=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/04/03/n= ational0338EST0472.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, April 3, 2003 (AP) White House, Congress at odds over size of airline relief package LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer (04-03) 00:38 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- House and Senate leaders are resisting White House efforts to shrink an airline relief package it calls "excessive." The Senate plan would cost taxpayers about $2.7 billion and the House proposal about $3.2 billion. Both are part of a supplemental budget that contains money to pay for the war with Iraq. Airlines say they need help to offset losses caused by war and terrorism and have asked for $4 billion. Less than two weeks after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the airlines received $5 billion in cash and a $10 billion loan guarantee program. "The taxpayers responded generously once," White House press secretary A= ri Fleischer said Wednesday. He said jet fuel prices have fallen recently and passenger volume has not dropped as much as airlines feared. "We want to continue to work with the Hill on this, but the amounts that they have passed we believe are excessive." President Bush is seeking quick action on the spending bill and Fleischer would not say whether a veto is possible if the aid package is not reduced when the House and Senate work out their differences next week. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said it's unlikely the Senate plan will be changed much. "We have a responsibility to address the issue surrounding the airlines, the impact of war," he said. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is the driving force behind the House plan. Spokesman John Feehery said Hastert still believes the amount is fair. The House plan gives the airlines cash by returning taxes and fees they'= ve paid for security since Sept. 11 and relieves them of those costs until Sept. 30. The Senate proposal gives the airlines a tax holiday for the security fee from April 1 through Sept. 30, reimburses them for specific security measures, extends unemployment insurance for aviation workers and gives airports $375 million. Airlines are experiencing the worst downturn ever because of terrorism fears, the war in Iraq, overcapacity, mismanagement and high labor costs, say airline analysts. Since the war began two weeks ago, the airlines have announced 10,000 job cuts, according to industry estimates. Congress passed a $15 billion aid package after the Sept. 11 attacks -- = $5 billion in cash and $10 billion in loan guarantees. Bush administration officials say rather than provide money to keep afloat some airlines that might otherwise fail, market forces should be allowed to determine which carriers survive. "The industry is undergoing a period of fundamental restructuring to ali= gn costs and capacity to the demands of the marketplace, and excessive, generalized assistance would only delay and disrupt these important and inevitable changes," the White House budget office said in a statement. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP