Plans for $25 billion to help automakers face obstacles

WASHINGTON -- The Treasury would have 25 days to begin lending $25 billion to U.S. automakers under a bill unveiled Monday, but lawmakers from both parties, as well as the White House, withheld support or demanded tough conditions on any aid.

The objections threaten to consume whatever time Congress has set aside this week to consider help for the industry in a lame-duck session, with a vote not expected until late this week. With a 60-vote hurdle to ending debate, backers face increasing pressure to reach a compromise.

"There's no indication that the car companies would do anything different than what they've been doing, which has been a big failure, which is why they need a bailout," said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "There's no reason to throw money at a problem that's not going to get solved."

The plan for automakers and suppliers, introduced by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., mirrors the $700 billion financial industry bailout, setting limits on executive pay and requiring companies to give the government senior debt in return for loans. It also requires recipients to submit a detailed plan to restructure and to build more efficient models.

"This is a starting point in the Senate; there'll be a starting point in the House," Levin said. "The ending point is hopefully $25 billion in a bridge loan."

Levin said he believed that a deal could be reached this week, adding that President-elect Barack Obama had supported the general idea of a short-term loan to the industry with conditions.

But the bill does not go as far as many lawmakers suggested, with calls for everything from better fuel-economy standards to removing the three CEOs. The three, Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler, will appear Tuesday, along with United Auto Workers head Ron Gettelfinger, at a Senate committee hearing and make a similar appearance Wednesday before a House panel. Automakers declined to comment ahead of Tuesday's hearing.