Airline industry lobbyists spent more than $264 million for a
$25 billion industry bailout, liability limits and other benefits.
But “Honest Graft” made sure that all provisions to help laid
off airline workers were dropped from the final bills.


Aviation Stablization and Security

On September 11th, the world stopped turning.

Rescue and recovery workers raced towards the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Amid the dust and debris, simple acts of courage, self-sacrifice and compassion flashed, and produced brilliant rays of hope.

And yet, after the attacks, the foul smell of honest graft rose above the devastation.

Two bills―the Air Transportation Stabilization Act and the Aviation Security Act―began their trek through the legislative process within 10 days of the attack. A $25 billion bailout of the airline industry sailed through the Congress in a single day, September 21st. The airline security bill took until November 19th to become law.

The IAM Journal took a hard look at both public laws and found that honest graft trumped honest work at every turn.

A coalition of airlines, aircraft manufacturers and insurers saw their opportunities, and took ‘em. They were uniquely poised to do so.
Since 1999, they had spent a total of $264,295,548 on lobbying and soft dollar contributions ÐÐ more than a quarter billion dollars!

From Delta Airlines to Federal Express, from General Electric to United Technologies, from Aetna to Prudential, from the Air Transport Association to the Airport Council International, the mutual interest of 76 different organizations converged into one massive special interest.

During the ten weeks Congress worked on the two bills, the 76 organizations gave $692,528 in “soft dollar” contributions to federal politicians. All but $150,000 of it went to Republican campaign committees. In fact, the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee received checks totaling $100,000 from Federal Express, Delta Airlines and United Parcel Service on September 12th.

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee received $30,000 from the Prudential Insurance Company on September 21st, the day the airline bailout bill passed the Congress. That public law let the Federal government pay an air carrier for “increased cost of insurance” and limited an air carrier’s liability to its existing insurance coverage.

On October 4th, the day the Senate tried (and failed) to take up the Aviation Security Act, Prudential wrote four $5,000 checks to the Republican National Committee Ð Governors’ Account. On October 11th, the day the Senate passed the bill, Metropolitan Life gave the RNC $25,000. Aetna kicked in $50,000 five days later.

Prudential then dropped $50,000 on the DCCC and Aetna added $15,000 to the RNC’s coffers four days before the House took up the Aviation Security bill.
On November 16th, the day all congressional action on the Aviation Security Act ended, Aetna wrote the RNC a check for $40,000.

Why all this insurance company money? Could it be the war risk insurance provisions Congress included in the bill? Or the limited liability to insurance coverage provision? Both provisions help the insurance industry directly or indirectly.

Was there a quid pro quo? We will never know for sure.
But during these ten weeks, individual contributions to the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ÐÐ the key committee for both bills― totaled $1,275,871

Even the owner of the World Trade Center, Larry A. Silverstein, wrote checks. On September 15th, he sent a check for $2,500 to the Responsibility Opportunity Community PAC―Senator Joe Lieberman’s leadership PAC.
Silverstein was a modest donor to Democratic senate candidates and New York Mayor Rudy Guliani. Between 1998 and 2000, he gave $49,750 to federal committees.

Until his September 15th check to Lieberman’s leadership PAC, Larry Silverstein had written only one $1,000 check in all of 2001.

And yet, Public Law 107-71 limits the liability of “a person with a property interest in the World Trade Center” to the amount of liability insurance they maintained and says that limitation doesn’t apply if there is a “willing default on a contractual obligation to rebuild  . . . the World Trade Center.”

Yes, the world stopped turning on September 11th.

More than $1.2 million in donations poured into members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which initially handled the two bills that bailed out the airline industry and left workers to fend for themselves.
But the honest graft just kept on churning.

Just coincidence? Public Law 107-71 limited the liability of “a person with a property interest in the World Trade Center.” Owner Larry Silverstein made a $2,500 political donation on September 15th.