The Airlines Aren’t Alone in Seeking Federal Relief

Barely a week after the government bailed out the beleaguered airline industry, other industries are flooding Capitol Hill with appeals for help from a Congress that suddenly seems to be throwing financial restraint to the wind.

From travel agents to farmers, from railroads to the people who make airplane meals, a vast array of groups have lined up with their hands out. Most are seeking relief from problems caused directly or indirectly by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but some cite the tragedy’s aftermath as a new basis for positions held long before the World Trade Center was reduced to rubble.

“The fun has just begun,” said an acerbic Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a critic of special interest lobbyists. “There’s no train that leaves this station that they don’t want to climb on.”

The swarm fulfills the predictions of many lawmakers, who warned that Congress’s approval of $15 billion for the airline industry last week would bring other industries and special interests out of the woodwork.

Still, lobbyists are painfully aware of the awkwardness and risks of pushing too hard under these trying circumstances. At a time when the national interest looms so large and urgent, it’s not easy being in the business of pushing special interests.

“It brings up the question of relevance,” said Maria Berthoud, a lobbyist for the Independent Insurance Agents of America. “Do they want to hear about our problems . . . when thousands of people have just died?”

The lobbying scene also provides another measure of just how thoroughly Washington has been transformed by the terrorist attacks. Just about every proposal is now cast in terms of its relationship to Sept. 11. Trade legislation is suddenly being sold as a way to build bridges to poor nations that are a breeding ground for terrorism. Energy legislation has become a way to shore up national security.

Lobbyists pushing causes that cannot be recast in such terms have been abruptly sidelined. A key lobbyist for adding a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, for example, says he has little to do but wait for that issue to return to center stage.

“Compared to what happened on the 11th, that issue is pretty small,” said Marty Cory of AARP, which lobbies on behalf of the elderly. “But at some point the domestic issues will reemerge.”

Farm groups were not so reticent. Just before the attacks, the House had been poised to take up a $167-billion bill to expand agricultural subsidies. Fearing their interests would be swept off the table, 21 farm groups wrote to House Republican leaders this week to urge them to vote on the farm bill soon.

But the biggest, most concerted push for relief has come from interest groups and industries that claim to have suffered from the terrorist attacks, the subsequent grounding of commercial airplanes and the heightened security demands that have flowed from the crisis.

Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla), chairman of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, said he has been “inundated” with requests for assistance.

“We’re compiling a most-injured list,” he said. “We’re trying to see that the most severe cases get immediate attention.”

The airline industry rose straight to the top of that list because the federal grounding order forced them to suspend business for three or four days. And lawmakers wanted to move quickly to shore up the industry because the nation’s economy depends heavily on a working air transport system. The next big push, especially among Democrats, has been to provide unemployment and other benefits for workers who lose their jobs because of the airline industry’s financial distress.

But that’s not all.

Mark Buse, Republican staff director of the Senate Commerce Committee, says the panel has heard pleas from practically every industry that was even remotely affected by the grounding of flights--concessionaires in airports, companies that run airport shuttle vans and hotels and cruise lines that count on planes to deliver their customers.

Travel agents have been especially bold. They have asked for $4 billion in grants and no-interest loans. Peter M. Ruden, a top official with the American Society of Travel Agents, told a recent House hearing that the industry would lose 100,000 jobs. “Business is at a standstill,” he said. “The nation’s travel agencies face the same unprecedented financial crisis that the airlines face.”

The companies that provide in-flight meals to air passengers are also suffering, and the industry is seeking $150 million in assistance plus $625 million in low-interest loans or loan guarantees. Food providers say they have suffered a double-whammy: fewer flights and fewer passengers on each flight.

Airports themselves also face economic hardship, and executives are asking the federal government to help pick up the cost of stronger security measures. With Los Angeles International Airport facing heavy financial losses, Mayor James K. Hahn sent a letter to President Bush urging economic relief for airports.

Most of these industry-specific requests are a long shot in Congress. Lawmakers seem more inclined to help a broad array of industries with general economic-stimulus legislation.

Other business groups have been more reluctant to push their wish list--at least in public. Said Dan Blankenburg, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business: “Our folks really believe this is a national crisis, and it’s not the time to quibble over what provision you get in the tax bill.”