25 September 2001

President's Letter and Memorandum on Airline Compensation

Acting on the bill passed September 22 by Congress, President Bush has provided the U.S. airline industry with up to $5,000 million to stabilize their finances.

The money compensates airlines for revenue losses resulting directly from the Transportation Department's order grounding all civil aviation in the United States immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Bush said in a September 25 letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives.

In a related memorandum, the president has authorized Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to divide the funds between airlines.

The $5,000 million cash infusion is part of the airline rescue package that also include $10,000 million in loan guarantees and an open-ended federal fund to compensate victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Following is the text of the President's letter:

Note: In the text "billion" equals 1,000 million.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
September 25, 2001
Text Of A Letter From The President
To The Speaker Of The House Of Representatives
September 25, 2001

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with provisions of Public Law 107-42, the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, I am providing up to $5 billion to the Department of Transportation's Compensation for Air Carriers account.

These funds are urgently needed to enable the Nation's air carriers to meet the challenges resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

I designate the entire $5 billion as an emergency requirement in accordance with section 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.

In addition, I have delegated the authority vested under section 101(a)(2) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to the Secretary of Transportation.

The funds contained in this designation are intended to stabilize the air transportation industry and compensate air carriers for direct losses resulting from the Secretary of Transportation's order to ground all aircraft immediately following the attacks, as well as any similar orders that may be issued in the future.

The details of this request are set forth in the enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I concur with his comments and observations.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

Following is the text of the President's memorandum:

SUBJECT: Delegation of Authority to Compensate Air Carriers for Losses Resulting from the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 101 of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Public Law 107-42) (the "Act"), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of Transportation the authority vested in the President under section 101(a)(2) of the Act to compensate air carriers for the direct and incremental losses they incurred from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and any resulting ground stop order.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

GEORGE W. BUSH