Robin Carnahan: “I support the Byrd-Stevens amendment, which will preserve the loan guarantee program that we established last year. We…”

“I support the Byrd-Stevens amendment, which will preserve the loan guarantee program that we established last year. We acted swiftly and in a bipartisan fashion to respond to the September 11 attacks. We authorized the use of force, we appropriated funds to start rebuilding, we bolstered security efforts, and we took important action to assist the aviation industry. As part of our initiative to promote the ongoing stability of the aviation industry, we created the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, ATSB, to ensure that airlines would continue to have access to capital. Now, after the ATSB has approved just one airline's application, the bill before us is seeking to impose new limits on this extremely important program. I think this is unwise, and I am supporting this amendment to strike these new limits from the bill. When we enacted the airline stabilization bill last year we essentially made a promise of assistance to struggling airlines. Limiting this program now would be unfair to airlines that are counting on it to help them in their efforts to regain sound financial footing. One airline that is particularly in need of assistance is Kansas City-based Vanguard Airlines. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I understand how important low-fare competitors are in our aviation system. As a low-fare airline operating out of Kansas City, Vanguard contributes substantially to keeping airfares competitive in Kansas City and throughout the Midwest.”