Date: 2001-09-21
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. my 2 minutes has been reduced to 30 seconds. so I will turn in my remarks. Two wrongs simply do not make a right. I share Dallas/ Fort Worth airport with the gentleman from Texas . and I have three other airports. I know how many people were laid off. but that will be fourfold or more if we do not support the airlines tonight. It is for that reason that I rise in support of this bill. and I have been working to make sure that we come up with the other bill to support those persons who have already lost their jobs. Mr. Speaker. although I have some misgivings regarding what has not been included in the bill. I rise in support of H.R. 2926 and urge its passage by the House. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. air carriers have reported sustaining nearly $1 billion in losses as a direct result of the Federal Governments order that flights be grounded. While service has been restored. passengers are still reluctant to fly. As a result. the airlines will certainly suffer further losses from reduced demand. On Monday. the financial markets responded predictably to this environmentthe airlines lost about 40% of their market capitalization on that day alone. and Morgan Stanley wrote to the Treasury Secretary that the airline industry would not have access to private capital markets unless the Federal Government intervened. H.R. 2926 is the intervention that the airlines need to stabilize their financial situation and to help them weather this crisis. Unless we act to pass H.R. 2926. some carriers face the very real possibility of bankruptcy. We cannot let that happen. The airline industry is an indispensable sector of the American economy. touching upon 10% of our gross domestic product. Without aviation. other important sectors such as aircraft manufacturing. hospitality. tourism. and countless others cannot function efficiently. We already see a glimpse here in the Washington. DC metropolitan area how bankruptcies in the airline industry will affect businesses and communities. Washington National Airport has still not been given clearance to resume operations. As a result. the airport and other businesses dependent on passenger flows have laid off thousands of workers. and small businesses like restaurants and newsstands who cater to passengers are idle and losing money. Unemployment lines in this area are overflowing. We must act to pass H.R. 2926 to prevent this situation from being replicated in cities across the country. Despite the tax rebates. which my Democratic colleagues devised and which I supported. the nation is already teetering on the brink of a recession. If we do not act to stabilize our airlines. we risk plunging the country into a fullscale depression and massive unemployment. Indeed. I am most concerned about the individuals who work in the airline industry and their families. They include the 140.000 employees of American Airlines. whose headquarters and major hub operations are located at DFW International Airport in my district. I am also concerned about the 40.000 people who work at the airport and whose jobs depend on Americans survival. Two days ago. American announced that they would have to lay off 20.000 of its workers. and I know what kind of hardship they must be going through right now. I have heard some of my colleagues object to this bill because it does not contain language to provide relief to displaced workers. I too want to ensure that workers have enough money to pay their rent and mortgages. to buy food and clothes for their kids. and to keep their health benefits while they are unemployed. I understand that Majority Leader DASCHLE has promised to call up legislation -regarding displaced airline employees in the Senate next week. and I intend to make sure that this legislation also passes the House. I also intend to work with my colleagues on legislation to restore the publics confidence in airport and aircraft security because airlines longterm survival depends on their having paying passengers. In the meantime. we must deal with the impending crisis. The employees of American and DFW Airport have flooded my phone lines in my district office with a loud and clear messageCongress number I priority in this area is to pass legislation to help American Airlines ride out this storm. They. in their collective wisdom. know whats at stake. We have some time and leeway to help displaced workers. but unless we act now to help the airlines avert bankruptcy. they might not have jobs to return to.