Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testified on Capitol Hill, where he thanked Congress for recently approving $12.5 billion dollars to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system.

But some U.S. air traffic controllers say there's a much deeper problem: a nationwide staffing shortage that leaves controllers overworked and employee morale low.

NPR's Joel Rose and Joe Hernandez spoke with five current and former air traffic controllers to find out what improvements they want to see.

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