[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10875-S10879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT--
                                Resumed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill.
  The legislative assistant read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2084) making appropriations for the Department 
     of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes.

  Pending:

       Wyden amendment No. 1625, to make available funds for the 
     investigation of unfair or deceptive practices and unfair 
     methods of competition by air carriers, foreign air carriers, 
     and ticket agents involving the failure to disclose 
     information on the overbooking of flights.
       Wyden amendment No. 1626, to make available funds for the 
     investigation of unfair or deceptive practices and unfair 
     methods of competition by air carriers and foreign air 
     carriers involving denying airline consumers access to 
     information on the lowest fare available.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Oregon is 
recognized.
  Mr. WYDEN. I thank the Chair.


               Amendments Nos. 1625 And 1626, As Modified

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that in the second proviso of 
each of my two amendments, the words ``It is the sense of the Senate'' 
be inserted.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
  The Chair hears none, and it is so ordered.
  Mr. WYDEN. I thank the Chair.
  The amendments (Nos. 1625 and 1626), as modified, are as follows:


                           Amendment No. 1625

       On page 65, line 22, before the period at the end of the 
     line, insert the following: ``: Provided, That the funds made 
     available under this heading shall be used to investigate 
     pursuant to section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, 
     relating to unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods 
     of competition by air carriers, foreign air carriers, and 
     ticket agents: Provided further, It is the sense of the 
     Senate that, for purposes of the preceding proviso, the terms 
     `unfair or deceptive practices' and `unfair methods of 
     competition' include the failure to disclose to a passenger 
     or a ticket agent whether the flight on which the passenger 
     is ticketed or has requested to purchase a ticket is 
     overbooked, unless the Secretary certifies such disclosure by 
     a carrier is technologically infeasible''.
                                  ____



                           amendment no. 1626

       On page 65, line 22, before the period at the end of the 
     line, insert the following: ``: Provided, That the funds made 
     available under this heading shall be used (1) to investigate 
     pursuant to section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, 
     relating to unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods 
     of competition by air carriers and foreign air carriers, (2) 
     for monitoring by the Inspector General of the compliance of 
     air carriers and foreign carriers with respect to paragraph 
     (1) of this

[[Page S10876]]

