Posted on 11/11/2008 11:28:19 PM PST by Kukai
Democratic Congressional leaders said Tuesday that they were ready to push emergency legislation to aid the imperiled auto industry when lawmakers return to Washington next week, setting the stage for one last showdown with President Bush.
“Next week, during the lame-duck session of Congress, we are determined to pass legislation that will save the jobs of millions of workers whose livelihoods are on the line,” the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said in a statement.
His call for the session, the first since the election, came shortly after the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said Congress and the administration “must take immediate action” to stave off a possible collapse of the American auto industry.
Ms. Pelosi stopped short of saying Congress would adopt legislation to provide emergency financial aid to the automakers, giving the Treasury Department the option of using money from the $700 billion bailout program instead.
But with the White House insisting that the bailout money be reserved for financial institutions, that option seemed unlikely, leading a senior Democratic official to say Democrats would try to force Mr. Bush’s hand.
Congressional aides said that Democrats, should they move ahead with emergency legislation, would have to decide whether to put forward a stand-alone measure for the auto industry or include the aid in a wider economic stimulus measure. Such a package as the latter is likely to include extended unemployment benefits, aid to strapped states and cities, new money for health care and food stamps and possibly money for public works — all programs Mr. Bush has resisted.
Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi have urged the Bush administration to help the major automakers, especially General Motors, which is fast depleting its cash reserves and seems to be hurtling toward bankruptcy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Veto it!!!
most people don’t even like their cars. $ won’t help
Yes, please don’t let the wonderful makers of the transmissions of Dodge minivans go out of business! I need more boat anchors!
I hope this angers the hippies who hate cars. Let the hypocracy begin.
Bush BETTER veto this or the RATS will hang it around his neck with the $700B! NO AUTO BAILOUT!!!
If the Congress chooses to bail out the car makers, I'm going Honda hereafter.
I decline to pay graft to the UAW.
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Hippies and yuppies. Why would people who buy Toyota Prius want to pay for Chevys?
Make the One waste his political capital on this inefficient crap.
‘Rat economics caused this (free mortgages —> credit crunch + high gas prices (no drilling)).
defies logic
how can it be rational policy or how can it “save jobs” except from one payday to the next, to force US taxpayers to subsidize a private company to make products the american people don’t want or cannot afford
will the USG also nationalize the dealerships to pay employees who have to guard these unsold cars sitting on car lots? and then where does it go and where does it stop?
good comment about the anchors
It is a matter of: Do GM debt bondholders have enough clout in Congress to get the taxpayers to pay their interest and principle?
My last GM bond matures 12/14/08.
yitbos
For the automakers it is a million jobs; never those who hold debt or stock.
Heck, GM is still paying dividends? $610 million/yr.
yitbos
This is nothing more than a UAW payback. The best thing that could happen to the “Big” 3 would be bankruptcy forcing them to reorganize and voiding the Union contracts.
The Pelosi/Reid/Obama Gang(PROG) want to throw billions of our bucks down the UAW rathole before Jan.20 so that when the taxpayers freak,it’s Bush and the Republicans’ fault.
Let the PROG do the dirty deed—otherwise,the Big Three need to get the Hell out of leftist Michigan and move to where auto manufacturing is profitable—like everywhere else EXCEPT Michigan!
We don't have a whole lot of industry to fall back on, to keep things running. The economy won't be propped up by burgers and fries that the unemployed can't afford anymore.
This is about more than the big three's CEO's. If I had to choose one bailout over the other, I would pick this one over the Fannie/Freddie mess. jmo
Do you have any clue how many jobs will be lost? This will send the economy into a downward spiral. Perhaps even the big D...it could take your job and your neighbors as well. We are talking about a conservative estimate of five million jobs. Suppliers would go out of business as well. Most likely a car would not be built in the US for at least a year by anyone-this would include Toyota and the rest of them.
Also, consider the Mid West. Do you think people will forgive a party that caused the destruction of their jobs. Repubs will lose Ohio forever and any hope of the presidency.
In closing, a country which make nothing, runs up huge trade deficits and has millions of unemployed citizens will not remain a super power. I have been a life long Republican. Yet, I will vote third party for the rest of my life if this is allowed to happen. The Dems might get my vote if they take on trade and make it more fair to American business-it’s a huge issue in the Mid West and given the massive job loss will be an issue everywhere soon.
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