June 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee

will hold a June 11 hearing on President Donald Trump's

nomination of Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to head the

Federal Aviation Administration.

Bedford, a pilot and industry veteran of more than 30 years,

previously headed two other carriers and oversaw a significant

expansion of Republic Airways. Transportation Secretary Sean

Duffy has asked Congress for tens of billions of dollars to

modernize the aging U.S. air traffic control system to address

airport congestion, flight delays and a shortage of 3,500

certified controllers.

The FAA's air traffic control network's woes have been years

in the making, but a rush of high-profile mishaps, near-misses

and a catastrophic crash in January involving an American

Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet and an Army helicopter killed 67

and prompted new calls for action.