     proviso, and (3) for the submission to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress by the Inspector General, not later 
     than July 15, 2000, of a report on the extent to which actual 
     or potential barriers exist to consumer access to comparative 
     price and service information from independent sources on the 
     purchase of passenger air transportation: Provided further, 
     It is the sense of the Senate that, for purposes of the 
     preceding proviso, the terms `unfair or deceptive practices' 
     and `unfair methods of competition' mean the offering for 
     sale to the public for any route, class, and time of service 
     through any technology or means of communication a fare that 
     is different than that offered through other technology or 
     means of communications''.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President and colleagues, these two amendments are 
essential to begin to ensure that passengers in this country get a fair 
shake with respect to airline service.
  We have seen in recent months that the airline industry is going to 
great lengths with their so-called customer service pledge to try, 
through a series of voluntary promises, to show to the American people 
that they are really committed to improving airline service.
  The fact is, Mr. President and colleagues, two studies that have just 
come out demonstrate that these voluntary promises by the airline 
industry really are not worth much more than the paper on which they 
are written. So I am very pleased to come to the floor of the Senate 
today with my good friend, the chairman of the subcommittee, Senator 
Shelby, and the ranking minority member, Senator Lautenberg, to make it 
very clear that in two key areas--overbooking and making sure that 
passengers can be informed of the lowest fare available--the inspector 
general will be directed to investigate promptly when in fact consumers 
are ripped off in those areas.
  Let me touch specifically on both of those provisions.
  The first deals with the overbooking issue. In addition to my friend 
from Alabama, the chairman of the subcommittee, I am very pleased 
Senator Campbell has joined us in this effort, as well as Senator 
Feingold from this side of the aisle. It is truly bipartisan.
  The reason it is needed is that if this morning you call an airline 
and inquire about purchasing a ticket on a flight and they are 
overbooked, that airline does not have to tell you they are overbooked 
before they take your money.
  We do not think that is right. We think the public has the right to 
know. Certainly the airline ought to be in a position to sell you a 
ticket even if they are overbooked, but it ought to be the consumer's 
right to have that information before they actually put their money 
down.
  So the first proposal we are offering today makes sure that consumers 
will be informed in these instances of overbooking.
  The second amendment we are offering deals with making sure that 
passengers can be adequately informed of the lowest fare available on 
flights. Finding the lowest airfare is one of the great mysteries of 
Western life. Today on any given flight, there may be as many different 
fares as there are passengers on the plane. So with respect to this 
matter of making sure the passengers can be informed of the lowest fare 
available, I offer a second amendment, again with the chairman of the 
subcommittee, Mr. Shelby, and the ranking minority member, Senator 
Lautenberg, to make sure that passengers will be in a position to be 
informed of the lowest fares.
  Some airlines right now are giving customers with computers a price 
break just because they have a computer to access the web site. We have 
all heard about the digital divide. In fact, some folks have the 
technology; others do not. The current situation penalizes the 
technology have-nots; they have to pay a higher fare. Of course, when 
the airlines have you, the customer, on the phone, they have in fact 
``got you.'' You may not own a computer or have access to one. You have 
to pay whatever price the airline quotes you.
  No matter how a customer contacts an airline--at the ticket counter, 
over the phone, or through the airline's web site--it is the view of 
the sponsors of this amendment--myself, the distinguished chairman of 
the subcommittee, Mr. Shelby, and the distinguished ranking minority 
member, Senator Lautenberg--that the consumer ought to be informed.
  Right now, on a voluntary pledge that has been made by the airline 
industry, there is a lot of high-sounding rhetoric in telling customers 
about the lowest fare, but the harsh reality is it is essentially 
business as usual.
  In fact, I think it is worth noting the language in the pledge, as it 
stands today, to offer the lowest fare available. What the pledge by 
the airline industry stipulates today is: If a consumer uses the phone 
to call an airline and asks about a specific flight on a specific day 
in a specific class, the airline will tell you the lowest fare. That is 
something that they are already required to do by current regulation.
  Not only will they not provide you relevant information about lower 
fares on other flights on the same airline, they will not even tell you 
about lower fares that are probably on their web page.
  For example, a Delta agent recently quoted a consumer over the phone 
a round trip fare to Portland--my hometown--of $400. Five minutes 
later, the consumer found a price for $218 for the exact flight on 
Delta's web page.
  I do want to leave time for other colleagues to be able to speak on 
these amendments. Both of the amendments, it seems to me, hit critical 
issues with respect to disclosure to airline passengers of information 
that they need to make their travel choices.
  We are not calling for a constitutional right to a fluffy pillow on 
an airline flight or a jumbo bag of peanuts. We are saying the public 
has the right to know.
  We had 100,000 people bumped last year, and we are finding, in the 
first 6 months of this year, consumer complaints are growing at an 
unprecedented level with respect to airline service.
  Unfortunately, this voluntary pledge by the airline industry is 
essentially toothless. They give you three kinds of rights: First, a 
set of rights that you already have, and that deals with the disabled; 
second, rights that they are reluctant to actually write into the 
legalese that constitute the real contract between the consumer and the 
airline--these are known as contracts of carriage; and, finally, the 
consumers' rights that are ignored altogether.
  The Wyden-Shelby-Lautenberg amendments we will be voting on at 11 
o'clock ensure that those rights which are being ignored altogether 
would be protected, that in the future consumers will be informed when 
a flight is overbooked. Consumers would be in a position to learn the 
lowest fare available, and if that is not the case, under this 
amendment the Department of Transportation is directed to go on out and 
investigate that as a deceptive trade practice, and the consumer is 
protected.
  So I will reserve the remainder of my time. We may have other 
colleagues who want to speak. But again, I express my appreciation to 
the chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Shelby. He and Senator 
Lautenberg have worked very closely with us on this amendment.
  I reserve the remainder of my time and yield the floor.
  Mr. SHELBY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama is recognized.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I will be brief. But I want to take a 
couple minutes to commend the Senator from Oregon for having the 
courage and the foresight and tenacity to push these amendments because 
they make a lot of sense.
  All of us travel by the airlines. We want our airlines to do well. We 
want them to respond to all the people in the market. But we want it to 
be done upfront and, I think, upright. I am not sure that is going on 
today. That is why I believe this legislation is necessary. I think it 
is a step in the right direction.
  We all go back to the deregulation of the airlines. I want to 
deregulate everything. But I want competition to be out there in the 
marketplace, including the airlines, to where people will have a 
choice. I am not sure we have a choice today in the airline industry 
because we have such concentration. We all fly. We want some basic 
rights.
  I believe the passengers, who are the customers who support the 
airlines--without customers there will be no airlines--ought to have a 
say. I believe that is the thrust of the amendments offered by the 
Senator from Oregon. That is why I support them.

