Senate Republicans challenge auto loan bill

A bill to speed US$14 billion in loans to United States auto makers has passed the House of Representatives, but its prospects remain uncertain because of Republican opposition in the Senate.

Republicans are challenging lame-duck President George W. Bush on the proposal, arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from auto workers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats.

The House approved the plan on late Wednesday with a vote of 237 to 170. It would infuse money within days into cash-starved General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC. Ford Motor Co, which has said it has enough cash to make it through 2009, would also be eligible for federal aid.

Supporters cited dire warnings from GM and Chrysler executives, who have said they could run out of cash within weeks, and concerns that a car-maker collapse would erase tens of thousands of jobs and jolt an already bleak economy.

Democrats and the Bush White House hoped the Senate would vote on the legislation as early as yesterday. But based on concerns raised by Republican senators - and a still-uncertain level of support even among Democrats - a lot of work remains to be done.

A leading Senate Republican opponent said yesterday he cannot back spending US$14 billion of taxpayer money on a plan that would call for a restructuring of the industry, but which fails to detail just how that would be accomplished.

"I think that is putting the cart before the horse and isn't responsible in terms of tax dollars," Senator David Vitter of Louisiana said on CBS's "The Early Show."

The murky outlook reflected the difficulty of approving another federal financial rescue on the heels of the deeply unpopular US$700-billion Wall Street bailout, as the clock ticks down on the current Congress and Bush's influence is at a low ebb.

A bill to speed US$14 billion in loans to United States auto makers has passed the House of Representatives, but its prospects remain uncertain because of Republican opposition in the Senate.

Republicans are challenging lame-duck President George W. Bush on the proposal, arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from auto workers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats.

The House approved the plan on late Wednesday with a vote of 237 to 170. It would infuse money within days into cash-starved General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC. Ford Motor Co, which has said it has enough cash to make it through 2009, would also be eligible for federal aid.

Supporters cited dire warnings from GM and Chrysler executives, who have said they could run out of cash within weeks, and concerns that a car-maker collapse would erase tens of thousands of jobs and jolt an already bleak economy.

Democrats and the Bush White House hoped the Senate would vote on the legislation as early as yesterday. But based on concerns raised by Republican senators - and a still-uncertain level of support even among Democrats - a lot of work remains to be done.

A leading Senate Republican opponent said yesterday he cannot back spending US$14 billion of taxpayer money on a plan that would call for a restructuring of the industry, but which fails to detail just how that would be accomplished.

"I think that is putting the cart before the horse and isn't responsible in terms of tax dollars," Senator David Vitter of Louisiana said on CBS's "The Early Show."

The murky outlook reflected the difficulty of approving another federal financial rescue on the heels of the deeply unpopular US$700-billion Wall Street bailout, as the clock ticks down on the current Congress and Bush's influence is at a low ebb.