House Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26) announced the approval of the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill by the House Appropriations Committee. The bill emphasizes national security, economic competitiveness, and transportation safety while supporting vulnerable populations such as veterans, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income families. The bill achieves these goals with a 4.7% reduction in overall spending from FY 2025 levels.
Díaz-Balart highlighted a provision that blocks state sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba, Iran, Syria, and North Korea, from accessing U.S. government facilities. “I am proud that once again, my language prohibiting state sponsors of terrorism from visiting U.S. facilities has been included in the FY 2026 THUD funding bill,” he stated.
The inclusion of this language follows reports last year about Cuban regime operatives being invited to visit sensitive U.S. governmental facilities like Air Traffic Control Towers.
Additional allocations in the bill include $9 million for Collier County’s Veterans Community Center and $7.2 million for Everglades City Community Center among others.
The bill also bans new commercial flights to Cuba and includes provisions related to major sporting events ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It increases FAA funding by over $2.3 billion to modernize telecommunications infrastructure at airports nationwide.
Other measures include fully funding Air Traffic Control Operations and allowing for the hiring of 2,500 air traffic controllers; reinforcing executive orders on eliminating DEI initiatives; increasing funds for highways, railways, airports; redirecting over $4 billion to real infrastructure projects; protecting housing assistance for vulnerable households; and bolstering national security through various defense readiness programs.