[[Page S10877]]

  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I know we have a scheduled vote at 11 
o'clock this morning. We have equal time here. I ask unanimous consent 
that the running of the quorum call time on the clock be charged 
against both sides equally.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, if I might ask the distinguished 
senior Senator from New Jersey, are we dealing with two amendments or a 
sense-of-the-Senate resolution?
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. We are dealing with two sense-of-the-Senate 
resolutions that the Senator from Oregon has offered now, a substitute 
for an earlier amendment.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Well, a sense-of-the-Senate resolution is preferable 
in that it doesn't become law and is not binding. It also implies, as I 
would believe, that perhaps the case for the amendments is not as 
strong as it once appeared to be.
  I want to speak vehemently against whatever form this takes, whether 
it is two amendments or a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. There is no 
question that the Senator from Oregon is concerned with safety. The 
Senator from Oregon has the luxury of dealing with flights far better 
than does the Senator from West Virginia. He has a consistent record on 
that. I also need to say, however, that when he brought up what was to 
be two amendments--both of which I disagree with and which I ask my 
colleagues to vote against, whether in amendment form or resolution 
form--the Senator didn't give any advanced notice about it. He didn't 
inform those charged with responsibility for aviation issues on the 
Commerce Committee before he brought this matter up, for example.
  Customer service is a problem we have been working on in the Commerce 
Committee. What I need to point out is that on this very day the 
airlines are coming out with their plans to implement what Senator 
McCain, Senator Hollings, Senator Gorton, and the Senator from West 
Virginia directed and worked with them to do to improve customer 
service. Today they are coming out with a plan to address precisely the 
problems the Senator is bringing up.
  People talk about Washington intervening and Washington trying to do 
something on its own because Washington always knows best. This is 
probably a classic case of that--especially on what looks like a 
tremendously popular consumer issue that can easily get a lot of 
attention. But we always have to ask the question, is it the right 
public policy? My reaction in this case is, no, it is the wrong public 
policy.
  We sat down with the airlines and we had a very long series of 
negotiations. We got them to agree to a whole series of things which 
they are coming out with today, which we haven't actually seen yet, for 
improving customer service. They are coming out with their detailed 
service plans on this very day, at the same time that we are voting 
here on these resolutions. What is interesting is that in the 
principles we negotiated with the airlines both of the problems 
contemplated by these resolutions are specifically addressed, and will 
be elaborated upon in the specific plans of each airline.
  Now I don't have the advantage of is having the plans before me 
because they are being announced today. But we pushed the airlines hard 
and they came back with suggestions; and then we went to them again and 
said that is not good enough, and they came up with more. We also 
informed the airlines that we would be working on legislation to direct 
the Department of Transportation to exercise oversight and monitoring 
of airlines customer service plans and how they are implemented.
  We are also working on legislation to increase penalties--if we can 
ever get to the FAA reauthorization bill, which a lot of people don't 
talk about--including increases in baggage liability limits, civil 
penalties for consumer violations, and fines for mistreatment of 
disabled passengers. We took a very tough approach with the airlines, 
saying to them, look, we are going to give you this chance because we 
think you know better than we do how wide a seat ought to be.
  We think that when it comes to the cost of the fare, or informing 
passengers of cancellations or delays, you can do a better job for 
passengers than if we dictated to you how to do it.
  And at the same time we said to the airlines: If you don't come forth 
with meaningful service improvements and if you are not effective in 
implementing these commitments, then we are going to come back at you 
with legislation.
  We were very clear in our message to them. Senator McCain, Senator 
Hollings, Senator Rockefeller, and Senator Gorton--all of us--were very 
clear about the consequences. We are committed to considering a 
legislative solution to make the airlines do these things, but first we 
are going to give them a chance to clean up their own houses.
  The main difference between these resolutions and our approach is 
that we don't want to legislate right out of the gate. We may have to 
end up legislating, if they don't improve things. But let's give them 
an opportunity first.
  Consider the case of Southwest Airlines and the question of 
overbooking. Routinely 35 to 40 percent of the people who make 
reservations on Southwest don't show up for the flight. Do they have an 
overbooking procedure on 90 percent of their flights? Yes, they do. 
They need to do that since on average 35 to 40 percent of their 
passengers don't show up for each and every flight.
  On one hand, it seems as if overbooking is an easy thing to do 
something about. But in practice it is a more complicated question. So, 
shall we give the industry that knows it has problems a chance, albeit 
under pressure and restrictions from the Congress and the DOT, but 
nonetheless a chance to solve their problems themselves? Or shall we 
simply say we are going to do it for you, and this is how you are going 
to do it?
  Again, if they don't come forward, if they don't do this correctly, 
then we may very well move legislatively. I have said it frequently to 
them in private and in public that we move to legislate if they don't 
take this voluntary approach quite seriously, and we will direct and 
mandate that these customer service improvements be done. But I think 
to take the heavy-handed approach right out of the box is the wrong way 
to go.
  I think it is also ironic, I have to say, that the focus is on 
overbooking and access to low fares, without giving equal attention to 
the problems of air traffic control. We aren't paying any attention at 
all to the underlying problems--the infrastructure problems that are 
the root cause of many customer complaints, including overcrowding, 
scheduling problems, cancellations and no-shows.
  The airlines have until December 15 to get their detailed plans fully 
implemented. I think we ought to give them the chance.
  The inspector general of DOT is monitoring and watching each and 
every airline for any failure to carry out the principles and promises. 
If they are not effectuated, that will be considered a violation by the 
DOT.
  But is there anything really that wrong with giving the people who 
know how to do it and who will compete with one another to do it best a 
chance to self-regulate under this very unusual and extraordinary 
pressure that they find themselves from myself and Senator Gorton? Or 
do we simply say, no, we know how to do it best, and we are going to do 
it for you?
  I hope my colleagues will understand that this a resolution that 
doesn't do much good for airline passengers. What

