[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AIRPORT DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS
(Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, once again, this morning, thousands of
Americans found themselves in airports staring at delayed and canceled
flights. This comes barely 3 weeks after tens of thousands of
Americans, and many of my own constituents, missed the holidays because
of the catastrophe on the part of the airlines, the airlines that got
billions of dollars in this Chamber from the American people barely 2
years ago. This is how the airlines repay the support that this
institution gave to them so that they could get through COVID.
Now, the private markets will presumably address the failures of
Southwest and other airlines. What happened this morning was a failure
of government. The Notice to Air Missions is a function of the FAA.
I would like to point out that after last week, when we heard
constant cries for cuts to the budget, understand, my friends, cuts to
the budget means that we underinvest in the infrastructure that my
constituents were relying on this morning. As we think about the budget
in the next 2 years, let's remember what happened this morning.
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