[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 54 (Thursday, April 3, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2708-H2709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FISCAL YEAR 2003 SUPPLEMENTAL SPENDING BILL

  (Mr. GINGREY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I have come before the American people 
today to express my deep concern over the situation affecting our 
domestic airlines. Today we will be voting to appropriate a 
supplemental budget. Within this budget there will be much needed, in 
fact, critical funding for our troops who are currently engaged in 
combat with Iraq. This funding bill will also include payments to our 
domestic airliners to help fund security measures in response to the 
September 11 attacks.
  Mr. Speaker, I support both components of this supplemental spending

[[Page H2709]]

bill. However, Mr. Speaker, it has become hard to understand that in 
these times of economic hardship why airline industry executives would 
take millions of dollars in bonuses while each of the companies is 
laying off large portions of its workforce while mired in billions of 
dollars of red ink. The airline industry must exercise fiscal 
restraint. I would hope that all of these companies would tighten their 
belts especially if we are going to ask the taxpayers of this country 
to help carry the burden of their business.

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