H.R. 7613, ALERT Act

H.R. 7613 would establish procedures to reduce midair collisions of aircraft. In particular, the bill would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue regulations concerning the installation of collision-prevention and communication systems in nonmilitary aircraft, enhance the training of air traffic controllers, establish working groups to develop policy recommendations, and review policies and regulations related to aircraft safety.

The bill also would require federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and private air carriers to equip nonmilitary aircraft with certain collision-prevention and communication systems.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

Implementing H.R. 7613 would increase spending subject to appropriation by requiring the FAA to undertake regulatory, training, and administrative actions and by directing other federal agencies to procure and install certain aircraft safety systems. CBO has no basis on which to estimate the costs of those activities because we do not have sufficient information on the number of relevant federal nonmilitary aircraft or how many already meet the bill’s requirements. Using information from the Department of Defense and the FAA, however, CBO expects that implementing the bill would cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the 2026‑2031 period, mainly for installing new equipment.

Direct Spending and Revenues

Enacting H.R. 7613 could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs, including the costs of procuring aircraft. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.

CBO anticipates that enacting H.R. 7613 could increase collections of civil penalties if aircraft owners and manufacturers fail to comply with regulations issued under the bill. Civil penalties are recorded as revenues in the federal budget. CBO expects the number of violations would be small and thus we estimate that any increase in revenues would be insignificant over the 2026-2036 period.

Mandates

H.R. 7613 would impose private-sector and intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by requiring most nonmilitary aircraft operating in the national airspace to be equipped with certain collision-prevention and communication systems by December 31, 2031. Those systems provide pilots and flight crews with situational awareness of air traffic, transmit air traffic advisories, and issue audible and visual alerts.

The bill would require the FAA to issue regulations and update guidance for the deployment of the systems in fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and powered-lift aircraft. The FAA could add a two-year extension to the deadline for certain aircraft to meet the bill’s requirements if they notify the Congress of that extension.

According to information from the FAA, some air carriers already have begun to equip new aircraft with collision-prevention systems that may meet the FAA’s final regulatory requirements. That group of aircraft, however, represents only a small share of the total in use.

The average cost for an air carrier or commercial operator to retrofit an aircraft with basic integrated systems is about $30,000. Some smaller aircraft, such as those used in general aviation, could be equipped with less costly portable systems. On that basis, CBO estimates that the overall cost of compliance would exceed the annual threshold for private-sector entities established in UMRA ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

Nonmilitary aircraft owned by state, local, and tribal governments also would be subject to the bill’s requirements. There is significant uncertainty about the total number of aircraft owned by public-sector entities, but CBO expects that fewer than 10 percent of all publicly owned, nonmilitary rotary-wing or powered-lift aircraft would need to be fitted with collision-prevention systems. Public-sector entities also operate a small number of fixed-wing aircraft. In all, CBO estimates, the aggregate cost to comply with the mandate would not exceed the annual threshold for intergovernmental entities established in UMRA ($107 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, a component of collision-prevention systems, is used to broadcast an aircraft’s location, altitude, and ground speed, among other data. H.R. 7613 would impose an intergovernmental and private-sector mandate by prohibiting public and private entities from monetizing ADS-B data at the expense of aircraft owners and operators unless those owners or operators provide consent to do so. The bill also would prohibit state, local, and tribal officials from initiating any civil investigations of a person based exclusively on data obtained from ADS-B technology. CBO estimates that any loss of revenue by prohibiting certain uses of such data would be small.

Previous Estimate

On April 14, 2026, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 7613, the ALERT Act, as reported by the House Committee on Armed Services on April 9, 2026. Each version of H.R. 7613 would establish procedures to reduce midair collisions of aircraft, but they differ in scope and would affect different entities. The version of the bill reported by the House Armed Services Committee would affect the Department of Defense, which is responsible for the vast majority of federal aircraft. The version reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure would affect the FAA, federal agencies that are responsible for the far smaller number of nonmilitary aircraft, and privately owned aircraft. CBO’s cost estimates for the two versions reflect those differences.

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Aaron Krupkin (for federal costs) and Brandon Lever (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.