The White House hopes to secure quickly $25 billion in aid from Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs, even as it continues negotiations in Congress for a larger $1.5 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief deal, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2020) The White House hopes to secure quickly $25 billion in aid from Congress to save tens of thousands of airline jobs, even as it continues negotiations in Congress for a larger $1.5 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief deal, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Thursday.
"I'm meeting with airline CEOs today," Meadows told the Fox news network. "We've got tens of thousands of people that are about to be laid off, so if nothing more, let's go ahead and put that package on the floor and pass that because, hopefully, all of us can agree that laying off airline workers at this particular time is not something we should do."
American Airlines has said it will have to lay off 19,000 workers in October if Federal aid of $25 billion approved in March to protect aviation jobs from the COVID-19 pandemic isn't renewed. Delta Air Lines intends to furlough more than 1,900 pilots for similar reason.
Meadows said while President Donald Trump hoped to make a larger $1.5 trillion coronavirus relief deal with his Democrat rivals in Congress, rescuing aviation workers would be one of his "priorities".
