October 15, 2013
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC
Dear President Obama:
As Members of Congress representing thousands of American Airlines and US Airways employees, we are writing to express our respectful disagreement with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuit against the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways. We believe DOJ's legal challenge puts at risk the future economic security of our constituents, tens-of-thousands of unionized workers at both airlines, and the economic well-being of communities that we represent.
The proposed merger will not only increase competition, but will also increase opportunities for airline workers and the communities serviced by both American Airlines and US Airways. The combination will make both airlines a much stronger competitor against other airlines like United, Delta, and Southwest that have benefitted from recent mergers as well as a growing number of air carriers like Virgin America, JetBlue, and Spirit.
The new American will provide millions of consumers' with new choices onboard a premier global airline with a much broader network that will be a viable alternative to other large, global carriers -- both domestic and foreign. In doing so, the new American will provide financial stability for its workers, vendors, suppliers and communities who all rely on a healthy airline.
We are concerned that the DOJ's lawsuit creates an atmosphere of uncertainty for our respective congressional districts and constituents. While we share your concern regarding any potential impact on consumers as consolidation in any industry is contemplated, we believe that DOJ's concerns as outlined in the complaint filed last month are not an adequate representation of all of the facts.
We urge your administration to reconsider its efforts to prevent the American and US Airways merger from going forward. It is our hope that all parties involved can reach an amicable resolution that will not jeopardize the significant economic benefits this merger provides for the employees and communities of both carriers and the constituents we represent.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Representative Marc Veasey
Representative Ed Pastor
Representative Alcee Hastings
Representative Gregory W. Meeks
Representative Robert Brady
Representative Eddie Bernice-Johnson
Representative Mike Quigley
Representative Ruben Hinojosa
Representative Joe Garcia
Representative Ann Kirkpatrick
Representative Joyce Beatty
Representative Frederica Wilson
Representative Chaka Fattah
Representative Kyrsten Sinema
Representative Tim Ryan
Representative Yvette Clarke
Representative Janice Hahn
Representative Danny K. Davis
Representative Jared Polis
Representative Henry C. Johnson, Jr.
Representative Karen Bass
Representative David Scott
Representative Jan Schakowsky
Representative Ron Barber
Representative Tammy Duckworth
Representative Dina Titus
Representative Luis Gutierrez
Representative Gloria Negrete McLeod
Representative Steven Horsford
Representative Matt Cartwright
Representative Robert E. Andrews
Representative Charlie Rangel
Representative Loretta Sanchez
Representative Gene Green
Representative Brad Schneider
Representative Nick Rahall
Representative Dan Maffei
Representative John Delaney
Representative Mike McIntyre
Representative Patrick Murphy
Representative Pete Gallego
Representative Raul Grijalva
Representative Tony Cardenas
Representative Ted Deutch
Representative Filemon Vela
Representative Richard Neal
Representative Dan Lipinski
Representative Frank Pallone
Representative Bill Owens
Representative Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Representative Julia Brownley
Representative Cheri Bustos
Representative John Barrow
Representative Alan Lowenthal
Representative Carol Shea-Porter
Representative Joe Crowley
Representative George Miller
Representative John Lewis
Representative Sean Patrick Maloney
Representative Carolyn Maloney
Representative Robin Kelly
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee
Representative Grace Meng
Representative Lois Frankel
Representative Paul Tonko
Representative Elijah Cummings
Representative Maxine Waters
Representative Donna Christensen
cc: United States Attorney General Holder
United States Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx
Texas State Attorney General Gregg Abbott
Arizona State Attorney General Tom Horne
Michigan State Attorney General Bill Schuette
Tennessee State Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr.
Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Pennsylvania State Attorney General Kathleen Kane
Florida State Attorney General Pam Bondi
District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan