H.R. 3410, Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act

H.R. 3410 would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct various regulatory activities related to supersonic flight. In particular, the bill would require the FAA to:

Authorize civil aircraft to operate at supersonic speeds under certain conditions; and

Establish and regularly update noise standards for civil aircraft that operate at supersonic speeds.

Using information from the FAA, CBO expects that implementing H.R. 3410 would require four full-time equivalent employees each year at an annual cost of about $200,000 per employee. On that basis, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $4 million over the 2026‑2030 period. Of that amount, about $1 million would support rulemaking activities and $3 million would cover the associated cost to implement and enforce the rules.

The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 400 (transportation).

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aaron Krupkin. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.