[[Page S10878]]

will do good by the traveling public is the plan which the airlines are 
announcing today, and then the oversight and the implementation of 
those plans, which we will watch very closely and then evaluate how 
they've done. If they are ineffective in it, then we will move right to 
legislation. But for heaven's sake, let's not start off that way and 
pretend we can do all of this better than they can.
  I yield the floor. I reserve the remainder of my time.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. President, I think what the Senator from Oregon is doing this 
morning is offering some help for sat-upon air passengers--people who 
are totally discouraged by the treatment they get from our airlines. I 
am not saying the airlines are not a good, effective part of our 
communications system or that they don't care. Not at all. But they 
have to be a little more sensitive to what the passengers need. The 
passengers need to know whether or not reservations they have made are 
going to be honored. They have to know whether or not they are buying 
right. If you go into a department store, you see signs telling you how 
much an article costs. When you call up an airline for reservations, 
you never know whether you have three seats in L class, or two seats in 
Y class, or six seats in E class, and you don't know whether you are 
getting what you are getting.
  I think there is an expression that is used commonly around here--``a 
right to know.'' The passengers have a right to know. They have a right 
to know that when they get to that airport, the seat they have reserved 
which they paid for is going to be available for them.
  There is no one whom I like less to disagree with than my friend from 
West Virginia, the distinguished Senator from West Virginia. But the 
airlines may know, to use his expression, ``how wide a seat is.'' But 
they don't want to tell you how wide the seating spaces are in their 
airplanes compared to others.
  I fly, as most here do, at least twice a week--once up and once back 
from my home district in my State.
  I find that the space gets narrower and narrower. I think we ought to 
let people know. Give them a choice. Give them a right to know. We are 
not telling them the seat size. I don't want to do that.
  I have found one thing. Sometimes if you offer enough carrots as an 
incentive, you wind up with carrot soup. You don't wind up with a 
satisfied user. That is what we are talking about. The airlines have 
voluntarily agreed to do some things; that is, if you can find out, and 
if you understand what they are talking about when they do it.
  I see nothing wrong in the sense-of-the-Senate resolutions the 
Senator from Oregon is introducing. I think he is doing us all a favor, 
and that is highlighting what the problem is. It is not law that he is 
proposing. What he is suggesting is something for us to all think about 
as we consider legislation, or recommending rules to the FAA that the 
FAA ought to take up. We are focusing.
  I must say this to the Senator from West Virginia. In my opening 
remarks and in the remarks of the chairman of the subcommittee, what we 
are talking about is the shortages that we are seeing in funding for 
FAA.
  I know I heard it repeated by the distinguished Senator from Alabama. 
I said we are underfunding the FAA. That is because the whole 
transportation budget is inadequate for the things we have to do. It 
shouldn't be. But the system is safe. People do get there most of the 
time now--late. But the fact is we are concerned about funding the FAA 
and the overcrowding of the skies.
  We want the air traffic control system to operate well.
  I sit lots of times in the second seat in a small airplane. I hear 
what is going on. It is not always what you like to hear--that you have 
to wait a half hour to take off, that you have to wait a half hour or 
divert to land because it is too crowded. We are concerned about that.

