Auto rescue plan runs low on support

ByABC News
December 10, 2008, 7:48 PM

WASHINGTON -- A $14 billion auto bailout deal among Congressional Democrats and the White House teetered Wednesday amid objections from Senate Republicans, who complained it wasn't strict enough.

House Democrats were mulling whether to vote on the plan Wednesday night and leave it to an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid said it could be debated all weekend. The House began preliminary debate on the bill in the afternoon.

President-elect Barack Obama also backs emergency bridge loans for Detroit's automakers in exchange for a restructuring of their business models. So does President Bush, who sent Vice President Cheney and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten to address a Senate Republican lunch.

Afterward, Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio and a leading supporter of the measure, said the bill didn't have the necessary Republican votes to pass. His remarks followed a news conference at which several GOP critics lambasted the bill as not going far enough in requiring changes.

"This is only delaying their funeral," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

The bill would give GM and Chrysler $14 billion in loans with an extra $1 billion if conditions worsen. It sets terms for Ford, which has said it will not take a loan but will ask for a $9 billion credit line.

"It's a bill that will provide bridge financing to one of two possibilities," said Joel Kaplan, White House deputy chief of staff. "Fundamental restructuring, or bankruptcy."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that while "there is a great deal of reluctance" to bail out automakers, most lawmakers believe that letting them fail would be catastrophic for the economy.