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Regional Aviation
News
Lawmakers Take Up Worker Aid Over White House Objections
April 9, 2003
A conference committee today will take up a $3 billion- plus aviation relief package as part of the President’s war supplemental that includes a provision granting $275 million in benefits to laid-off airline workers despite White House objections.
A Republican congressional staffer declined comment on whether GOP leadership would try to persuade its members to pull aid to airline workers during conference. Jim Berard, spokesman for Democrats on the House Transportation Committee, said given the overwhelming support it received in both chambers it would be difficult to remove the provision in conference. The Senate approved the provision last week, added during the appropriations markup, as part of the $78 billion supplemental, but House appropriators did not include worker relief in their version.
Yesterday, House Democrats pushed for a vote on the floor pressing the conference committee to include the 26- week extension of unemployment benefits as part of the airline relief package. The “motion to instruct conferees” passed 265-150 despite a statement of Administration policy from White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mitchell Daniels saying the Administration strongly opposes aid to airline workers. Daniels said the President “has already provided extended unemployment benefits nationwide for up to an additional 13 weeks in all states” and 26 additional weeks in states with a high unemployment rate. “To provide benefits for a specific industry would be unusual, unfair and potentially harmful to our national unemployment system and the conferees are urged to drop this objectionable provision,” he said. But members argued airline industry workers have been among the hardest hit since the Sept. 11 attacks, with an unemployment rate three times the national average.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who introduced aid to workers during the Senate Appropriations markup last week, said airlines “have endured the perfect storm of 9/11,” including an economic downturn, terrorist attacks, war with Iraq and the SARS virus. She said that “10 times more airline workers have been handed pink slips,” referring to American’s recent announcement that it would cut back international fights 13% in May as proof that the industry and employees continue to suffer. The full Senate voted 93-0 last week for a compromise provision between Murray and Appropriations Chair Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) reached during the markup. House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) yesterday said he was confident the President would approve the supplemental with aid to airline workers given its importance to the war in Iraq. -DM
Source: Aviation Daily, April 9, 2003
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