Questions Surround Auto Industry Aid

Same loans, new use: Analysts say that the easing of restrictions on the $25 billion government loan guarantee program approved for the auto industry earlier this month could help automakers stay afloat. The package was initially aimed at helping automakers upgrade their plants and build more fuel-efficient cars.

How can the government help ailing domestic automakers, like General Motors? Several ideas are floating around, but it's unclear which one will actually come to fruition.

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"If the automakers can use that money for much more flexible ways, it'll go a long way toward helping them out," Bragman said.

But it's unclear whether the program's restrictions will actually be relaxed and how long it will take for the loans to go out. Department of Energy Press Secretary Healy E. Baumgardner said the government was still writing the rules for the loan program and has yet to receive any applications from the automakers.

"It is premature to estimate a timetable for when the loans will be available or to discuss any monetary amounts at this point," Baumgardner said in an e-mail statement to ABC News.

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Troubled asset relief: Perino said that the U.S. Treasury Department would determine whether U.S. automakers and their finance arms are eligible for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a government program to buy up troubled loans from financial institutions. The program, commonly known as TARP, was approved earlier this month as part of the government's $700 billion financial rescue package.

A spokeswoman for GMAC, the financing company jointly owned by GM and Chrysler, confirmed that the company is in talks with government officials "to understand the implementation process of the TARP and other programs to determine any potential participation by GMAC."

Speculation about the various measures comes days after Michigan's congressional delegation sent an open letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, calling on them "to take the necessary steps to promote liquidity in the U.S. auto industry."

But Michigan elected officials aren't saying exactly what those steps should be.

Staffers for two of the letter's signatories -- Michigan Reps. John Dingell, a Democrat, and Joe Knollenberg, a Republican -- each said the congressmen would support solutions favored by the automakers.