Some additional interesting trivia:
In 1993 Linda Hall Daschle was nominated by President Clinton to hold the position of Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Senate Democrat Leader's Wife is now an Aviation Industry Lobbyist? She has gone from the FAA to to working for one of the top lobbying firms in Washington.
The top Senate recipient of airline contributions is Tom Daschle.
In July of 1996, in the wake of the crash of TWA flight 800, President Clinton convened the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security by executive order 13015 to take place on August 22, 1996. TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 bound for Paris, exploded shortly after takeoff from New York's Long Island, killing all 230 people on board.
Vice President Al Gore headed this commission.
The commission recommended increased security that would have cost the airlines a lot of money. So the airlines lobbied against those recommendations. Ten days after the report came out, and just prior to the 1996 election, Al Gore wrote a letter to airline lobbyist Carol Hallett, promising that the commission's findings would not cause the airlines any loss of revenue.
The very next day the Democratic National Committee received a check in the amount of $40,000 from TWA. Over the next two weeks Northwest, United and American Airlines donated $55,000 more. In the next two months the Democratic National Committee pocketed over $250,000 from American Airlines. $100,000 from United Airlines and $53,000 from Northwest Airlines. That’s over half a million dollars.
Is it any wonder airline safety, and airport security never improved? |
