Stand-alone bill to provide relief for airlines blocked on House floor

[mystery-ak]

Stand-alone bill to provide relief for airlines blocked on House floor
By Alex Gangitano - 10/02/20 03:20 PM EDT

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) attempted to pass a stand-alone bill that would give relief to airlines on the House floor Friday.

The attempt was unsuccessful after the Oregon congressman was denied a request for unanimous consent, which would preclude the need for members to participate in a recorded vote. His bill would extend the airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) by six months.

“The Republican minority killed this legislation, plain and simple. If they had just agreed, tens of thousands of workers for the airlines — flight attendants, they don’t get paid a heck of a lot of money, pilots, yeah they do well, mechanics, gate agents — tens of thousands of those people have been furlough as of yesterday,” DeFazio said on the House floor.


PSP, which allocated $25 billion in aid for airlines, was part of the massive $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March. As a condition for accepting the relief, it prohibited airlines from laying off employees until Oct. 1.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/519381-stand-alone-bill-to-provide-relief-for-airlines-blocked-on-house-floor

[Fishrrman]

I can't see how the airlines (or the Congress, through our taxes) can keep on paying their employees for planes that aren't flying, or are flying near-empty.

There comes a time when the only option that makes financial sense is to furlough unneeded workers.

I know of this myself -- I was furloughed 14 months in 1982-83 early in my railroad career.

Amtrak had been trying to keep just about all their train/engine service people "on the payroll", but since business hasn't come back, they're starting to furlough employees now, too.

[Hoodat]

The attempt was unsuccessful after the Oregon congressman was denied a request for unanimous consent, which would preclude the need for members to participate in a recorded vote. His bill would extend the airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) by six months.

“The Republican minority killed this legislation, plain and simple.

I call BS.  Dems control the House.  They could have taken up a floor vote and passed this if they had wanted to.

[corbe]

   I understand that the Airline Industry is somewhat vital to our economy but isn't the US Government betting on winners and losers again on the taxpayers dime?