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BREAKING NEWS: Bipartisan group agrees to revive auto bailout
Compromise to speed emergency loans to Big Three Detroit carmakers
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Published: November 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - Aides to a bipartisan group of auto-state senators said Thursday they have reached a compromise to speed emergency loans to Detroit's Big Three car makers.
Republicans and Democrats plan to present the proposal at a mid-afternoon news conference Thursday. But it was not immediately clear whether the compromise plan could draw enough support to get through a reluctant Senate.
It temporarily would divert to troubled automakers money from a program that currently finances the development of fuel-efficient vehicles. The aim would be to cover their immediate expenses.
Shares of the two publicly-traded U.S. automakers — General Motors and Ford — soared on the news.
Earlier, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said the Bush administration and Congress need to come to an agreement on aid for the domestic auto industry because "inaction is simply not an option."
At a news conference in Detroit Thursday, Gettelfinger acknowledged there is disagreement about how aid should be given, but "both the Bush administration and congressional leaders agree that immediate assistance is needed, and the cost of not acting would be devastating."
Gettelfinger says without help, one or more of the Detroit Three automakers could collapse by the end of this year, and "the costs that would come from this are just too great."
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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