[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MOTORCOACH INDUSTRY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, the motorcoach industry has been 
particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic 
turndown as a result of it. Iowa has many motorcoach operators, several 
of which are really family owned and some of them for two or three 
generations.
  I have been in frequent communication with these Iowans, and I am 
learning they are quickly coming to the point of making a decision of 
whether they can even stay in business. Motorcoaches provide passenger 
transportation services to all Americans, providing over 600 million 
passenger trips annually across the country. By comparison, airlines 
provided service for 925 million passenger trips in 2019.
  While most other modes of transportation received specific funding to 
help them through the pandemic, the motorcoach industry has not. What 
they are really referring to when they talk to me, they seem to feel 
that they have been left out when we have given several tens of 
millions of dollars to help the airline industry.
  I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin about this matter and have relayed the 
concerns from these Iowa companies to relevant committees here in the 
Senate. The government relies on motorcoach industries to help move 
troops and also evacuate people to safety during our natural disasters. 
However, with passenger bookings being nonexistent and few charters 
being scheduled, this leaves little hope of rebound yet this year. The 
industry may not survive to provide this service in the future if they 
don't receive support.
  I yield the floor.

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