Congress Stalls on Bills to Pay Aviation Workers During Shutdowns

Repeated proposals to protect pay for air traffic controllers and TSA agents have failed to gain traction despite public pressure.

Mar. 28, 2026 at 4:18pm

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Members of Congress have repeatedly introduced bills to ensure the federal employees who control air traffic and conduct airport security screenings get paid during government shutdowns. However, these proposals have consistently stalled in Congress, even as shutdowns continue to disrupt air travel and leave aviation workers struggling financially.

Why it matters

Unpaid air traffic controllers and TSA agents during government shutdowns pose serious risks to aviation safety and can lead to long delays and disruptions for travelers. The inability of Congress to pass legislation to protect these essential workers' paychecks undermines public confidence in the stability of the air travel system.

The details

Since 2019, lawmakers have drafted and reintroduced multiple proposals to pay aviation workers who would have to keep reporting for duty in the event of another budget impasse. Bills like the Aviation Funding Stability Act and the Keep Air Travel Safe Act have garnered bipartisan support but have failed to become law. Political gridlock and a lack of public pressure have allowed these bills to languish, even as government shutdowns have continued to impact air travel.

  • In 2019, the Aviation Funding Stability Act was first introduced.
  • In the fall of 2022, the Keep Air Travel Safe Act and Keep America Flying Act were introduced after a government shutdown.
  • In January 2023, the Shutdown Fairness Act was introduced to maintain pay for essential federal workers across the government.
  • In February 2023, a 42-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security left TSA agents working without pay.

The players

Eric Chaffee

A Case Western Reserve law professor whose research includes risk management in the aviation industry.

Carlos Rodriguez

A TSA agent and local union leader in New York.

Johnny Jones

Secretary-treasurer of the TSA division of the American Federation of Government Employees.

Chris Sununu

President and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines.

Caleb Harmon-Marshall

A former TSA officer who runs a travel newsletter called Gate Access.

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What they’re saying

“Once the crisis is over, people assume that the good times are back. It's easy to pass the next big bill when you're still in the throes of the financial crisis, but once the shutdown is done, people have a relatively short memory of the problems that it created.”

— Eric Chaffee, Case Western Reserve law professor

“Part of the American dream that I was sold was that working for the government was honorable and stable. But this is not honorable or stable.”

— Carlos Rodriguez, TSA agent and local union leader

“We're on the chess board.”

— Johnny Jones, Secretary-treasurer of the TSA division of the American Federation of Government Employees

“Congress has the power to end this dysfunction once and for all, and must use any legislative vehicle to accomplish this goal.”

— Modern Skies Coalition

“Right now, lawmakers are sitting on their hands doing nothing with three viable, bipartisan bills that could prevent this mess.”

— Chris Sununu, President and CEO of Airlines for America

What’s next

The president's emergency order to immediately pay TSA agents during the latest shutdown is a temporary fix, and Congress will need to act on more comprehensive legislation to provide long-term protection for aviation workers' pay during future funding lapses.

The takeaway

The repeated failure of Congress to pass bipartisan bills to ensure aviation workers are paid during government shutdowns highlights the political gridlock and short-term thinking that often prevails in Washington, even on issues with broad public support and clear safety implications.