White House to Offer Emergency Funds to Detroit
December 16th, 2008 at 8:02 pm - by admin
The Bush administration announced Friday they would not allow General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler to collapse, despite a Senate rejection of the $14 billion U.S. bailout bill. It is believed that the remainder of the Treasury Department’s Wall Street Bailout fund may be redirected to keep the automakers from filing for bankruptcy.
GM and Chrysler met with officials from the Treasury on Friday, but were met with lofty opposition from elected Republicans to not waste the bank-bailout to rescue the automakers.
The Bush administration announced Tuesday that no plans were made, and that all options are still being evaluated. Many Democrats wish to see control over the companies’ business decisions as a condition of any received aid; something the president’s press secretary responded to simply, “we are not going to be rushed into [providing aid].”
The bank-bailout, known as TARP or the Troubled Assets Recovery Program may only have about $15 billion U.S. remaining according to some sources.
“Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” said the Treasury Department’s spokesperson, McLaughlin.
As various political news organizations stir up drama, the numbers in commonly cited estimates reach as high as half a million jobs at risk. These should likely be taken with a grain of salt, as they tend to make lofty assumptions about the business plans and development of related, dependent companies.
In addition, Ottawa announced today that if an aid package is approved in Washington, Tony Clement’s suggestion as Industry Minister would be to follow through with a proportionally similar deal — offering about $3.5 billion Canadian. Clement went on to say that the Canadian government expects the President to announce a move very shortly.
“What we’re signalling here tonight, both the governments of Ontario and the government of Canada, is that we want to be part of the solution as well, and it will be commensurate with the production that takes place here in Canada.”
