093_HJ0029
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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Commercial aviation is an important component of
3 the economy of Illinois, both for business and leisure travel
4 to, from, and through the State, and for the major presence
5 of airlines and airline related employment in Illinois; and
6 WHEREAS, Illinois is the home of a major airline, United
7 Airlines, and a major aircraft manufacturer, Boeing; and
8 WHEREAS, Illinois is the site of the nation's busiest
9 airport, O'Hare International, with extensive service by both
10 United and American Airlines, and is the site of Midway
11 Airport which is served by Southwest, the nation's largest
12 low cost carrier; and
13 WHEREAS, American, the country's largest airline, serves
14 Illinois through both its O'Hare and St. Louis hubs; and
15 WHEREAS, Both United and American have extensive
16 commuter/regional service to multiple points in Illinois
17 linking citizens of the State with safe, dependable, and
18 convenient service to the nation and the world; and
19 WHEREAS, More than 500,000 airline employees reside in
20 Illinois with an annual payroll of more than $12 billion; and
21 WHEREAS, The airlines serving Illinois are in a crisis as
22 they continue to struggle with declines in ridership and
23 revenue in the aftermath of September 11, 2001; and
24 WHEREAS, The war in Iraq and the war on terrorism have
25 exacerbated the industry problems as traffic and revenues
26 continue to decline; and
27 WHEREAS, As traffic declines, costs such as fuel,
28 insurance, and security expenses continue to increase; and
29 WHEREAS, The airlines have slashed fares, flights, and
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1 staffing to reduce costs as demand diminishes; and
2 WHEREAS, The Air Transport Association (ATA) estimates
3 that the nation's airlines will experience an additional $4
4 billion in war impact losses bringing the total losses for
5 the year to $10.7 billion; and
6 WHEREAS, Airline traffic is expected to drop 15 percent
7 during the calendar quarter of the war; 2,200 more daily
8 flights will be eliminated and 70,000 more jobs will be lost;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, The airlines are carrying $100 billion in debt,
11 two major airlines are in Chapter 11, and others are on the
12 brink of bankruptcy; and
13 WHEREAS, The Air Transport Association has proposed a
14 series of specific options to reduce the damage being done to
15 the nation's air transportation system; and
16 WHEREAS The ATA recommends that the passenger security
17 tax and air carrier security fee should be repealed; and
18 WHEREAS, ATA asks that the Transportation Security
19 Administration take over all screening of passengers and
20 property and the costs thereof, as intended by the Aviation
21 and Transportation Security Act; and
22 WHEREAS The ATA urges that the Aviation Security Program
23 contained in the Department of Homeland Security statute
24 should be extended permanently as should the liability cap,
25 and that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should be drawn down
26 to avoid the interruption of jet fuel supply and to moderate
27 extraordinary fuel prices; and
28 WHEREAS, The ATA advises that the federal government
29 should suspend certain taxes and fees on air transportation
30 paid by passengers, shippers, and airlines for the duration
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1 of hostilities and for one year past the conclusion of
2 hostilities; those taxes and fees include the Federal Ticket
3 Tax, the Flight Segment Tax, the International Arrival and
4 Departure Tax, the Cargo Waybill Tax, the Jet Fuel Tax, and
5 the Frequent Flyer Tax; and
6 WHEREAS, The ATA proposes that some combination of these
7 suggestions must be enacted by the Congress of the United
8 States as soon as possible to avoid serious damage to the
9 airline industry; therefore, be it
10 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
12 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we do formally request the
13 President of the United States and the Congress of the United
14 States to enact aid for the nation's airline industry as
15 quickly as possible; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17 immediately delivered to George W. Bush, the President of the
18 United States of America; Norman Mineta, the Secretary of the
19 Department of Transportation; Representative Dennis Hastert,
20 the Speaker of the House of Representatives; Representative
21 Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House of
22 Representatives; Senator Bill Frist, the Senate Majority
23 Leader; Senator Tom Daschle, the Senate Minority Leader; and
24 to each member of the Illinois congressional delgation.