Jim Ramstad: “Mr. Speaker, today was another sad day in Minnesota. Today, Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines, the largest employer in…”

“Mr. Speaker, today was another sad day in Minnesota. Today, Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines, the largest employer in my congressional district, was forced to eliminate 4,500 jobs. That means layoffs for more than 20 percent of Northwest's 23,000 employees in Minnesota. System-wide, these job cuts affect 10,600 Northwest workers. Before last week's terrorist attacks, Northwest employed 53,000 people. Because the Federal Government had no choice but to shut down the skies last week as an act of national defense, all the carriers I believe deserve compensation. We simply cannot let the airlines fail. In the strongest terms possible, I support the legislation before us, providing a $15 billion plan to bolster this struggling airline industry. It is clearly the right thing to do, and we need to do it now. Mr. Speaker, America needs this airline assistance package which includes $5 billion in direct aid and $10 billion in loan guarantees so the imperiled airlines can continue flying and avoid bankruptcy.”