry side, major airlines — including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Airlines for America — have been among the most active lobbyists on aviation issues throughout the current Congress, with Delta alone spending over $5 million annually on in-house lobbying focused on FAA policy, air traffic control modernization, and sustainable aviation fuel tax credits.

Thread 2: House-Senate Appropriations Clash Sets Up Transportation Legislation Fight

The sharpest fault line in transportation legislation right now runs between the two chambers on FY2026 spending. The Senate's FY2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act (S. 2465) includes $22 billion for the FAA — $1.4 billion above current levels — while the House version proposes cuts to Amtrak funding, high-speed rail, and public transit. That divergence sets up a significant conference fight over the direction of federal infrastructure investment.

The divide reflects a broader disagreement over surface transportation reauthorization priorities. House Republicans have signaled a preference for highway and aviation spending, while Senate appropriators have pushed for a more balanced approach that preserves rail and transit funding. The Highway Trust Fund's long-term solvency — a perennial concern that underpins much of the surface transportation reauthorization debate — looms over both chambers as they negotiate.

Construction Dive reported that the House bill proposes specific cuts to Amtrak and transit programs, a signal of how differently the two chambers are approaching federal transit funding priorities heading into conference.

The freight railroad industry is watching closely. BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, and CSX Corp. have all been actively lobbying on infrastructure investment and IIJA implementation, while the American Trucking Associations has focused on Highway Trust Fund solvency and surface transportation reauthorization. The American Public Transportation Association has been pressing for robust federal transit funding levels in both appropriations and the next reauthorization cycle.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) highlighted the local stakes, noting that he secured over $458 million in federal funding for Chicagoland projects — including public transportation improvements — and framing the infrastructure law as a direct driver of regional investment. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) separately touted federal rail safety and efficiency grants for the Forest Hill Railyard, calling the region "a national transportation hub."

Thread 3: Amtrak's ADA Problem Reaches the Floor

The third thread is less about dollars and more about accountability. Amtrak's failure to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility mandates — decades after the law required station upgrades — moved onto the House floor this week with passage of the Think Differently Transportation Act, which requires Amtrak to develop a full ADA accessibility plan.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) was direct about the problem: "The Americans with Disabilities Act mandated that Amtrak upgrade its stations to make them accessible, but 3 decades later many stations aren't in compliance," he said in remarks supporting the bill. "I spoke in support of a bill to remedy this so all Americans can safely access our transportation systems."

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) marked the bill's passage by honoring its original sponsor, the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr.: "Today, on what would have been Congressman Donald Payne Jr.'s 66th birthday, the House passed his Think Differently Transportation Act, requiring Amtrak to create a plan for full ADA accessibility in stations."

The bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. The broader Amtrak funding picture remains contested — the Rail Passengers Association reported this week that while Amtrak operations are largely preserved in the final FY2026 rail appropriations deal, the outcome "could have been much, much worse," and the group is now focused on the Spring Advocacy Summit and the 2026 transportation legislative agenda.

The accessibility legislation comes alongside a separate push on aviation workforce mental health. Rep. Sean Casten's (D-IL) Mental Health in Aviation Act would direct the FAA to update its mental health regulations for pilots and air traffic controllers, including reclassifying medications that may be safely prescribed to airmen and launching a public information campaign to reduce stigma around mental health care in the aviation workforce.

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