[ad_1]
Washington:
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows met with main airline chief executives on Thursday because the business braces for 1000’s of job cuts in two weeks, and urged lawmakers to embrace a $1.5 trillion coronavirus support bundle proposed by a bipartisan congressional group and endorsed by US President Donald Trump.
Meadows advised reporters “if (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi was willing to move a bill to keep people from being laid off in the airline industry that’s stand-alone, that the president would certainly support it.”
But congressional aides say it’s unlikely that Congress would comply with a stand-alone invoice to help airways when so many different sectors are struggling and in search of help.
“The needs have only grown. Some of the needs for the small businesses, needs for restaurants, needs for transportation and the rest,” Pelosi stated Thursday.
Other transportation sectors are additionally in search of billions of {dollars} in new bailout funds, together with public transit, bus firms and the Amtrak passenger rail service.
Meadows stated the administration had examined govt motion choices, all of them lower than ideally suited.
Airlines didn’t provide a brand new proposal however once more made the case that serving to avert airline job cuts was one good motive to cross a broad coronavirus aid invoice.
After the assembly with Meadows, American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker stated it was “not fair” that 1000’s of airline employees have been about to be laid off.
“It’s not fair to them, it’s not fair to our country. … We’re just here to plead with everyone involved to get to a COVID relief package before October 1,” Parker stated.
He stated there’s “enormous bipartisan support” however there isn’t a legislative car but to win approval.
Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, stated the payroll help needs to be prolonged. She urged lawmakers to “come back to the table” earlier than the foremost layoffs.
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby and Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Gary Kelly additionally attended the assembly. Kelly advised reporters the preliminary payroll assist plan “didn’t go far enough and long enough.”
American has stated it plans to finish service to 15 small communities with out further authorities help and furlough about 19,000 employees.
At the tip of this month the $25 billion in federal payroll help airways obtained when the coronavirus first started spreading world wide is about to run out.
Congress additionally put aside one other $25 billion in authorities loans for airways, however many have opted to not faucet that funding supply.
Companies corresponding to American at the moment are pleading for a six-month extension whereas they concurrently negotiate with workers to reduce 1000’s of job cuts which are anticipated with out one other spherical of support.
Air journey has plummeted during the last six months because the coronavirus pandemic has claimed practically 196,000 American lives and prompted many to keep away from airports and planes, significantly miserable airline revenues.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink