Congress Working on Auto Bailout Compromise

Congress and the White House may reach a compromise after all on an auto-industry bailout, which still would have to pass the House and Senate, possibly as soon as this week.

The CEOs for Ford, GM and Chrysler appeared before committees for the House and Senate last week to plead their case for a bailout. The Detroit Big Three automakers say they need $19 billion to $34 billion, to avoid going bankrupt.

On Dec. 5, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her willingness to go along with President Bush’s preference, which is to speed up and re-purpose $25 billion in funds for “advanced technologies” Congress passed earlier, to help the U.S. automakers create more fuel-efficient cars.

The automakers wanted the bailout package on top of the advanced technologies money, not either-or. And Pelosi said earlier she didn’t want to redirect money from the “advanced technologies” loans. But it could be a sign of a workable compromise if nobody gets everything they asked for.

“Congress is considering various short term funding options for the American automobile industry,” Pelosi said in a written statement.

“We will not permit any funds to be borrowed from the advanced technology program unless there is a guarantee that those funds will be replenished in a matter of weeks so as not to delay that crucial initiative. Regardless of the source, all funding needs will be tightly targeted with vigorous supervision and guaranteed taxpayer protection,” she said.

In Washington-speak, what Pelosi really was saying that she would permit funds to be borrowed from the advanced technology program — as long as the funds can be replenished later.

If a compromise bailout package does not face a presidential veto, it becomes much easier for Democrats to put together enough votes to approve. Even so, passage is still not a slam-dunk, especially in the Senate, where the Democrats have only the barest majority.

Appearing on the CBS News program “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Dec. 7, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said he doubted even the revised bailout could pass.

GM and Chrysler have both insisted they need money before the end of this month, or risk running short of enough cash to pay their bills.

“I think Congress is tired of being stampeded, they’re tired of being threatened that we’ve got to pass something (with) just a few days of voting or consideration,” Sessions said.

“We haven’t even seen a bill yet. So I think there’s still a lot of skepticism out there, and I have my doubts that it would pass until we have an opportunity to really see what this is about,” he said, according to a transcript.