Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., urged the Trump administration to give every air traffic controller and Federal Aviation Administration technician a $10,000 bonus, arguing that it is wrong for only workers with perfect attendance during this year's government shutdown to receive the payment.
Newsmax reported that the administration limited the awards to controllers and technicians who did not use any leave during the shutdown, a policy that applied to about 2.4% of controllers and about 6% of technicians.
Duckworth said that approach created unfair divisions in a workforce already dealing with years of staffing shortages and mounting stress.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Duckworth wrote that the administration should provide the award to "every excepted Air Traffic Controller and Technician who worked without on-time pay," saying they "performed patriotic work to ensure the safety of the skies during most recent government shutdown."
She wrote that excluding the vast majority of workers was "unfair, divisive and disrespectful" to the more than 20,000 employees who kept the National Airspace System operating during the lapse in appropriations.
Duckworth warned that rewarding only perfect attendance creates a dangerous incentive for controllers and technicians to work while sick.
She said the policy "creates a perverse and dangerous incentive that threatens to weaken NAS safety during future shutdowns," adding that safety is put at risk if employees report for duty while ill rather than use authorized leave.
She wrote that the workforce may also worry about being financially punished for legitimate absences, including employees with Guard or Reserve commitments.
Duckworth said the administration could eliminate the problem by awarding the bonus to all employees who worked without pay, noting that the total cost would amount to less than 1% of the FAA's annual budget.
Duckworth said the move could improve morale inside the agency's Air Traffic Organization, which she noted is short thousands of fully certified controllers.
She ended the letter by urging immediate action from the administration.
"I simply want you to act swiftly in issuing ten thousand dollar awards to the entire dedicated Air Traffic Controller and Technician workforce that patriotically worked without pay during the 2025 government shutdown to ensure the safety of the skies," she wrote.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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