Bill Clinton: “I would like to thank Frank Shrontz and the good people at Boeing for hosting representatives of the major airline…”

“I would like to thank Frank Shrontz and the good people at Boeing for hosting representatives of the major airline companies in the United States, as well as manufacturers of airplanes and airplane engines, along with the Secretary of Transportation, the Speaker of the House, and the distinguished Members of the Washington congressional delegation along with the Governor of this State. We have had a very good meeting about the problems of the manufacturers of airlines and the airline companies themselves, airplanes and airline companies. We talked a lot about the proposal now in the Congress, which is soon to be passed, to create a national commission to ensure a strong, competitive airline industry. That commission will require five appointments from the House, five appointments from the Senate, and five appointments from the President. I assured the representatives here, as did the Speaker, that we had no desire other than to find the 15 best people in America immediately to work on this issue, without regard to party or region. We just want to work together to appoint people who will come back within 90 days and give us some concrete suggestions to revitalize this very important part of our economic future. I thought it was a terrific meeting. We went around the table. Everyone who was at the meeting made a very constructive set of comments about what they thought we ought to do. And I look forward to the legislation passing, to signing it, and to immediately making the appointments and to going to work.”