Wed, Nov 09, 2005
Report: Hastily Conceived Plan Sidesteps Congressional
Oversight
The following statement was issued
Tuesday by Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades
Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), in response to a Bush administration
proposal to expand the role of foreign interests in the U.S.
airline industry.
"With all the troubles facing U.S. airlines and their employees,
including a severe pension crisis, inexplicably the best idea the
Administration could come up with is to begin selling-off yet
another American industry to foreign interests.
"The Administration's proposal to relax rules governing the
foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines – clearly an
effort to placate the European Union – is a dramatic
departure from longstanding aviation policy that has not been fully
examined and understood. We are stunned that the Administration
would try to unilaterally implement such a far-reaching measure
without honoring the role of Congress in shaping U.S. international
aviation policy.
"The fact is that the current rules
and limitations on foreign ownership and control have served our
aviation system well by protecting vital American interests while
permitting measured foreign participation in our airlines. The
burden of proof is on the Administration to present its case as to
why these rules should be changed. Simply unveiling a proposal and
giving parties a mere 60 days to comment, without any role for
Congress, is inadequate in protecting the public interest.
"The Administration's proposal reads like a down payment to
those who believe America's aviation market – the world's
largest and most lucrative – should be sold off to foreign
interests without regard for the aviation industry and its
employees. In fact, just hours after the plan's unveiling certain
foreign interests complained that it didn't go far enough. We can
only imagine how the Bush proposal might evolve if foreign
lobbyists have their way.

"The Bush Administration should immediately suspend this
proposal and permit the appropriate committees in Congress to
perform their vital oversight functions and determine what changes
in aviation policy, if any, are needed. If the Administration
refuses to stand down, we urge Congress to move quickly to bar any
proposal on foreign ownership and control from being implemented.
Congress cannot permit this Administration to stand on its head
almost 70 years of aviation policy without even a debate."
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