Jim Inhofe: “the three arguments used by the distinguished Senator from Mississippi are, first, economic. The pilots' union is…”

“the three arguments used by the distinguished Senator from Mississippi are, first, economic. The pilots' union is opposed to it. I said that in my opening statement. There is a justified reason for that. If I were a young pilot and a member of the union, I might feel the same way because they want more upward mobility. As far as the airlines are concerned, yes, they are going to have to pay a little more. The average older pilots have greater salaries and benefits. These are economic reasons. I think we should consider these reasons but I don't want anybody voting on this and believing in their heart that they are doing it for safety or because of the supply and demand of pilots. We all know that will change; we know that with the restructuring of our military. As I said, if it is a good age--first, it should not be an age at all. It ought to be based on medical tests and proficiency tests. If 40 years ago 60 was a good age, 65 would be better now. We will have a chance to look at this. I think there are a lot of people who would like to see a realistic approach to this. I think we used the same thing for 40 years and certainly it is justified to raise that at this time. I yield the floor.”