[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 10 (Monday, March 13, 2000)]
[Pages 514-516]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing the Initiative To Reduce Air Travel Delays

March 10, 2000

    Thank you very much. I want to thank Secretary Slater and Jane 
Garvey and the airline executives who are here, the representatives of 
the airline pilots, the air traffic controllers, and the other aviation 
leaders who have made a truly remarkable team for this 
announcement.

Minimum Wages Legislation

    Before I talk about the air travel issue, because this is my only 
opportunity to meet with the press today, and because I had the unusual 
good fortune of letting them parade in ahead of us, here--I actually 
tried to get Mark Knoller [CBS Radio] to do this announcement, but he 
refused. [Laughter]
    I want to say a few words about a very down-to-Earth issue, the 
proposal to raise the minimum wage. I have called for a simple one 
dollar increase in the minimum wage to help millions of families. Last 
night, dozens of Republicans joined us in forming a majority to raise 
the minimum wage by a dollar over 2 years.
    But unfortunately, the leadership turned that commonsense act into a 
dead letter by insisting they would only have a minimum wage increase if 
we turn back overtime protections for over a million workers and use the 
bill to give a large tax cut, which both disproportionately benefits the 
wealthiest Americans and would put our prosperity at risk by making it 
impossible for us to continue to pay down the debt and to save Social 
Security and Medicare.
    Now, I think the American people question why Congress can't do 
something as simple as raising the minimum wage without loading it up 
with special favors. And I think it's a good question. The right answer 
is to send me a clean bill, a bill simple and clear, that could fit on 
one side of one piece of

[[Page 515]]

paper. In fact, if you look at it, that's exactly what our minimum wage 
bill does. It's not very big, not very complicated. And I hope that we 
can pass it.
    I'm looking forward to working with the Congress. I have not given 
up on this, and I have been given some encouraging signals that we might 
yet be able to reach an agreement. So I will keep working on it.

Air Travel Delays

    Now, let me again welcome all the representatives of the 
transportation industry here. And let me say a special word of 
appreciation to Senator Jay Rockefeller for his longstanding leadership 
in this area and his interest. I think it's quite important that we have 
airline efficiency, because it's almost impossible for someone as tall 
as Senator Rockefeller to be comfortable on an airline--[laughter]--and 
we want to make sure he can at least always be on time. [Laughter] He 
has worked on this for a long time.
    You mentioned, Secretary Slater mentioned the meeting we had in 
Everett, Washington. When I took office, the airline industry was in 
trouble. We've all worked very hard for the successes of the last 7 
years, and all the actors in the industry have.
    I'd also like to say a special word of appreciation to someone who 
is not here, Vice President Gore, who headed our Commission on Airline 
Safety and Security. It was part of our reinventing Government effort, 
and I thank him for his efforts, and all the people who worked on that 
endeavor.
    We know that delays pile up as flights increase and thunderstorms 
snarl the skies. We know, with springtime coming, that we don't want to 
forget, as Rodney said, that last year's summer storms were the worst, 
or some of the worst, on record. The air traffic control system couldn't 
respond fast enough. More than 1,200 aircraft were late every day last 
summer. Delays rose by 22 percent last year overall. It's not good for 
travelers; it's not good for the airline industry; and it's not good for 
the overall economy.
    Of course, when it comes to air travel, safety is the most important 
thing. In severe weather, flights will be canceled or delayed for safety 
reasons, and passengers wouldn't have it any other way. But as we work 
to keep the travel as safe as it can be, we should also do everything we 
can to make it as efficient as it can be.
    After last summer's record delays, the Federal Aviation 
Administration put together an extraordinary partnership--with the 
airline industry, the pilots, the workers who keep the planes in the 
air, the air traffic controllers who bring them home safe. Together, 
they developed a faster, more efficient response to storms. And they 
came here today to brief me on the improvements we can all expect this 
summer.
    First, better communications will let pilots and passengers know 
promptly whether they can expect a delay measured in minutes or in 
hours. Second, centralized air traffic decisionmaking will let us 
respond better to the really big storms that can stretch the length of 
the east coast or from Houston to the Great Lakes. Third, new technology 
will help FAA and airline experts use airspace more efficiently, detect 
storms sooner, and keep runways working even in bad weather. Fourth, FAA 
and airline representatives will share information several times a day, 
working off the same state-or-the-art weather forecast. And finally, 
next month the FAA will open a web site with up-to-the-minute weather 
information for consumers.
    I want to thank all the organizations represented here for working 
together. And I thank all the Members of Congress who have supported 
these reforms. Let me also mention that Congress is close to finalizing 
the FAA reauthorization bill. I know it's important to Secretary Slater, 
because he sent me a memo about it yesterday. [Laughter] This will 
provide ample funding to upgrade facilities and equipment at airports 
and air traffic control centers. If we want to minimize delays and 
maximize safety, we need this FAA reauthorization and this funding. I 
think everybody here who's done a lot of air travel knows that we need 
to upgrade the facilities and the equipment and the air traffic control 
centers.
    But I am concerned that too little funding will be available for air 
traffic control operations. That's the bedrock of efficiency and safety. 
And although the bill contains some first steps forward, it doesn't go 
far enough toward the system-wide reform we need.

[[Page 516]]

    We must bring the air traffic control system and the way it's 
managed into the 21st century. We have the safest air travel in the 
world, but as more and more Americans take to the air, we need to make 
our system as efficient as it safe. The FAA expects passenger traffic to 
rise by more than 50 percent in the next 10 years. Freight traffic will 
almost double in the same period. Busier skies means we have to work 
harder to keep our skies safe and to keep planes flying on time.
    So today I'm directing the FAA to develop a plan for broader reform 
of the air traffic control system and to report back to me in 45 days, 
building from fundamental principles. America's 21st century air traffic 
control system should provide 21st century high-tech service. The system 
must work better with its customers, the commercial airlines, and others 
who pay for the system. It must be able to look beyond next year's 
budget cycle and fund new technology we need over a multi-year period.
    We must meet these challenges in a way that helps, not harms, 
everyone who is a part of the air traffic control system. And we must 
always keep safety at the top of our agenda. With other Government 
agencies and the private sector, I ask the FAA to look ahead to our 
ultimate goal, putting together a seamless, state-of-the-art system from 
coast to coast.
    Now, until we work out a way to get Mother Nature to cooperate, 
storms, delays, and cancellations will always be with us. And the 
American people understand that. But they also understand that if we can 
photograph and analyze weather patterns from space, we ought to be able 
to tell passengers why they're delayed and for how long. If we can guide 
the space shuttle into orbit and back, we ought to be able to guide 
planes around thunderstorms safely.
    We can do a better job. Starting next summer, with the help of 
everyone here today, we will. Again, let me say, Secretary Slater and to 
Jane Garvey and to all the people standing with me and all of you 
sitting out in the audience who had anything to do with this, this is 
the way our country ought to work in a lot of other contexts. I thank 
you for what you have done. I think we have to do more. But this summer 
a lot of people will benefit from the enormous efforts you have made, 
and I am very, very grateful.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:21 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House.