  But also I make mention of a cause of mine--to make sure that we have 
high-speed rail in this country to take care of the 200-mile trip, or 
the 250-mile trip from New York to Washington, or Boston to New York, 
or Boston to Washington--relatively short trips--to relieve some of the 
pressure in the skies at the same time that we build the system.
  I yield the time. I thank the Senator from Oregon.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon is recognized.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 15 minutes 50 seconds.
  Mr. WYDEN. Thank you.
  Mr. President, first, in the package of amendments with respect to 
overbooking and making sure the passenger has the lowest fare 
available, that has nothing to do with seat size. I think all of our 
colleagues know it.
  The reason the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union put 
on the floor for each Member of this body a strong endorsement letter 
for these two amendments this morning is that they think the public has 
a right to know this basic information. That is all these two 
amendments are about.
  The fact is that my good friend from West Virginia has a difference 
of opinion with respect to the airline industry voluntary pledges.
  I agree with the General Accounting Office and the Congressional 
Research Service. They came out with reports this week that essentially 
showed that with respect to these voluntary industry pledges, there is 
no ``there'' there. These voluntary industry pledges either involve 
rights that the consumer already has, No. 1, rights that the airline 
industry is unwilling to write into the contract between the airline 
and the consumer, known as contracts of carriage, or rights that are 
essentially ignored altogether, which are overbooking.
  Nobody is talking about micromanagement or a constitutional right to 
fluffy pillows. We are talking about basic information for the public.
  What has happened since the voluntary industry agreement of earlier 
this summer is, two congressional reports have come out--a report by 
the Congressional Research Service and a report by the General 
Accounting Office. Let me read from a portion of what the General 
Accounting Office has said. The General Accounting Office said with 
respect to the key measures in the voluntary package--ensuring customer 
service from an airline, cosharing partners, a refund provision, a 
special needs provision--these are already required.
  The airline industry has tried, with a lot of hocus-pocus with the 
voluntary pledges, to convince the Congress and the American people 
that they really are responding substantively when in fact this is 
essentially old wine in new bottles.
  That is why this morning the Consumers Union and the Consumer 
Federation have put on to the desks of each Member of this body a 
strong endorsement letter. This is about the public's right to know, 
the public's right to disclosure of information in two areas: The 
lowest fare; second, with respect to overbooking. That is what this 
issue is about.
  Members can either be with the passengers or Members can be with the 
airline industry, which the General Accounting Office and the 
Congressional Research Service said this week has offered voluntary 
pledges that are woefully deficient because they essentially do nothing 
other than restate current law.
  I yield the floor, and I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I yield what time I have to the 
distinguished Senator from Washington.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Washington is 
recognized for 1 minute 20 seconds.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, this is another example of Members of the 
Senate attempting to say they know much more about a particular 
business than do the people who run that business and depend upon 
customer satisfaction in order to run it profitably.
  Fortunately, it is now only a sense-of-the-Senate resolution. 
However, it nonetheless, with respect to involuntary exclusion from 
planes, applies to about 1 person in 10,000 and is therefore a 
sledgehammer used to crush a fly, and does it in a way which will be 
either ineffective because the information that passengers get will be 
of no

[[Page S10879]]

use to them or will cut down on the number of tickets that are sold 
which will raise the prices passengers pay.
  The provision about Internet pricing, if implemented, will simply 
mean there will be no lower prices offered on the Internet than there 
are elsewhere. That will also raise the prices some passengers pay.
  The voluntary attitudes of the airlines are only beginning to go into 
effect. Even the GAO report quoted by the Senator from Oregon reads:

       The real deal is what the individual airlines come out with 
     in the plans. Once they do, they can be held accountable.

