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Former Member
Pelosi Outlines Aid Package For Automakers
By AP / KEN THOMAS Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008Print
(WASHINGTON) "” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday the House would provide aid to the ailing U.S. auto industry, requiring that the industry meet new fuel-efficiency standards, produce advanced vehicles and restructure "to ensure their long-term economic viability."



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Pelosi, D-Calif., did not disclose the amount of funding House leaders intend to seek for the industry "” automakers have been seeking $25 billion in loans to stabilize their sinking companies. But she said the funding should come from the $700 billion financial bailout approved by Congress in October. (See TIME's pictures of the week)

"A restructured, competitive American automobile industry will continue to play a crucial role in our national economy and in the global marketplace," Pelosi said in a statement.

The move sets up a conflict with the White House, which has opposed using the bailout funds to help General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. The Detroit companies have been battered by an economic meltdown that has choked their sales and frozen credit.

U.S. automakers are lobbying lawmakers furiously for an emergency infusion of cash. GM has warned it might not survive through year's end without a government lifeline.

President-elect Barack Obama said he believes that aid is needed but that it should be provided as part of a long-term plan for a "sustainable U.S. auto industry" "” not simply as a blank check.

"For the auto industry to completely collapse would be a disaster in this kind of environment," Obama said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" that will air Sunday. "So my hope is that over the course of the next week, between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure that that assistance is conditioned on labor, management, suppliers, lenders, all of the stakeholders coming together with a plan "” what does a sustainable U.S. auto industry look like?"

Pelosi said the plan would call for "immediate, targeted assistance" and must include several principles, including the restructuring of the companies "to ensure their long-term economic viability," new fuel-efficiency standards, and the development of advanced vehicles.

She said it would include "even stronger limits on executive compensation and assurances to protect the taxpayer." House aides said the legislation was still being developed and a specific funding level had not yet been reached.

Pelosi did not mention any plans for the UAW to make any concessions as part of the legislation. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger told reporters earlier Saturday the problem is not the union's contract with the auto companies.

"The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract," Gettelfinger said. The union has said it made several concessions in its 2007 labor agreement, setting lower pay for new hires and placing retiree health care liability into a trust run by the UAW.

Facing an uphill battle in Congress and stiff opposition from President George W. Bush, supporters of the government bailout have considered reducing its $25 billion size. A House aide said Saturday that $25 billion was still the amount being discussed.

"There's a need for immediate action," Alan Reuther, the United Auto Workers union's legislative director, said Friday. He said one option under consideration was a smaller, more targeted amount of funding "that would get the companies through to March."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said negotiations were taking place among senators on what the amount should be. "This is about getting enough votes to be able to solve the problem," she said.

Other auto suppliers and dealers with showrooms empty of customers plan to join the effort Monday when Congress returns following the Nov. 4 elections. The key Senate vote on preventing opponents from blocking the package could occur as early as Wednesday.

Democrats want to carve a portion of the $700 billion that the Bush administration is using to bail out banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions. The White House on Friday came out firmly against the approach.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the administration would rather Congress expedite the release of a separate $25 billion loan program for the development of fuel-efficient vehicles and have the loans used for more urgent purposes as the companies struggle to stay afloat.

"Democrats are choosing a path that would only lead to partisan gridlock," Perino said.

Pelosi said Saturday that any attempt to divert money from the loan program would be a "step backward in assuring the viability and competitiveness of the U.S. auto industry."

Environmentalists and Pelosi have vehemently opposed using that money for anything other than designing and building vehicles that get higher gas mileage and produce less pollution. Democrats hold a 37-seat majority in the House and bailout supporters foresee little difficulty winning its passage there.

But the measure needs 60 votes to survive in the Senate, where Democrats will hold a razor-thin 50-49 majority when President-elect Barack Obama gives up his seat on Monday. A furious search was on for a dozen Republicans to break the anticipated filibuster from opponents.

Several Republicans have already lined up against it. "Like most Americans who are concerned about the direction of our economy and more federal spending, I must also ask "” when is enough, enough?" said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Two Republicans "” Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio "” said they will back the plan. Several other Republican senators have signaled they might accept a rescue if strict conditions are put on Detroit's Big Three companies, including management and salary changes, union concessions and a commitment to making more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Bond, whose home state of Missouri has several auto plants, said the concept of government mixing with the free market was "very troublesome." But he added, "We have to act in unique times of crisis when tens of thousands of Missouri workers are in danger of losing their jobs."

Democrats are modeling their bill on the bailout terms that the Bush administration has used for doling out $290 billion to banks and insurance companies. The government would get an ownership stake in the auto companies in exchange for the loans to ensure that taxpayers would get their money back if they return to profitability.

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With one Government bailout after the other, who's next to ask for a bailout package?

I wonder if the Government is doing it's 'due diligence' on these companies before approving the bailout packages?
FM
quote:
Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:
Why should they? They are in cahoots with these criminals.



................................................
And the SEC, OCC etc, are probably sleeping or short of staff.. Smile
FM
Y'all think the Senate should pass the auto bailout bill?



NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Senate moved closer Thursday to voting on an amended proposal to bail out the U.S. auto industry with $14 billion in loans.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who spent the day negotiating with Senate Republicans on a compromise, said Thursday evening that talks are bearing fruit on an alternative crafted by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

Corker's proposal would give the Big Three the $14 billion loan, but with strict restructuring conditions. It would force the companies to reduce their debt and would slash wages and benefits for auto workers.

That provision is a tough pill to swallow for the auto union and Democrats. But because of the urgent desire to help Detroit, and realization that a collapse of one or more of the Big Three would be devastating to workers, Democrats are negotiating with Corker on the compromise.

Reid said an amended bill would likely pass the Senate. But he cautioned that the talks are ongoing and could collapse.

However, Reid said earlier Thursday that if an agreement is not reached, he will move to pass the underlying bill with a key test vote scheduled for Friday.

But Democrats don't know if they have the 60 votes they'll need to pass the measure. Reid warned if a vote Friday fails, he will pull the bill from consideration, which could doom one of more major automakers to bankruptcy and possible closure.

"We have danced this tune long enough," he said on the Senate floor.

The legislation, which passed the House with support of the Bush administration and most Democrats, is designed to hold off a bankruptcy at General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC at least through March.

It provides less than half the $34 billion in federal loans requested by automakers last week. Still, it may be enough to stave off the immediate threat of bankruptcy.

GM has said it needs $4 billion by the end of the month to continue operations, and believes it'll need an additional $6 billion in the first three months of 2009. Chrysler has said it needs $4 billion by the end of the first quarter.

Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), which has more cash on hand than its U.S. rivals, is not expected to tap into this bailout in the coming months.

While the House measure passed with the support of 91% of Democrats, only 17% of Republicans voted for it. About half of the House Republicans who voted "yes" are from Michigan and other states in the Midwest that are home to auto plants.

But the Senate has far fewer Republicans from those states, and those who have voiced support suggested the bailout lacks the necessary votes.

"I don't think the votes are there on our side of the aisle," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said he opposes the bill.

"We reviewed it closely to see if it meets the criteria that I've laid out repeatedly for taxpayer protections and an effective strategy for securing the long-term viability of these companies. In the end, I concluded that it does not," McConnell said in a floor speech.

President Bush and others in the administration reached out to Republican senators on Thursday to argue "why this legislation is the most effective and appropriate approach to help the auto companies become viable for the long term," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.

Perino said the economy's "weakened state" made the bailout necessary. "Adding another possible loss of 1 million jobs is just something our economy cannot sustain at the moment," she said.

Republicans are in a 50-49 minority in the Senate, but Senate rules allow them to block or even kill the legislation unless Democrats can muster 60 votes to force a vote. Even with the support from the White House, Republicans vowed to do what was necessary to kill or make major changes in the House legislation.

Several Republicans argued on the floor of the Senate Thursday that a bankruptcy is still the auto industry's best option for shedding costs, debts and contracts it can no longer afford.

A Republican alternative
Earlier Thursday, Corker proposed three legislative changes he said would allow the automakers to make the changes they need to be competitive once again, short of actually filing for bankruptcy.

Corker suggested his changes would be enough to win the support needed from Republicans to pass the bill.

First, he proposed that GM and Chrysler must reduce their debt by two-thirds by March 15, or file for bankruptcy. He said that would give the automakers the leverage they need to renegotiate their debt with lenders and bondholders.

Second, he said the United Auto Workers union would have to accept significant equity in the companies to help offset future retiree health care payments, instead of cash or other assets the companies were to contribute to union-controlled trust funds that will pay those claims in the future.

Finally, he said the union would have to accept pay cuts for GM and Chrysler workers to levels paid at the U.S. plants of overseas automakers.

Corker, who has a GM plant in his state, said he discussed this last point with UAW President Ron Gettelfinger Thursday morning and that Gettelfinger "actually is talking to his leaders about this." Corker said he had also spoken to GM President Fritz Henderson and that Henderson "agrees that this will work."

"It does the things we need to do to make sure the bond holders and the UAW themselves do the things they need to do to make the company whole," Corker said about his proposals. "Let's leave here having done something that actually causes these companies to be healthy, vibrant, able to go into the future in a strong way for the first time in thirty years."

Corker's proposal may not attract enough Republican support, however. McConnell said he is in favor of a tougher alternative to restructuring the automakers.

An industry source said there was a lot of talk going on behind the scenes Thursday trying to find a compromise that would meet industry needs while satisfying Republican calls for stricter oversight.

But House Democratic leadership may balk at agreeing to any substantial changes to the bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., vowed Thursday that she would not call House members back into session to consider changes in the bill. Passage of the same language by both houses is necessary before legislation can be sent to the President to be signed.
FM
quote:
Originally posted by alena:
I wonder if the Government is doing it's 'due diligence' on these companies before approving the bailout packages?


according to the chairperson of the new oversight committee, funds are being allocated to "sound" banks, aig and citi; however, no conflicts checks have been made.
FM

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