Sen. Baldwin fights for FAA money for EAA AirVenture

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and an Oklahoma Republican are fighting to protect EAA AirVenture for years to come.

Baldwin and Sen. James Inhofe sent a letter to the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation to direct the FAA to provide air traffic and safety services at major aviation events, like EAA AirVenture, the airshow held every summer in Oshkosh.

The senators say those services are essential, and without them many events may be forced to shut down.

Baldwin and Inhofe's letter requests the FAA include funding for those services in its budget for the next year.

The FAA has charged for its services in recent years after Congress slashed its budget through sequester in 2013. The next year, the FAA and EAA agreed to terms to pay for 80 air traffic controllers and support staff during AirVenture through 2022.

For one week every summer, Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport becomes the busiest airport in the world with 3,000 takeoffs and landings a day.