$3 billion in airline aid could come soon By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY WASHINGTON =97 Congress is moving toward approving a $3 billion aid package= =20 for the nation's airlines, including 26 extra weeks of unemployment=20 benefits for workers, despite White House opposition. Ignoring the advice=20 of President Bush's budget director, Mitch Daniels, the House on Tuesday=20 endorsed a measure granting an extra 26 weeks of unemployment to laid-off=20 airline workers. The extra unemployment benefits will cost $275 million.=20 The 265-150 House vote greatly increases the chances that the additional=20 benefits will be included in a war spending bill that congressional leaders= =20 hope to send President Bush later this week. The Senate version of the bill= =20 already includes a provision extending the unemployment benefits. Though=20 the two bills differ on specifics, both the House and Senate approved=20 airline aid packages worth more than $3 billion. The White House has called= =20 the amount "excessive," but the administration does not appear willing to=20 pick a fight with the top Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress,=20 all of whom support the funding. "They'll accept whatever Congress finally= =20 comes up with," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said Tuesday. The airline aid package is widely regarded as almost veto-proof because=20 it's part of an $80 billion war spending bill that includes money the=20 military needs for operations in Iraq. More than 100,000 airline workers=20 have lost their jobs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and=20 70,000 more jobs could be lost, according to the Air Transport Association.= =20 The plan to extend workers' unemployment benefits has won wide bipartisan=20 support despite the administration's opposition. In a letter to=20 congressional leaders, Daniels noted that Bush already has extended the=20 regular, 26-week unemployment benefit package by 13 weeks nationwide and by= =20 26 weeks in states with the highest unemployment rates. Adding a further=20 extension for only one industry is "unusual" and "unfair," Daniels wrote.=20 Union leaders said their members already have sacrificed enough in the form= =20 of wage and other contract concessions to help the airline industry out of= =20 its tailspin. "We've been propping this industry up, and we're just looking= =20 for a little help," says Patricia Friend, president of the Association of=20 Flight Attendants. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************