8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 20, 2001 NATION/WORLD Bush plans to send airline aid Twelve-story tribute package t WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House suggested an aid package for the nation's ailing airlines yesterday that would be less than the $17.5 billion industry officials have requested. Delta Airlines Chairman Leo Mullin told Congress yesterday the industry wanted $5 bil- lion in immediate grants and $12.5 billion in credit and loans. But in meetings with congressional aides yesterday evening, Bush administration offi- cials were proposing options that included dropping the loans from the package, with the possibility they could be part of a later bill. President Bush planned to send the measure today to Congress, where leaders were hoping the House would approve such a bill by week's end. Many lawmakers of both parties have expressed a desire for quick action to help the airlines, which have suffered big losses and laid off tens of thousands of workers after last week's terrorist attacks. "The financial damage is and continues to be devastating'" Mullin told the House Transporta- tion Committee. He cited the shutdown of ser- vice last week and prospects of sharply reduced o Congress today business in coming months. Details about the White House package were not immediately known. After a White House meeting between Bush and congressional leaders, House Speaker Den- nis Hastert (R-Ill.) told reporters that Trans- portation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta would give Congress recommendations by Oct. 1 for legislation addressing other, more complex air- line problems. These include future airline security and the legal liability for the Sept. I1 attacks, in which four airliners were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and woods in western Pennsylvania. Several lawmakers said any package should also include help for the estimated 100,000 air- line workers expected to be laid off because of reduced flight schedules. The major airlines have already announced plans to cut flights back by about 20 percent. "Our challenge is to restore public confi- dence in air travel and to revive airline finances so this cornerstone industry ... can recover in the shortest possible period," said Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, ranking Democrat on the panel. Bush, speaking to reporters, said the Sept. I 1 attacks had dealt a "shock" to the economy and that "we'll respond to the emergency in terms of working on a package for the airline industry that has been severely affected." Mullin said the industry could suffer any- where from $18 billion to $33 billion in losses related to the attacks, when hijackers seized four planes. "I think it's safe to say that among the top 10 airlines that there are three who are on the brink" of bankruptcy, he said. Mullin did not specify those three, but Douglas Parker, chair- man of America West Airlines, said his compa- ny was one of several that could go under if the federal government does not step in. Mullin also asked Congress to pass separate legislation specifying that, because the terrorist attacks were an act of war, the airlines should not be liable for fatalities and property damage occurring on the ground. The government should also bear much of the cost for enhanced security in airports, he said. 4 MEMO birthright israel A gift from your Jewish community. www.6rthnghuxraci " Taliban leaders willing to meet with the U.S. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement said yesterday his officials were willing to meet with the United States but accused Washington of unfairly vilifying terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden. Mullah Mohammed Omar addressed his comments to hundreds of Islamic clerics who met here yesterday at the Taliban's request to decide the fate of bin Laden and whether to call on Muslims here and abroad to wage holy war against the United States if it attacks Afghanistan. Despite urgings by Omar that it complete its work, the council of clerics broke up late yesterday without any agreement. It was to resume its meeting the next day, said Qadratullah Jamal, Taliban's culture and informa- tion minister. In a speech read to the gathering in the war-shattered Presidential Palace, Omar denounced Washington's por- trayal of bin Laden's alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and its refusal to produce evidence. He called the U.S. actions an effort to harm the Taliban, according to the Afghan Islamic Press, a Pakistan-based Afghan news agency with close ties to the Taliban. "Osama has denied his involvement. It is unfortunate that America does not listen to us and levels all sorts of charges and threatens military action," Omar said in the speech. AP PHOTO A 12-story mural in Los Angeles titled "9-11" by artist Mike McNeilly, featuring images of a New York firefighter and the Sept. 11 terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center. Sole dissenter In war vote receives police bodyguard The Washington Post WASHINGTON - "We need to step back," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) "We're grieving. We need to step back and think about this so that it doesn't spiral out of control. We have to make sure we don't make any mistakes." She was walking down a hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. A plainclothes police offi- cer hovered a few steps away, looking very serious. The Capitol Police began guarding Lee on Satur- day because of death threats she received after vot- ing against a resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force against anyone associated with last week's terrorist attacks. The resolution passed 98-0 in the Senate and 420-1 in the House. Lee's was the sole dissenting vote. "In times like this," she said, "you have to have some members saying, 'Let's show some restraint."' Led by her police bodyguard, she moved along quickly, slipping into her office and closing the door behind her. Inside, the phone lines had shut down under an onslaught of calls from all over the coun- try - many of them irate, some downright nasty. "We've gotten thousands of calls and thousands of e-mails," she said. "People are very emotional. ... They're frustrated and they're angry." Lee normally has a bright smile, but these days she looks sad, worried, harried. She is quick to point out that she voted to condemn last week's attacks and to allocate $40 billion to fight terror- ism. "I'm just as American and just as patriotic as anybody else," she insists. She doesn't rule out military action, she says, but she voted against the authorization to use force because she opposes giving the president the sole decision on when and where to make war. 'I rin vaines .Ir HP 315 Digital Camera ,---V t 2 5 4 5 6 r $. 9 Q0 Vv £ k T Y U I 0 C A 5 U F (G H 3 K 1 Z X C V B 1N M Rio 600/32MB MP3 Player Handspring Visor Edge Handheld lox- J . ....M. ____ N Canon ZR20 or ZR25 MC Camcorder :..:k. h Buy more. Save more. Buy any Mac and receive a free Lexmark color printer* (tax and other charges not included). 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