Rick Allen: “I rise to introduce the President's Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act. The Senator from California was…”

“I rise to introduce the President's Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act. The Senator from California was talking about her concerns, help on the way. I think we all share those concerns. While the actions of Americans have shown that we are trying to get open for business again, we are obviously united in our resolve that a long fight awaits us because of these vile terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. This flag is from the Pentagon. The President just gave a wonderful speech, as did Secretary Rumsfeld. Everyone was united in tears and in love for those families who lost loved ones and, also, a resolve that freedom and justice will prevail. Indeed, we are working to rebuild and recover. The President talked about rebuilding the Pentagon. Others have talked about rebuilding in New York. The rescue, recovery, cleanup, and rebuilding efforts will be enormous. Congress has responded with $40 billion in aid. The airline industry, which is responsible for 10 percent of the Nation's gross domestic product, as well as being a key element of our reserve military airlift fleet, needs to remain solvent. We recognize that. We understood that the FAA closed our skies after the terrorist attacks. We have responded with $5 billion in cash for lost revenue, due to the skies being closed, to help get our airlines back in the sky as quickly as possible. The perception of safety while flying has been shaken to the core.”