Lawmakers are talking about an estimated $30.5 billion “wish list” circulating on Capitol Hill to overhaul the nation’s aging air traffic control system as the ink still dries on the reconciliation law’s $12.5 billion down payment, sources familiar with discussions said.

That $30.5 billion figure is higher than Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s June estimate of at least $20 billion. The “wish list”— the phrase used by one source— estimate is likely unattainable unless the Federal Aviation Administration convinces lawmakers it can manage that much funding, the sources said.

The sources, including one former staffer with long experience of transportation on the Hill, added that appropriating more on top of the reconciliation law’s $12.5 billion to reach even $20 billion could be challenging unless Congress passes another reconciliation or supplemental bill.

President Donald Trump and Duffy have promised sweeping air traffic control overhauls since the January mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and Army Blackhawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, claiming 67 lives, as well as other aviation mishaps and outages of air traffic control systems.

The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating, but the crash raised questions about whether the airport’s outdated air traffic control systems — common among airports across the country — had a role.

The Government Accountability Office reported in September 2024 that the FAA had found that 105 of its 138 systems were unsustainable or potentially unsustainable.

Trump and Duffy called on Congress last week at a Cabinet meeting to provide more funding for the air traffic control project. Duffy said that he intends to find one company to manage the overhaul, as the FAA is “not qualified to manage this kind of a project.”

“What the money is going to allow us to do is move from . . . copper to fiber (lines) all over the country. We think we can do that in a year and a half to two years,” Duffy said. “We have a radar that dates back to the 1950s, some of it from the 60s and 70s. We get brand new radar across the country as well.”

Duffy in May released a framework for the overhauls that includes initiatives to transition to updated telecommunications networks, upgrade radio equipment, replace radar systems and address the air traffic control facilities backlog. The report also calls on Congress to provide an “immediate infusion of funding” for the plan.

– Valerie Yurk / CQ-Roll Call