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Deal reached in principle on $15B auto bailout
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| Contributor | particleman |
| Last Edited | particleman Dec 10, 2008 12:57am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Website - Yahoo News |
| News Date | Wednesday, December 10, 2008 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Weary Democratic congressional leaders and White House officials agreed in principle Tuesday on a $15 billion bailout of U.S. automakers that would give the government extraordinary power to restructure the failing industry. But the rescue faced snags as Republicans raised deep concerns.
Congressional aides and a senior administration official said the proposed deal would speed the loans to Detroit's struggling car companies and place a "car czar" named by President George W. Bush in charge of overhauling the auto industry. Congress could vote on the plan as early as Wednesday and the money could be disbursed within days.
A breakthrough came when negotiators reached a compromise to require the czar to revoke the loans and deny any further federal aid to automakers that don't strike a deal with labor unions, creditors and others to ensure their survival by next spring — essentially pushing them into bankruptcy.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the Financial Services Committee chairman, said the remaining issues were minor. "There do not appear to me to be differences in principle of a sufficient nature to blow this thing up," said Frank, whose staff is helping to draft the bill.
Still, staff aides worked into the night fine-tuning legislative details of the agreement. It could face substantial obstacles from congressional Republicans, who remained skeptical of the White House-negotiated plan. A group of conservatives led by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has threatened to block the measure.
A further stumbling block was Democrats' refusal to scrap language, vehemently opposed by the White House, that would force the carmakers to drop lawsuits challenging tough emissions limits in California and other states.
That measure "kills the deal," said Dan Meyer, Bush's top lobbyist.
Senior Democratic aides acknowledged as much Tuesday and said they expected the provision to ultimately be dropped. |
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