Eva M. Clayton: “Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis in public confidence in our airline industry. Before September 11, fuel prices were…”

“Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis in public confidence in our airline industry. Before September 11, fuel prices were rising, business travel was declining, and some of our airlines in my State had serious financial problems. After September 11, the government ordered the grounding of flights for several days, which caused considerable financial loss to all airlines. Now the flights have resumed. Consumers have been slow to return to the air. Therefore, the financial problems of our airlines have become more severe, and they need help from the Federal Government. Indeed, the Federal Government should help the airlines, but this bill does not adequately address the economic and security issues resulting from and exacerbated by the terrorist hijacking and the crashes on September 11. A Federal bailout of our airlines alone will not restore public confidence and increase ridership in our airlines which is, indeed, the basis for the airlines' long-term security. Simply stated, people are afraid to fly. In order to restore public confidence, we should move responsibility for aviation security from airlines and their subcontractors to the Federal Government, employing trained security experts. We should do this immediately. In this bill, at least make an indication we are committed to it, not sometime in the future but in this bill. The tragic events of last Tuesday should be a wake-up call to this Nation.”