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Hutchison: Justice should avoid Wright debate
03:58 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 1, 2006
By ROBERT DODGE / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent a toughly worded letter Tuesday to Attorney General Al Gonzales, calling for the Justice Department to butt out of the Wright amendment debate.
The Texas Republican sent the letter a week after a memo written by the department’s Antitrust Division raised competition and antitrust issues about her legislation to repeal the 1979 law. The department’s memo circulated around Capitol Hill and helped foment concerns about the proposal.
“As a result of this unfortunate, unfair and very biased position regarding an important matter pending before Congress, the Department of Justice should recuse itself from further consideration of the Wright amendment legislation,†Ms. Hutchison wrote.
A Justice Department spokesman was not available for immediate comment.
Also Online
Read the letter Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent to Attorney General Al Gonzales
Last week, a Justice spokeswoman indicated the comments were generated as part of a routine discussion with members of Congress.
“We have been discussing with Congress the pending legislation and whether there are better ways to reach the goal of maximizing competition, but the administration has not taken a position on the legislation,†Justice spokeswoman Gina Talamona said last week.
The Justice memo raised antitrust concerns about the proposal to cap the number of gates at Dallas Love Field at 20 and to tear down gates at the Legend terminal. The memo argued the restriction on gates would erase some of the cost breaks that travelers usually experience in markets that Southwest serves.
“More broadly, the cap on gates at Love Field affects every other airline that would otherwise be attracted to the new competitive opportunities at Love Field, including low-cost carriers, such as JetBlue, as well as other legacy carriers, such as US Air,†the memo said.
Lawmakers in the Senate and House have raised questions about the proposal’s 20-gate cap as well as a provision that would give all the signatories immunity from antitrust laws.
In an interview, Ms. Hutchison said she wrote the letter because the Justice memo did “untold damage†to her efforts to win Senate approval of her bill to repeal the 1979 Wright amendment in eight years.
“It was a tough letter,†said Ms. Hutchison, saying Justice should recognize that the Department of Transportation has federal authority over airports.
She fired the letter off to Mr. Gonzales shortly before she met with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to discuss antitrust issues raised by the proposal.
After the meeting, Mr. Specter said he is against the flight restrictions imposed on Love Field by the Wright amendment. But he said the proposal does raise questions about antitrust concerns and has not decided whether to convene the Judiciary Committee to examine the issues.
Ms. Hutchison said the Justice memo used “inflammatory rhetoric†intended to turn opinion against the June 15 agreement by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, as well as American Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co.
“This analysis without substance is disturbing,†she wrote. “That type of language is neither objective, nor professional…â€
Ms. Hutchison said the Justice memo was “both factually and legally inaccurate, and is an uninformed opinion regarding a complex issue that has plagued North Texas for more than a quarter of a century.â€
E-mail [email protected]
03:58 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 1, 2006
By ROBERT DODGE / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent a toughly worded letter Tuesday to Attorney General Al Gonzales, calling for the Justice Department to butt out of the Wright amendment debate.
The Texas Republican sent the letter a week after a memo written by the department’s Antitrust Division raised competition and antitrust issues about her legislation to repeal the 1979 law. The department’s memo circulated around Capitol Hill and helped foment concerns about the proposal.
“As a result of this unfortunate, unfair and very biased position regarding an important matter pending before Congress, the Department of Justice should recuse itself from further consideration of the Wright amendment legislation,†Ms. Hutchison wrote.
A Justice Department spokesman was not available for immediate comment.
Also Online
Read the letter Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison sent to Attorney General Al Gonzales
Last week, a Justice spokeswoman indicated the comments were generated as part of a routine discussion with members of Congress.
“We have been discussing with Congress the pending legislation and whether there are better ways to reach the goal of maximizing competition, but the administration has not taken a position on the legislation,†Justice spokeswoman Gina Talamona said last week.
The Justice memo raised antitrust concerns about the proposal to cap the number of gates at Dallas Love Field at 20 and to tear down gates at the Legend terminal. The memo argued the restriction on gates would erase some of the cost breaks that travelers usually experience in markets that Southwest serves.
“More broadly, the cap on gates at Love Field affects every other airline that would otherwise be attracted to the new competitive opportunities at Love Field, including low-cost carriers, such as JetBlue, as well as other legacy carriers, such as US Air,†the memo said.
Lawmakers in the Senate and House have raised questions about the proposal’s 20-gate cap as well as a provision that would give all the signatories immunity from antitrust laws.
In an interview, Ms. Hutchison said she wrote the letter because the Justice memo did “untold damage†to her efforts to win Senate approval of her bill to repeal the 1979 Wright amendment in eight years.
“It was a tough letter,†said Ms. Hutchison, saying Justice should recognize that the Department of Transportation has federal authority over airports.
She fired the letter off to Mr. Gonzales shortly before she met with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to discuss antitrust issues raised by the proposal.
After the meeting, Mr. Specter said he is against the flight restrictions imposed on Love Field by the Wright amendment. But he said the proposal does raise questions about antitrust concerns and has not decided whether to convene the Judiciary Committee to examine the issues.
Ms. Hutchison said the Justice memo used “inflammatory rhetoric†intended to turn opinion against the June 15 agreement by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, as well as American Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co.
“This analysis without substance is disturbing,†she wrote. “That type of language is neither objective, nor professional…â€
Ms. Hutchison said the Justice memo was “both factually and legally inaccurate, and is an uninformed opinion regarding a complex issue that has plagued North Texas for more than a quarter of a century.â€
E-mail [email protected]