Political Quotes

“I rise to join Senator McCain, Senator Hollings, and Senator Ford in urging that we immediately adopt H.R. 2476, the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act. I also recognize Representative Underwood's efforts to facilitate this legislation following the recent crash of Korean Air Flight 801 in Guam, which killed more than 200 people. As Senator McCain stated, last year the Congress approved almost identical legislation that required domestic air carriers to establish a disaster support plan for the families of aviation accident victims. The legislation we are now considering would extend this requirement to foreign air carriers if they have an accident on American soil. I would note that the Family Assistance Task Force strongly supports this legislation. The task force, which Congress established to find new ways to assist family members and others devastated by an airline crash, recently voted unanimously to endorse this act. The task force also asked that Congress pass this legislation as expeditiously as possible. It is unfortunate that airline accidents often provide the impetus to make improvements. The Flight 801 tragedy clearly showed the need to improve planning to assist family members when a foreign airline crashes on American soil.”