Air traffic controller staffing shortages. Radar outages. Hourslong flight delays and ground stops.
As Newark Liberty International Airport grappled with these and other problems in recent weeks, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed an "antiquated" air traffic control system, and asked Congress for money to build a new air traffic control system. But Robert Reich, an economist who served as Clinton administration labor secretary, said Duffy had a chance to act when serving as a congressman from 2011 to 2019, and didn’t.
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"Reminder: when Sean Duffy was a congressman, he and other Republicans voted against upgrading air traffic control systems," Reich wrote May 13 on X. "Now, he’s trying to blame those systems for Newark airport’s outages — while claiming DOGE’s cuts of critical support staff at the FAA had nothing to do with it." DOGE is a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency, which has undertaken efforts to slash government spending.
As evidence for Reich’s statement, Michael Lahanas-Calderón, chief strategist for Inequality Media Civic Action, a nonprofit cofounded by Reich, pointed PolitiFact to Duffy’s vote against HR 267, a 2019 transportation and housing appropriations bill.
That legislation provided money for the Federal Aviation Administration, but also included many other items unrelated to air traffic control.
And Duffy’s full congressional voting record shows he also voted in favor of bills to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, including in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
How Duffy and Republicans voted for a transportation bill during the 2019 shutdown
At the time of the 2019 vote on HR 267, Donald Trump was president, Democrats controlled the House and Republicans controlled the Senate.
The bill included funding for "Next Generation Air Transportation System," also known as NextGen, FAA’s multiyear air traffic control modernization program.
HR 267 was one in a string of bills Democrats introduced when the government was in the middle of what would become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, lasting 35 days in December 2018 to January 2019.
The legislation appropriated money to the FAA for operations, facilities and equipment, research, and engineering and development. It also included funding for the Federal Highway Administration, Maritime Administration and the Federal Housing Administration, among many other things.
House Republicans opposed it for varying reasons. Some said the legislation likely would not reopen the FAA because Trump opposed the bill and could veto it. Others, such as former Texas Rep. Kay Granger and Florida Rep. John Rutherford, said the bill didn’t do enough to fund air traffic control programs.
PolitiFact did not find published remarks from Duffy on why he voted against HR 267. We contacted Duffy’s office, and spokesperson Nathaniel Sizemore told us the bill had represented only a small funding increase for the FAA.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union representing 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and other aviation safety professionals, supported the bill. Union President Paul Rinaldi told The New York Times in 2019 that funding crises "wreak havoc on our system and perpetuate the current staffing crisis."
The House passed HR 267 with 232 Democrats and 12 Republicans in favor and 180 Republicans, including Duffy, opposed. The Senate did not take it up.
Duffy voted for other FAA funding bills
Duffy’s 2011 to 2019 congressional voting record shows he voted in favor of FAA authorization acts, which set spending levels and policy.
Information from the House of Representatives clerk’s office and the nonprofit VoteSmart shows Duffy:
- Voted for HR 658 or the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, which "refined and expanded several facets of NextGen implementation."
- Voted for HJR 90, the 2014 Federal Aviation Administration Continuing Appropriations Resolution.
- Voted for HR 4, the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.
In 2016, Congress passed HR 636, called the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act. The House, including Duffy, approved the bill when it was originally America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2015, and the Senate later replaced the bill’s text with the FAA reauthorization.
The House considered the Senate amendments under suspension of rules and agreed by voice vote, so there is no roll call vote available on that final version, and we don’t know if Duffy voted for it.
PolitiFact ruling
Reich said while Duffy served in Congress, he "voted against upgrading air traffic control systems."
This is cherry-picked. Duffy voted against a multi-faceted bill that would have reopened the FAA during the 2019 government shutdown, but in other years, he voted in favor of FAA reauthorization bills that provided funding to the agency and included funding for implementing NextGen, an air traffic control modernization program.
The statement contains an element of truth but ignores important details. We rate Reich’s claim Mostly False.
PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this article.