NBAA Welcomes Final Congressional Passage of Aviation Priorities in Budget Bill

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) welcomed the final vote in the House of Representatives of a bill with multiple NBAA-supported initiatives to promote the growth, safety and sustainability of the U.S. aviation industry.

The wide-ranging budget reconciliation measure was initially passed in the House on May 22. The Senate passed its revised version on July 1, sending the bill back to the House for today’s vote. The bill now heads to the president’s desk, and he is expected to sign the legislation into law.

The final legislation preserves $12.52 billion to fund replacement of aging air traffic control (ATC) facilities, systems and infrastructure and to bolster controller staffing and training.

Announced by House leaders in April, the ATC funding provision has the support of NBAA and more than 50 other aviation stakeholders comprising the Modern Skies Coalition of aviation associations, trade unions, manufacturers and others.

“We thank congressional leaders for preserving this vital ATC-transformation measure in the final budget-reconciliation bill, which provides a critical downpayment on investments in new technologies, facilities, the controller workforce and other priorities,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

The legislation also includes a permanent reinstatement of full and immediate expensing on purchases of factory-new and preowned aircraft. The current expensing schedule, most recently authorized in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, is phasing out and set to expire in 2027. 

Immediate expensing has proven effective for incentivizing aircraft purchase, which in turn helps companies obtain a competitive asset and supports American manufacturing jobs. In the U.S., business aviation supports 1.3 million high-skill, high-paying manufacturing and service jobs and accounts for $340 billion in annual economic activity. 

The final legislation also maintains a key provision supporting business aviation’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – an additional two-year extension of the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit incentivizing production of sustainable aviation fuel to 2031, albeit with a reduction in the credit’s value, which could pose challenges for incentivizing enough production to meet demand.

“This bill enacts many important initiatives to ensure America’s continued leadership in aviation,” Bolen said. “The business aviation community looks forward to working with Congress and government agency leaders to ensure its full implementation.”