Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar told Cheddar on Tuesday that Americans need cash from canceled flights to provide immediate relief, but airline executives have not responded to the call.
In a letter to 11 major airlines, nine Democratic senators, including Klobuchar, wrote "we believe your company has a moral responsibility to provide real refunds, not travel vouchers, to consumers, and to support State Department efforts to repatriate any American citizens trying to come home."
"We're waiting to hear back from them," Sen. Klobuchar said. "Obviously many of them have canceled fees and other things. Or they have proposed to give customers the ability to use it to buy another ticket in the future."
But with Congressional help, those senators think money should go back into the pockets of customers.
Klobuchar said "we think it is much more important to get the cash to the customer knowing that they're going to fly again when this is over" than to provide credits for travelers.
Last week, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that includes $25 billion in cash grants and $25 billion in loans to the airlines.
Her Democratic colleague Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter "the airline industry got $25 billion to keep workers on payroll — but they're not the only ones hurting for money right now."
American Airlines said in a response that the "comprehensive travel waivers we've put in place are designed to meet the full range of our customers' needs."
Shares of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse tumbled more than 30 percent after its biggest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank, said it could no longer provide funding.
President of Champagne Laurent-Perrier U.S. Michelle DeFeo discusses how she got started in the French wine industry, why she's proud to work for a women-owned brand, and the secret to perfectly opening a bottle of champagne every time.
Markets shuddered Wednesday on worries about a spreading banking crisis and how badly it will hit the economy, and stocks and bond yields fell on both sides of the Atlantic.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should be very cautious when deciding to raise interest rates or he risks another bank crisis, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif. 8th District) told Cheddar News.
Eric Menees, CEO and co-founder of fintech lender Fynn, joined Cheddar News to discuss how his startup offers private student loans for the nation's skilled workforce.
Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager with Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co., joined Cheddar News to discuss Tuesday's trading session as the market digests SVB's collapse and as well as a key inflation report.
Matthew Goldberg, banking analyst at Bankrate.com, joined Cheddar News to explain what steps you should take to ensure your cash is safe with your financial institution.
