A member of the House of Representatives is trying to exempt the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City from any future government shutdowns.
The school churns out thousands of trained air traffic controllers at a time when there’s a national shortage. The legislation introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas would keep the academy at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center — one of the FAA’s largest facilities — open if funds stopped flowing due to a federal government shutdown and would exempt employees and students employed by the FAA from a furlough.
“In recent times because of the challenges we’ve had with air safety, because of the tragic crashes — think about the near misses — there’s no more important time than now to have a steady stream of capable, talented, well-prepared people to be in those towers,” Lucas, whose district is home to the academy, told NOTUS in an interview.
He was referring, in part, to the deadly plane crash outside of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year. But Lucas also told NOTUS that he was concerned about the facility in the context of potential cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency.
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The air traffic controller workforce, which has been shrinking for decades, has received an outsized amount of attention recently as concern over flight safety has grown. Senators have questioned whether it is safe to fly after the administration laid off several hundred probationary workers at the FAA. Those layoffs included workers at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, according to Oklahoma’s News 4.
Lucas already has some interest in his bill across the Capitol.
“Congressman Frank Lucas is a very good friend of mine, and I’m very supportive about anything he does,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin told NOTUS.
The aeronautical center trains 76,000 students in aviation fields annually, according to its website. About 1,000 students attend the school each day, according to an academy student handbook from 2023.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy toured the academy in February, then rolled out a plan to recruit more air traffic controllers that included boosting starting salaries for those who attend the school.
“Today’s visit reaffirmed how being an air traffic controller is one of the best, most rewarding jobs in America, and that the next generation at the Academy is the best in the world,” Duffy said in a news release. “This staffing shortage has been a known challenge for over a decade, and this administration is committed to solving it.”
Lucas pointed to the most recent government shutdown as a “total disruption” to the process of bringing in and training students.
“You upset the flow of folks making plans to come, and the FAA’s ability to absorb the people they expect to be coming out of each class,” Lucas said. “It’s just chaos.”
The previous shutdown was the first thing that came to Sen. James Lankford’s mind when asked about the bill, which he said he “absolutely” supports.
“The academy had to start all over again. We lost a session to the shutdown,” Lankford said, adding that Lucas is “basically just saying, we can declare that it’s essential. We’ve got to have more air traffic control folks.”
Lucas said he was concerned for the facility after President Donald Trump launched DOGE because it was looking at “anything and everything.” But Lucas’ concern wasn’t limited to the academy, he said. It also extended to “any number of things,” including food safety inspections.
“My job is to work with the administration, whoever the administration is, work with my colleagues, whoever they may be, and try and make sure that wise decisions are made,” Lucas said. “We helped DOGE on a couple of issues, in a general sense, see that perhaps things should be done differently.”
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Em Luetkemeyer is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and Oklahoma Watch.
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