  We ought to leave this to that accountability and not decide we know 
the airline business better than the airlines themselves.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time allotted to the distinguished Senator 
has expired.
  Does the Senator from Oregon yield time to the distinguished Senator 
from Montana?
  Mr. WYDEN. I understand I have about 10 minutes remaining. Would my 
good friend from Montana like 3 or 4 minutes?
  Mr. BURNS. It will only take about a minute. I am opposing the 
amendment, so the Senator may want to rethink the allotment of that 
time.
  Mr. WYDEN. Why don't I give 3 minutes to my good friend from Montana, 
and then I will use my remaining time to wrap up.
  Mr. BURNS. I thank my friend from Oregon. I will be very brief.
  In the Commerce Committee, we struck a deal with the airlines. Today 
they are going to the FAA with their plan. What we have seen to this 
point is an outline of what they plan to do. What they plan to give to 
the FAA, with the FAA exceptions, we should agree to and keep the word 
of the Commerce Committee that that is the way we are going to do 
business.
  I think we are trying to micromanage. I expect I am the only one who 
should be concerned about seat width. I fly just as much as anyone 
else. In fact, to go round trip between here and Montana, we probably 
have more seat time than we really want.
  The chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation on the Commerce 
Committee had a very successful hearing in Kalispell, MT. We ought to 
look at the root of some of the problems, and that is pilot shortage. 
We had an outstanding hearing on how it affects rural States such as my 
State of Montana.
  I shall oppose these two amendments. I thank my good friend from 
Oregon. He has been more than gracious with his time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I don't see any other speakers. I will be 
very brief in wrapping up.
  Again with respect to these voluntary pledges that have been made by 
the airline industry, I think it is worth noting exactly what the 
General Accounting Office said about this so-called customer service 
first program.
  The General Accounting Office found that of the 16 pledges the 
airline industry made in their voluntary customer first package, 3 of 
them are already required by Federal law, 4 of them are already 
required by what are known as the contracts of carriage, legal 
contracts, and the vast majority of them aren't written in at all. They 
are not written in any way with respect to key areas such as making 
sure consumers are adequately informed about the lowest fares, making 
sure customers are informed about delays, cancellations, and 
diversions, returning checked bags within 24 hours, credit card 
refunds, informing passengers about restrictions on frequent flier 
rules, and having customer service representatives to actually help the 
public.
  That is what the General Accounting Office said.
  I am very hopeful we will see some of the airlines individually go 
beyond what is being proposed in their voluntary package.
  In reading the General Accounting Office and the Congressional 
Research Service reports that have come out since this voluntary 
agreement was entered into, anyone will see how woefully inadequate the 
consumer protections are for the public in this country. In fact, these 
contracts of carriage, which are legalese and technical lingo that 
spells out the contract between the consumer and the airline, the 
Congressional Research Service found most of the front-line airline 
staff didn't even know what these contracts of carriage were. The 
consumer would basically have to do somersaults to try to get 
information about them. It is largely not available, even at the ticket 
counter in many instances. It shows again how reluctant these airlines 
are, in the vast majority of instances, to truly inform the public.

  At the end of the day, passengers have three types of rights: Rights 
in effect they already have; rights that will not be spelled out in the 
contract; and, finally, rights that are being ignored altogether. That 
is why the Consumers Union today is urging the Senate to adopt these 
two amendments. They are on the side of the passengers. They understand 
the voluntary pledges that have been made by the airline industry lack 
teeth. They are gobbledegook.
  I urge my colleagues to strongly support these two amendments, agree 
with the Consumers Union rather than with the airline industry, and 
let's ensure that at a time when complaints are at a record level, 
which is the situation we find ourselves in today, we are making sure 
the passengers can get a fair shake when it comes to learning about the 
lowest fare available and learning about their rights when there has 
been an overbooking.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Oregon yield the 
remainder of his time? The Senator has 6 minutes.
  Mr. WYDEN. I yield the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
1625, as modified.
  The amendment (No. 1625), as modified, was agreed to.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now is on agreeing to amendment 
No. 1626, as modified.
  The amendment (No. 1626), as modified, was agreed to.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all first-
degree amendments to the Transportation appropriations bill must be 
filed by 12 noon today, Wednesday, September 15, with the exception of 
one amendment by each leader and a managers' package of amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hutchinson). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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