Herald news services
WASHINGTON — Washington state lawmakers were dealt a defeat Friday when Congress quickly passed a $15 billion airline relief package without any assistance for thousands of Boeing workers facing layoffs.
The Senate approved the measure 96-1, and the House followed suit late Friday night on a vote of 356-54.
President Bush, whose aides helped craft the bill, was expected to quickly sign it.
That would open the way for cash infusions for the airlines, which are facing heavy losses from a government-ordered grounding of all flights after the Sept. 11 terror attacks and a subsequent sharp fall in passengers.
Congress acted after ominous predictions that air travel would shut down Monday unless Congress provided the relief. Lawmakers said airline executives told them carriers had received notices from insurers canceling their coverage for war and terrorism risks.
Despite protests from some in the Washington delegation, the measure included only financial aid for the airlines. The state’s lawmakers were given promises that Congress next week will take up measures for workers at Boeing and the airlines.
Boeing announced Tuesday that as many as 30,000 employees could find themselves out of jobs.
The company hasn’t asked for any federal assistance, but Boeing and the congressional delegation pushed the airline’s financial package, which included $5 billion in immediate aid and $10 billion in loan guarantees.
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Many lawmakers were also seeking direct financial help, extended health benefits, job training and other provisions to help ease the pain of the layoffs.
"I have 30,000 employees in my home state of Washington at Boeing who have been left out of this bill," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "We should not forget them when we are taking care of the owners of these airline companies."
Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of the House GOP leadership, said there is "absolutely" an understanding that worker protections will go in another airline bill in the next few days.
"What we’re doing with this bill is doing our best to minimize the number of layoffs, and that’s the most imminent thing that needs to be done," he said.
Congress was moving with unusual speed, driven by reports of losses and layoffs affecting tens of thousands of aviation workers after the terrorist attacks.
Washington state Democratic lawmakers seemed unable to change the momentum and get worker assistance inserted. Many thought Friday’s financial aid package was the most appropriate place to help workers, rather than an airline safety bill expected next week.
"We can’t understand why you would have a bill … that doesn’t have worker provisions," said George Behan, a top aide to Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash. "There is a major impact here that is taking place now, and will take place in the not too distant future with the potential Boeing layoffs."
The Machinists union, representing many Boeing workers, targeted Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., on Friday, asking its members to contact her and gain her support for a worker assistance package.
On the union Web site, members were instructed to ask Dunn: "Why don’t you care about giving protections to the workers?"
In an interview, Dunn said she was aware of the criticism but is working hard to find a variety of resources to help those who may lose their jobs. She said she would vote for a worker assistance package.
"There will be a series of bills that will follow this, one of which will have help for workers," she said.
Dunn and Dicks, a senior member of the defense appropriations subcommittee, were also working to drum up more business for Boeing. They want the government to buy Boeing commercial aircraft to convert for military uses.
Behan said lawmakers will soon be editing the House defense appropriations bill, perhaps within two weeks, and the funding may be found then.
Dunn is also working with Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to give any displaced Boeing workers access to a federal program that provides assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of national emergencies.
And, Dunn said, "We have not lost any jobs yet."
Airline executives spent the week furiously lobbying for the airline relief package, warning that major carriers faced bankruptcy and that the industry would need as much as $24 billion by next summer to survive the crisis.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer Friday said the Bush administration would support the legislation.
Initially, the administration had been opposed to loan guarantees. But Fleischer said the White House agreed to the guarantees after receiving industry assurances about how the loans would be used.
Fleischer also said the Bush administration had reached an agreement with congressional leaders to use $3 billion from the $40 billion emergency spending package passed last week to bolster airport and airline security.
But Fleischer said the federal government will not take over the full role of assuring security at airports. Instead, "there will be a stepped-up federal role in increasing security," Fleischer said.
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