Nancy Pelosi: “Madam Speaker, once again I wish to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for his leadership on this important…”

“Madam Speaker, once again I wish to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for his leadership on this important issue, important to America's workers. Today, we have an opportunity to do the right thing for America's aviation workers. Both the House and Senate versions of the supplemental appropriations bill include financial assistance for the airlines, as they should. Aviation is an essential cornerstone of the U.S. economy. Both the House and Senate bills focus primarily on mitigating for the cost of security provisions required by the Federal Government, as those bills should have that funding. But we cannot ignore the workers who form the backbone of the aviation industry. Madam Speaker, at least 150,000 workers in the aviation industry have lost their jobs since 9/11, including those who work for the airlines and related industries. Many of these workers have exhausted their unemployment benefits, and that was months ago. But with the industry still contracting, new jobs are impossible to find. Thousands more airline workers have lost their jobs since the Iraq war began and layoffs in the industry could reach 70,000 more. Concern about the exposure to the deadly SARS disease in Asia is now reducing air travel from the U.S.”