November 20, 2008 US
Automakers Asked to Present Detailed Plan
Before Bailout
Washington
Congressional leaders Thursday charged the three ailing US
automakers to present a detailed "path to viability" plan before the
companies can get their hands on a $25-billion emergency loan from
the government.
General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC have said they
may soon file for bankruptcy if they don't get a government cash
infusion, and warned that the failure of just one of the so-called
Big Three could have disastrous consequences for the US economy.
But efforts to get them emergency funds stalled in Congress this
week as Republicans and some Democrats voiced skepticism that the US
auto industry was really capable of being rescued after a decade of
refusing to modernize and improve fuel efficiency.
"The executives have not been able to convince the Congress or the
American people that this government bail-out will be its last,"
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Thursday.
The three automakers will have until Dec 2 to come up with a more
detailed plan for what they intend to do with a $25-billion
infusion. Congress may come back into session a week later to
reconsider the issue, Reid said.
"Until they show us the plan, we can't show them the money," said
Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives.
Pelosi insisted that Congress had no intention of allowing the auto
industry to fail, but said industry executives would have to come up
with a clear "path to viability" before they received government
funds.
A small group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers from states
that would be most affected by the failure of the auto industry said
they had hammered out a compromise, but Reid said their plan did not
speak for the entire legislature.
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