Sean Patrick Maloney: “I rise in support of the the rule and in support of the underlying bill. Last week's attacks did unspeakable damage…”

“I rise in support of the the rule and in support of the underlying bill. Last week's attacks did unspeakable damage, unspeakable harm with great loss of life, but last week's attack underscored just how indispensable air travel is to our economy. Since the attacks, hotel occupancy in New York City has plummeted, restaurants are empty, broadway shows have closed. People fly to New York from all over the world, but right now they are scared to fly. With the $3 billion allocated from the antiterrorism package, new safeguards will make air travel safer, but we do not know when passengers will return. In the meantime, if the airlines go out of business, what will be the next business to go out of business? We will all be out of business, and we cannot let that happen. Supporting our airlines is also an act of patriotism. The terrorists wanted to ground America, so we need to fly. We also need to compensate victims, many of whom were my constituents and friends. We need to compensate workers that are not covered in this package. I have been assured by our leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), that he will introduce a bill tomorrow which will do that, with the support of many in the leadership on the other side of the aisle. We need to answer this act of hostility by restoring the friendly skies domestically, and by sending airplanes of a different sort to get the cowards of the September 11 attack.”