EXCLUSIVE: The House of Representatives is taking a hard look at the state of the U.S. air traffic control system and what it needs to modernize.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee on the House’s committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, told Fox News Digital he would be leading a bipartisan series of closed-door conversations on the issue.
“We are going to start holding roundtables with stakeholders to implement this plan,” Nehls said in an interview.
It comes after a blackout at Newark Liberty International Airport reportedly caused a roughly 90-second outage to its air traffic control screens.
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The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said that operators at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which coordinates planes arriving at the busy New York City-area airport, “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them.”
Nehls said a primary focus of the roundtables would be formulating a plan on how to spend the $12.5 billion the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee approved toward air traffic control (ATC) modernization.
The funds were marked for ATC as part of the budget reconciliation process, through which Republicans are passing a massive bill advancing a host of Trump administration priorities.
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“We’ve got $12.5 billion. How are we going to spend it? Who’s going to spend it? What it needs to be spent on, what should be the priority? So we are bringing in these stakeholders, these experts from all different areas,” Nehls said.
“We’re bringing in these individuals that know about a lot dealing with a lot of this technology, they’re the first group that is coming in to talk about, you know, what do we do about fiber optics.”
He was referring to reports that the blackout was caused by a fried piece of copper wire, which Nehls said was an example of the outdated system ATC was running on.
The first meeting of the panel, which will include two Republicans and two Democrats, is set for early June, he said.
“We’re going to meet with new stakeholders to provide the guidance. And I’m going to do a lot of listening. I’m not going to do a whole lot of talking,” Nehls said. “So we can make a very deliberate and informed decision on how we’re going to spend the money with taxpayer money to modernize the system. So I think that’s a step in the right direction.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee for comment.
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