[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