Source: Bloomberg.com

The Bush administration’s $14 billion automaker bailout plan and other alternatives lack the votes to pass the Senate, as lawmakers seek to beat a deadline to keep General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC from collapsing.

GM and Chrysler are in a race against the clock as they need federal aid to keep from running out of cash early next year. Pressure is mounting on GM as a small number of partsmakers ask for payments in advance, people familiar with the matter said.

“It’s going to be really hard for anything to get to 60” votes needed to overcome delaying tactics, said South Dakota Republican John Thune.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he’s working on an agreement that would let the Senate consider Democratic legislation approved yesterday by the House, as well as a slightly different version by Senate Democrats and a Republican alternative. The Bush administration has endorsed the Democratic plans it helped negotiate.

“We have danced this tune long enough,” said Reid, a Nevada Democrat. “If the Republicans want to have a better bill then they should offer an alternative and I invite them to do that.”

The House went home after passing its plan last night. Speaker Nancy Pelosi tossed a challenge to senators, saying on Bloomberg Television she wouldn’t bring her chamber back for further action if the Senate passed a different version.

Some Republicans threatened to block the Democratic plans from coming up, saying a so-called auto czar created by the legislation wouldn’t have enough authority to enforce cost cuts at the automakers.

Full Story

Technorati Tags: bailout , automaker

Related Items