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Duffy and Schmitt Unveil the Modern Skies Act, Sep. 28, 2026

September 28, 2026 · US Department of Transportation · 1:04:11

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy held a press conference with Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, and leaders from the airlines, the pilots’ union, and the air traffic controllers’ association to unveil the Modern Skies Act — new funding legislation to take air traffic control modernization to the next level, according to the Department of Transportation’s description of the event. Schmitt introduced the legislation that morning, as Secretary Duffy stated at the press conference.

Duffy framed the ask against the earlier modernization effort he called NextGen, which he said received anywhere from $10 to $15 billion from Congress and delivered, in his words, “virtually nothing.” He said Congress had already given the department $12.5 billion about a year and a half earlier as what he called a partial down payment, and that the department had been building with it. The new request, as he laid it out, is $30 billion in three $10 billion parts — replacing the underlying telecommunications architecture, air traffic control facilities and infrastructure, and airport infrastructure. He said FAA economists estimate a modern, resilient system could save more than $300 billion over 20 years, as he stated the figure. Airline, pilot, and controller representatives at the event voiced support for the $30 billion request, as they stated their positions.

Why it matters

Air traffic control modernization is Secretary Duffy’s signature file — the build he launched after the January 2025 midair collision near Reagan National Airport, which he cited at this press conference as the prompt for the effort. The Modern Skies Act moves that build from executive-branch construction to a legislative funding fight: whether Congress will put a second, larger tranche behind the $12.5 billion already appropriated.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard candidate: the Modern Skies Act’s $30 billion funding request, introduced by Senator Schmitt on September 28, 2026, as stated at the unveiling. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation, “Modern Skies Act” (official upload, embedded above; published September 29, 2026 UTC, dated September 28, 2026 on the video page). Remarks and figures as delivered at the press conference and as stated in the department’s description.