Biden Traded Air Safety for ‘Equity’ Theater: GOP Rep Langworthy

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Aviation Safety Caucus, is raising concerns over the current state of the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system and pointing to what he describes as misplaced priorities by the Biden-Harris administration.

Langworthy criticized the prior administration’s use of infrastructure funds, suggesting that an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives diverted resources from urgently needed aviation modernization.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Langworthy referred to the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed during the Biden-Harris administration as a missed opportunity to overhaul the nation’s aging air traffic control infrastructure.

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“That was before I came to Congress, but, you know, you had just mistaken priorities in that, all this DEI policy, DEI staffing, that all got baked into the cake,” Langworthy said.

“They could have taken that money and spent it on real modernization of what is critical infrastructure in this country.”

The issue has gained renewed attention following a series of troubling aviation incidents. Earlier this year, a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane departing from Wichita, Kansas, resulting in a deadly crash near Washington, D.C.

More recently, a reported power failure at Newark Liberty International Airport caused a blackout on air traffic control screens for approximately 90 seconds.

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Langworthy, who represents parts of upstate New York, referenced the fatal 2009 plane crash in Buffalo — his own district — to illustrate how the U.S. had maintained a long stretch of incident-free commercial aviation.

That stretch ended this year, according to Langworthy, with what he described as avoidable failures tied to outdated systems.

“We had the longest period of incident-free aviation in this country’s history, where we didn’t have a commercial air crash from the time the crash happened in Buffalo, in my district, back in 2009, to just this year, and what happened at [Ronald Reagan Airport]. And it was avoidable,” he said.

While Langworthy clarified that DEI policies may not directly interfere with air traffic control, he emphasized that infrastructure dollars should have been more strategically spent.

“It’s what they spent the money [on]. I mean, you know, there’s infrastructure projects, ones in my backyard, where they want to bury and tunnel over our main artery in the town because it’s going to reunite a community somehow,” he said.

“Aviation is infrastructure. It’s transportation. It should have been spent then. Instead, they did all this social engineering with money and didn’t focus on what has been a glaring problem for the federal government for many years — modernizing our aviation infrastructure.”

Instead of focusing on modernizing our aging aviation infrastructure, the Biden administration spent money on meaningless social engineering initiatives.

I will gladly lead the fight here in Congress for Sec. Duffy and President Trump in order to prioritize aviation…

— Congressman Nick Langworthy (@RepLangworthy) May 7, 2025

The infrastructure bill allocated $25 billion over five years to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but many lawmakers — especially Republicans — now say that wasn’t enough.

Under President Donald Trump’s current administration, a new budget reconciliation package proposes an additional $12 billion focused exclusively on ATC modernization.

Langworthy said he has received direct feedback from air traffic controllers in his district, who expressed the urgent need for staffing support.

“We need more bodies,” he stated.

He encouraged young people to consider careers in the field, noting the competitive pay and public service component, despite the demanding nature of the job.

“We should be promoting this to young people that want to look at career service in the government. And it comes with a very competitive salary,” Langworthy said.

“But it’s a tough job with a lot of hours. And you know, there’s always gonna be stress involved, but we have to prioritize it and not just take it for granted.”

Looking ahead, Langworthy pledged full support for President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as they prepare to roll out a new funding initiative aimed at addressing the ATC system’s shortcomings.

“I will absolutely lead the fight for [Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy] and the president on their plan to modernize our aircraft,” Langworthy said.

“When Secretary Duffy and the president roll this out as a spending priority, we have to frontload this process. We have to get them the resources that they need to get this done, because the flying public — everyone’s lives hang in the balance on this.”

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