Thursday, January 30, 2025

Wonder what Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) has to say about the crash of a commercial jet

 

Photos of Salt Lake City airportWikipedia
Burgess photoUS House
Headline:  The Lever, 1/29/2025
The legislation was supported by lawmakers seeking more direct flights to their home states and airlines eager for expanded routes. It was opposed by lawmakers who asserted that the airport was already overstressed by flight volume in the capital region’s busy airspace. “ 
The bill just proposed would go far beyond past attempts to expand slots at [the Reagan Airport], dangerously overloading the airport’s operational capacity to benefit one airline,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) told the Washington Post at the time. “The very title of the ‘Direct Access To The Capital Act’ gives the game away that this bill is written to maximize the personal convenience of a comparatively small number of powerful, well-connected individuals at the expense of safety and efficiency of flights — which should be our top priority.” 
The measure's sponsor, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), insisted: “Deliberate misinformation has been circulating wildly among my colleagues, and I want to be clear: Our effort is not about benefiting one airport, one airline, or any one member of Congress. It is about empowering American consumers by providing more options and greater convenience for people traveling to and from Washington, D.C.” 
Among Owens’ top contributors is the corporate political action committee of Delta Air Lines, which pressed for the measure. [emphasis added]

The vote for the bill: 212 Republicans for, 205 Democrats against.

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