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McConnell deals major blow to bailout
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| Contributor | particleman |
| Last Edited | particleman Dec 11, 2008 02:35pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Thursday, December 11, 2008 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Senate’s top Republican broke with the White House Thursday over a proposed $14 billion bailout for ailing automakers, setting off a scramble to find some compromise and forcing the administration to consider other emergency steps to avert bankruptcies among Detroit’s Big Three this winter.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, with a large auto presence in his home state of Kentucky, had been seen as a potential ally after providing crucial support for the Treasury Department’s financial markets rescue fund this fall. But McConnell has since endured a punishing reelection fight. And faced with strong resistance in his caucus, he said that the bill "isn't nearly tough enough” and that he could not ask taxpayers to “subsidize failure.”
McConnell’s remarks all but assure a major White House loss absent substantial changes in the bill. And after days of chatter, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) finally came off the sidelines with a five-page amendment that quickly became the central focus Thursday.
Corker’s proposal has drawn the interest of General Motors Corp,— given the company’s dire cash situation. And after discussions between Corker and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) United Auto Workers staff came to the Capitol and were meeting with Democratic and Republican aides to see if some agreement could be reached on language.
“The UAW does not support the Corker amendment as offered. But we are in contact with them and they are discussing this,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D., Ill.)
In essence, the amendment seeks to toughen the underlying administration bill by setting out specific steps which bondholders and labor must take to reduce GM’s debt and operating costs by the end of March or see the company go into bankruptcy.
The White House has been uncomfortable with Corker’s demands that such specific policies be written into statute. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a strong industry supporter, said Cor |
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