[View in Your Browser]([link removed])
[USAFacts]([link removed])
Who funds the FAA?
Recent troubles with Boeing aircraft underscore the importance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees the safety of civilian air travel. When you buy a plane ticket, you’re investing in the FAA, since the administration is largely [funded through passenger fees]([link removed]). Here’s the history of FAA funding and how you fit in.
- The FAA regulates over 45,000 flights traveling US skies daily. It also supervises 520 air traffic control towers and more than 19,000 public and private airports.
[Federal Aviation Administration budget sources]([link removed])
- The Treasury Department established the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) in 1970 to collect revenue from sources including domestic flight tickets and air cargo. In fiscal year 2022, the trust fund’s excise taxes generated $11.4 billion in revenue, 71.3% of which came from transporting people.
- Passenger taxes are applied at the time of ticket purchase. Last year’s domestic rate was 7.5%. Flights between the continental US and Hawaii or Alaska added another $10.60 per passenger.
- The FAA’s budget was $23.6 billion in FY 2022, with $12.9 billion (or 54.7%) funded by the trust fund. In 2023, the FAA’s budget was $24 billion, with the AATF funding $16.5 billion.
- The trust fund is subject to congressional reauthorization. Otherwise, the FAA can’t access these funds.
[See more about FAA funding here]([link removed]).
Food insecurity
The pandemic affected food access and affordability in American households, and the trend still lingers. The Agriculture Department has some measures to support struggling households, but [one out of every eight adults]([link removed]) is struggling to afford enough food.
[Percent of adults in households where there was often or sometimes not enough to eat in the last seven days]([link removed])
-
As of October 2023, 12.5% of American adults (nearly 28 million people) are living in homes where there is sometimes or often not enough to eat — the highest number since 2020.
-
In October 2023, 3.0% of American adults said they often did not have enough to eat. Another 9.5% sometimes lacked enough food. As for food satisfaction, 33.8% of American adults reported having enough food but not always the types they wanted, while 53.7% reported food security with access to the kinds of food they wanted all the time.
-
According to the Household Pulse Survey, 76.8% of adults with limited food access were not eating enough because they couldn’t afford to.
-
SNAP participation rose from 37.1 million in January 2020 to 41.4 million in October 2023. However, additional pandemic support for SNAP ended in March of last year. The average monthly value that SNAP enrollees received dropped 28% from $246 to $177 between February and April 2023. The monthly average remains higher than it was before the pandemic.
[Read our full report]([link removed]) for more about how food insecurity affects millions.
Data behind the news
A shooting at a Super Bowl celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs left one person dead and nearly two dozen people injured. [See the data]([link removed]) on how firearm deaths have returned to 1990s levels.
New Mexico’s state legislature has approved a bill to reduce car and truck pollution by creating incentives for fuel producers to lower their products’ carbon content. Here’s [how much transportation contributes]([link removed]) to US greenhouse gas emissions.
Did you read last week’s newsletter? Then you’re sure to ace the [weekly fact quiz]([link removed]).
One last fact
[What are the most common trade jobs in the US?]([link removed])
In 2022, material movers were 22.8% of skilled trade workers (7.9 million people), making it the [most common trade job]([link removed]). They were among the 13.6 million adults who worked in transportation and material moving occupations.
[USAFacts]([link removed])
[Facebook]([link removed])
[X]([link removed])
[Instagram]([link removed])
[YouTube]([link removed])
[Tiktok]([link removed])
Was this email forwarded to you?
[Sign up here]([link removed]) for your own weekly issue of the USAFacts newsletter.
Copyright (C) 2024USAFacts. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 1558 Bellevue, WA 98009-1558
No longer want to receive these emails? [Unsubscribe]([link removed]).
