Rep. Troy Nehls (R-22-TX) chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation. The subcommittee oversees civil aviation matters, including safety, infrastructure, labor, commerce and international issues, as well as all FAA programs except research initiatives. In addition to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he also serves on the House Judiciary Committee.
Nehls was first elected to Congress in 2020, after nearly 30 years in law enforcement and 21 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. As sheriff of Fort Bend County, TX, Troy worked to raise mental health awareness.
In the U.S. Army Reserve, Nehls was deployed on combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, receiving two Bronze Star Medals and eventually retiring with the rank of major.
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Q: With $12.5 billion in federal funds now budgeted for air traffic control modernization, what specific issues are you paying especially close attention to?
We’ve had several meetings talking about what ATC modernization really means. There’s a demand for it. There’s a need. We certainly must do better as it relates to air traffic control, with the shortages you see in air traffic controllers. But it’s really about modernizing the NAS, the National Airspace System.
I believe Congress is going to be very, very involved over the next several months and years to make sure that we get this right. What took place over the Potomac back in January – we can’t have any more of that. And there were just too many close calls out there. I think the aviation community understands the needs and that we just have to be better.
“We just have to follow through with our commitment to the American people to make sure we get it done right the first time.”
We’ve formed a bipartisan group on the transportation committee to visit with different stakeholders who’ve been doing this for decades; people who actually have answers to some of our problems in air traffic control and the NAS. Congress does not have the ability alone to solve this problem.
We have a great FAA administrator – Administrator [Bryan] Bedford – and it’s going to require Congress, with the FAA and the stakeholders, to come together at these meetings, take the jackets off, loosen the ties and take the egos and the attitudes and leave them at the door.
We’ve held stakeholder working groups. We had telecommunications groups in – from Verizon to AT&T to L3 Harris – listening to these very smart people who say, ‘We know how to do this.’ I believe that we’re off to a great start. We just have to follow through with our commitment to the American people to make sure we get it done right the first time.
Q: What do you think about the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tax Credit that was extended this summer?
Everybody wants to make sure that we do what we can to protect our atmosphere. I’m all about finding ways to improve efficiency and use the technologies that we have out there to have more sustainable energy. It’s a step in the right direction.
But also, understand that I’m from Texas, and I’m an oil and gas guy, and we can move in that direction if we can find ways to be more efficient, whether it’s our airplanes or our vehicles or our tractors, and with less emissions. I’m all in, but I’m not willing to do this and all of a sudden lose tens of thousands of jobs, and all of a sudden say you can’t drive a diesel truck or a gas combustion engine.
Q: Also, the committee passed the Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025, providing health care resources for pilots and aviation professionals.
All pilots should have the ability to request help without the risk of being fired because they’re getting the mental help they need. But also, we’ve got to be careful to make sure that pilots who are flying can do it safely and don’t have any type of mental health condition that could compromise safety.
Q: As you know, business aviation has long been an incubator for new technologies. What are your thoughts on the rise of air taxis?
I represent Southwest Houston, so, [Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR)] is working with an [advanced air mobility] company called Wisk [on a plan] to fly air taxis to [George] Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) – probably a 45-minute drive.
But when we talk about modernizing the NAS, we need to incorporate all of these different new entrants. It’s more than air traffic control. It’s about drones and air taxis. We’ve held several meetings with Wisk and others who are talking about this new technology. It’s just going to take a while for people to get used to this. And we can do it safely.
Q: Tell us about your bill to allow civil aircraft to fly supersonic in the National Airspace System, as long as no sonic booms reach the ground.
Boom Supersonic says it can get us across the pond in four to five hours [with a passenger jet it’s developing]. Some are concerned about sonic booms, but Boom has found a way to reduce their effect. Let’s continue to move in that direction.
The U.S. has got to continue to lead the way as the gold standard in aviation. I believe we have the right people in the right spots right now with this administration, with [Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy, and with the way Congress is working, I think the future for aviation is very, very bright.
Editor’s note: This transcript has been edited for length and context. Listen to the full interview below.
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