Posted on 12/12/2008 2:27:28 AM PST by Man50D
The House-passed $14-billion bailout bill for U.S. automakers would give a presidential "designee" the potential power to tell the automakers what cars they could make and the price at which they could sell them.
The bill--formally titled the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act--passed the House Wednesday, but appeared stalled in the Senate yesterday. The act would grant sweeping powers to a federal "Car Czar" -- an individual the bill merely refers to as "the Presidents Designee."
The designee would be solely responsible for carrying out the provisions of the auto bailout, including overseeing the negotiations for and approving the restructuring plans the automakers must produce under the proposal by a March 31 deadline.
The bill directs the automakers to negotiate restructuring plans and submit them to the designee by that date. If the automakers successfully negotiate a restructuring plan, the designee will evaluate whether the plans meet each of six conditions required by Congress.
Meeting the requirements.
Section 6 of the bill--titled Submission of Plans--states:
The presidents designee shall approve the restructuring plan if the presidents designee determines that the plan will result in, meeting a set of requirements.
Among those requirements: a provision that automakers have a product mix and cost structure that is competitive in the United States market.
This requirement would mean that the federal Car Czar could determine which cars and trucks the automaker could produce, according to a Senate Banking Committee staffer, because the designee would determine what would and what would not be competitive.
If the designee deemed that the companys proposed product line and pricing structure would not be competitive, the company would have to change its plan--or have its federal financial assistance revoked.
If an evaluation by the presidents designee demonstrates that . . . the eligible automobile manufacturer . . . fails to submit an acceptable restructuring plan, the bill says, [t]he repayment of any loan may be accelerated . . . and any other financial assistance may be cancelled by the presidents designee.
If the Car Czar believes that the automakers are not making sufficient progress toward negotiating restructuring plans to his liking, he is specifically called upon to ask Congress for additional powers to give him the authority to make them do so.
At any such time as the presidents designee determines that action is necessary to avoid disruption to the economy or to achieve a negotiated plan, the bill says, the presidents designee shall submit to Congress a report outlining any additional powers and authorities necessary to facilitate the completion of a negotiated plan.
There is no definition in the bill outlining what these powers might be, but the bill further authorizes the Car Czar to substitute his own plan for restructuring the auto industry if he believes the automakers have failed to come up with an adequate plan of their own.
Under the bill, the Car Czar's plan could take the form of extended negotiations between the automakers and other interested parties, forcing the automakers into Chapter 11, or presenting his own plan to Congress in the form of new legislation that would--by federal law--tell the car companies what models they could make and what they could charge for them.
The presidents designee shall provide to Congress a plan that represents the judgment of the presidents designee as to the steps necessary to achieve long-term viability including through a negotiated plan, a plan to be implemented by legislation, or a (bankruptcy) reorganization, the bill says.
Another condition the restructuring plans must meet is a mandate to produce advanced technology vehicles--including hybrids and other fuel efficient vehicles.
And, Bush plans to sign this bill?
The Czar will force them to lose more money on the cars they make by dictating what to make.
When they finally take control of Amerika - they will be successful.
The real culture of corruption is about to commence!
RB is on R30 ya know!
I think he already has one :-)
The efficiency experts in the Congress are going to fix the auto industry. That’s just great. /sarc
It’s at least gonna be an entertaining 8 to 10 years! We can sit on the porch with a bottle of Jack Daniels and heckle the Blueshirts as they march past in their annual parades.
Apparently they were not criticizing Bush for being a fascist, they were criticizing Bush for not instituting fascism fast enough.
Somehow I have a feeling it is going to be more closer to Brownshirts than Blueshirts.
Yeah, but that name is already taken. We have the Blackhoods in Europe causing trouble, so I figure Blueshirts for the American version.
I seriously hope I am wrong about this guy! We will know in the first 100 days at a minimum. That is unless he attached riders to the megabill he intends to pass on day one.
The Barney Frank mobile? why the”Buggerer” of course!!!
Komissar.
LLS
They could bring back the Pinto. Didn't they blow when rear ended?
Looks like my next car will be a 370z. And maybe an FJ Cruiser for my BOV.
If the government were in charge of creation, we could be certain that the camel would be the result of a horse designed by a government committee and an elephant would be a mouse built to government spec. I'm reasonably confident Barney's group would come up with the platypus or something equally queer.
But ours will be green! They won't be safer, faster, or more comfortable, and you won't want one, but they will be green or else!
GMTA!
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