    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [April 29, 1993]
    [Pages 539-540]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 539]]

    Statement on the National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive
    Airline Industry
    April 29, 1993

        Today I am, in conjunction with the bipartisan congressional
    leadership, releasing the names of the members of the National
    Commission to Ensure a Strong and Competitive Airline Industry.
        This Commission will enable us to start planning the revitalization
    of one of our country's most important industries, one of our most
    important exporters, one of our Nation's most important employers: the
    aircraft manufacturers and carriers that have been the pride of the
    United States and the world's leaders since the beginning of aviation. I
    pledge that this Commission will have the full resources of every Agency
    of the Federal Government at its disposal.
        Each of the individuals on this Commission brings a strong record of
    accomplishment in his or her field, together with a keen sense of the
    importance of aviation in a global economy. Each of them has
    demonstrated the ability to look toward the future and the energy and
    intellect to shape the course of the current airline debate.
        I would like to thank the bipartisan congressional leadership for
    their support and leadership in creating this Commission and in
    selecting persons of such high caliber.
        The Chairman of the Commission will be an old friend and former
    colleague of mine, former Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles. Perhaps
    no other Governor in the past decade devoted more thought and attention
    to the global nature of the challenges facing his State. Governor
    Baliles always recognized that the nature of competition had changed
    fundamentally and that any strategy to shape that change must be rooted
    in a vision extending beyond our borders. He recognized that aviation is
    the lifeblood of commerce in a global economy and made it an important
    part of his State's competitiveness strategy. That is what we must do
    now at a national level.
        As the legislation creating this Commission was debated in Congress,
    it became clear that there are many different explanations of why our
    airline carriers and manufacturers are facing such financial difficulty.
    And those issues will be debated. But it will be valuable for the
    Commission to take a step back from that debate and examine the context
    in which the aviation industry operates. To the extent the Commission
    can help us understand how we got to where we are today and provide a
    vision for a competitive future, it will have rendered an invaluable
    service. I look forward to receiving their report and pledge the full
    cooperation of my entire administration in their work.

    Note: The Office of the Press Secretary announced the membership of the
    Commission as follows:

    Members appointed by the President:
        Gerald L. Baliles, partner, Hunton & Williams, and former Governor
            of Virginia, Richmond, VA (Chair)
        Bette B. Anderson, president, Kelly, Anderson and Associates, Inc.,
            Washington, DC
        Sylvia A. de Leon, partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld,
            Washington, DC
        Herbert D. Kelleher, chief executive officer, Southwest Airlines,
            Dallas, TX
        Gina F. Thomas, managing attorney for international and regulatory
            affairs, Federal Express Corp., Memphis, TN

    Members appointed by the Senate:
        Charles ``Chip'' M. Barclay, president, American Association of
            Airport Executives, Washington, DC
        Robert F. Daniell, chief executive officer, United Technologies,
            West Hartford, CT
        Felix G. Rohatyn, managing partner, Lazard Freres and Co., New York,
            NY
        Russell W. Meyer, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, Cesna
            Aircraft Company, Wichita, KS
        Abraham D. Sofaer, partner, Hughes, Hubbard and Reed, Washington, DC

    Members appointed by the House:
        Captain J. Randolph Babbitt, president, Airline Pilots Association
            (ALPA), Oakton, VA
        John Peterpaul, vice president, International Association of
            Machinists (IAM), Silver Spring, MD
        Sandra Pianalto, first vice president, Federal Reserve Bank,
            Cleveland, OH

    [[Page 540]]

        John E. Robson, Lister Crown distinguished faculty fellow, Yale
            University, New Haven, CT
        Daniel M. Kasper, director of transportation practice, Harbridge
            House, Inc., Boston, MA

    Ex officio (nonvoting) members:
        Laura D'Andrea Tyson, Chair, President's Council of Economic
            Advisers, CA
        Senator J. James Exon, NE
        Senator Ernest Hollings, SC
        Senator Patty Murray, WA
        Senator John Danforth, MO
        Senator Slade Gorton, WA
        Representative Richard Gephardt, MO
        Representative Robert Borski, PA
        Representative Maria Cantwell, WA
        Representative Newt Gingrich, GA
        Representative Bud Shuster, PA