Mike Quigley: “Let me begin by saying that the sponsor of this amendment, I believe, is on the T&I Committee, which has jurisdiction…”

“Let me begin by saying that the sponsor of this amendment, I believe, is on the T&I Committee, which has jurisdiction over aviation and rail. This is an amendment which would be better off being moved forward as an authorizing proposal rather than going forward as an appropriations amendment. This amendment makes it plain as day that the Republicans are happy to put the interests of big corporations ahead of protecting the American people from corporate greed that increases costs, reduces quality of service, and limits options. Specifically, it prohibits any funds for conducting a competitive analysis of mergers, which raises concerning implications for both airlines and rail. The Department of Transportation is required by law to certify to Congress that an approved airline merger is in the public interest and provide an analysis of the effects of the merger on competition in the domestic airline industry. Congress itself has set forth in law a list of factors that are considered in the public interest, which includes several related to competition. Yet, this amendment would prohibit the Department of Transportation from complying with that requirement and from even conducting an analysis or considering factors Congress has specifically identified as important, shirking all responsibility to the public interest.…”