Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&amp;I) &nbsp;Committee leaders introduced a bill this week to shield the air traffic control system from funding lapses in the event of a future shutdown.&nbsp;
T&amp;I Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Washington) joined aviation subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Andre Carson (D-Indiana) today in introducing the <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/aviation_funding_solvency_act.pdf">Aviation Funding Solvency Act</a>&nbsp;to allow the FAA to tap into the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to cover ATC services should there be another government funding lapse.
According to the committee, the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund covers airline war risk insurance claims when activated under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program. The program was terminated in 2014, but interest has continued to accumulate on the fund balance, reaching more than $2.6 billion. This is “significantly more than the fund has needed to cover CRAF claims,” the bipartisan leadership stated in their announcement of the bill.
The bill was introduced in the aftermath of the most recent shutdown, which was the longest in history and led to numerous ATC delays and traffic constraints—including an outright ban on general aviation at a dozen airports—as the FAA grappled with staffing shortages.
“I am grateful for our federal employees, especially our air traffic controllers, who showed up day in and day out throughout the shutdown to do their jobs, without pay, to ensure the safety of our aviation system and the nation,” Graves said. “But we all saw that the system can be vulnerable when Congress can’t get its job done.” Larsen agreed and added: “Our bipartisan bill ensures air traffic controllers and other aviation safety personnel will continue to get paid during future shutdowns and allows the FAA to operate uninterrupted so the agency can focus on its critical airspace safety mission.”
Nehls and Carsen likewise agreed that shutdowns should not put the flying public at risk or affect air traffic the way it did.
The bill immediately garnered aviation industry support, including from the broad-based Modern Skies Coalition comprising most of the major aviation associations. In addition, the coalition backed a separate but <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1045/all-info">earlier bil</a>l offered by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), also to protect ATC from government shutdowns.
“The effect of having fewer air traffic controllers on duty, without pay, is one of the first ways everyday Americans have felt the impact of recent government shutdowns,” said AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance. “This bill is vital to making sure the safety and efficiency of our National Airspace System is not politicized during lapses in government funding.”
Meanwhile, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen urged members of the Senate Commerce Committee to pass the legislation to ensure the aviation system continues safe and efficient operations during a shutdown.
“The shutdown impacted an industry that serves as a lifeline to rural economies, provides emergency medical transportation, and delivers humanitarian aid in times of need,” Bolen wrote <a href="https://nbaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251119-NBAA-Written-Testimony-Senate-Aviation-Subcommittee-Shutdowns-Threaten-Air-Safety.pdf">in testimony</a> for a committee hearing on how shutdowns threaten aviation, space, and innovation. “It stalled critical FAA work that impacted business and general aviation safety oversight, certification, training, and operations.”

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bill To Protect ATC Operations During Government Shutdowns

Bipartisan bill was jointly introduced by leaders of House T&I Committee and aviation subcommittee

House transportation leaders have introduced a bill to guard the FAA's critical functions, including ATC, during government shutdowns.

U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bill To Protect ATC Ops During Shutdowns

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