http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aT78uzonQ2P0&refer=worldwide Pelosi Calls for `Emergency' Aid to U.S. Automakers (Update1) By Laura Litvan Enlarge Image/Details Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants ``immediate action'' to give automakers additional aid, and said Congress may take up the legislation as early as next week. The failure of ``one or more of the major American automobile manufacturers'' would have a ``devastating impact on our economy,'' Pelosi said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. Pelosi said any aid to the automakers would come with conditions. Pelosi did not specify the level of assistance she supports, but said it should come from the $700 billion Congress authorized the Treasury to use to help stabilize the financial services industry. Pelosi said she is tapping House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank to write the legislation. ``Emergency assistance to the automobile industry would be conditioned on executive compensation restrictions, a prohibition on golden parachutes, rigorous independent oversight, and other taxpayer protections to ensure that any companies that benefit from this assistance - and not the taxpayers - bear the full burden of repaying any costs that are incurred,'' Pelosi said. Pelosi's call for federal aid comes as shares of General Motors Corp., the biggest U.S. automaker, reached a 66-year low today. The company said last week it may run out of operating cash as soon as year's end. GM had $16.2 billion on hand as of Sept. 30, down from $21 billion at the end of June, and needs at least $11 billion to pay its monthly bills. `Urgent Action' ``We appreciate the Speaker's call for urgent action. We are ready to work with Congress and the administration to secure the immediate support we need to bridge the current economic crisis,'' General Motors said in a statement. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the Bush administration didn't have an immediate comment on Pelosi's call for federal aid. Ford Motor Co. fell 13 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $1.80 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. General Motors fell 44 cents, or 13.1 percent, to $2.92. Pelosi was among the lawmakers who met last week with the chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler LLC. The three companies are seeking $50 billion in federal loans to help them weather the worst auto market in 25 years, according to a person familiar with the matter. Earlier this fall, Congress approved $25 billion in low- interest loans for the industry. To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net Last Updated: November 11, 2008 16:34 EST
Politics in action, my Boy. Obama wants Bush to bail them out. Obama takes credit for saving Union jobs, and then, blames Bush for the deficit. Dodd already has said,".........this mess we've inheritied." I think he was there for the festivities. Get over it. The dems are in control, and the auto makers will be bailed out, and then, Honda and Toyota, VW and Nissan, will be made Union shops, and then pull out of the US. I don't know how to solve it, but I live by a basic tenet. If you don't care of your money, you sure as hell won't take care of mine. PS> Great thread title. We've always needed a third party.
Check the national debt then and today, like pissing in the wind. The sad reality is that loan only deferred the problem, which is why they're coming back to the feeding trough today.
I would like to ask the a-hole Pelosi, "What is the position you offered your opponents who lost their race against you?" I say this because there are winners and losers in every race. Why does she feel obligated to "help" those who lost the "automobile manufacturing race," but not those who lost their congressional races against her? It reminds me of the post somebody had out here about Congressman Bowie not wanting to give as "charity" what wasn't from his own pocket - this is the libs - giving what is NOT from THEIR own pocket. -gastropod