Letters support aviation safety laws

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The following release is from "Families of Continental Flight 3407." The families are asking for the public to encourage our elected officials to support proposed aviation safety laws.

"Families of Continental Flight 3407" would like the public to do the following between Friday and Sunday.

1) Choose one of two messages and fill in the blank with a short explanation of why this is important to you (I lost my cousin, I travel frequently, I saw PBS Frontline and was touched by this group's efforts, etc). Then copy the paragraph.

a) PARAGRAPH OF FULL SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSED AVIATION SAFETY LAWS

Dear Senator/President __________,

I am sending you this note in support of the 'Families of Continental Flight 3407', who lost loved ones last February 12th in the tragic plane crash outside Buffalo. This issue has special meaning to me because ___________________________. I just wanted you to know of my full support for everything the group has been advocating for, in particular that there truly be one level of safety between the major and regional carriers, and that the minimum qualification requirements for commercial pilots be significantly raised. The thought that a regional airline could hire someone as a pilot with as little as 250 hours of flight time and little or no experience flying in bad weather conditions is of great concern to me.
The FAA Reauthorization Bill contains many key measures that would make air travel safer, particularly at the regional airlines. Because of health care, this bill has gone nowhere in the Senate since last July. Please do everything in your power to honor the victims' memory by having this Bill voted on and passed in the Senate as quickly as possible; let's not have a repeat of this horrible, and completely avoidable, tragedy.

Sincerely,

b) PARAGRAPH OF SUPPORT ASKING THE SENATE TO VOTE ON THE BILL ASAP

Dear Senator/President __________,

I am sending you this note in support of the 'Families of Continental Flight 3407', who lost loved ones last February 12th in the tragic plane crash outside Buffalo. This issue has special meaning to me because ___________________________. Since last summer, the group has diligently pushed for the passage of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, and the many aviation safety measures it contains. Because of health care, this bill has gone nowhere in the Senate since last July. In honor of the victims and the admirable efforts of their families and friends, I ask that you do everything in your power to bring this Bill to a vote in the Senate as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

2) Click on each of the following five links to these key leaders and paste your paragraph in there. (Note each of these will require you to enter an address - that is because the senators respond to anyone from their home state. Also there is a section for topic or subject - select "Transportation" or Aviation Safety if it asks you to be more specific).
Do not worry if there is any reference to you not being from their home state - trust us that they religiously count up how many emails they receive on various topics.

1) Senator Harry Reid (NV) - majority leader - http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

2) Senator Dick Durbin (IL) - majority whip - http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm

3) Senator Max Baucus (MT) - chairman, Finance Committee - http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=contact

4) Senator Jay Rockefeller (WV) - chairman, Commerce Committee - http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

5) President Obama - http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

3) If you wouldn't mind, try to help our effort by reaching out to a few additional people this weekend to add to our numbers.