Carmakers feel urgency to see Bush act on rescue plan

— -- "Time is of the essence," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says. "There is a sense of urgency."

But Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said on CBS' Face The Nation that he spoke with the White House early Sunday: "I don't think they yet know what they're going to do."

The sticking points are sure to center on the "meaningful concessions" that White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said will be imposed on the companies, creditors and workers to protect the taxpayers. A $14 billion bailout loan package fell apart last week when Senate Republicans and the UAW disagreed in a dispute over wage concessions.

GM and Chrysler say they will be forced into bankruptcy filings within weeks if help doesn't arrive soon. After Senate Republicans turned aside the rescue package, the Bush administration maintained calm in the markets and the industry by saying Friday it would act, perhaps with funds remaining from the financial industry bailout. "A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy," Perino said.

Bush is unlikely to offer much more than a Band-Aid, says Douglas Bernstein, a bankruptcy attorney for the firm Plunkett Cooney in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "My suspicion is all they are going to do is get them through to the next administration."

GM is encouraged. "The administration's strong signal to consider other aid options recognizes the gravity of the current state of the auto industry and its role within the economy," spokesman Greg Martin said in a statement Sunday.

The financial situation has become so dire that GM announced last week it will slow production at 14 U.S. plants in the first quarter of 2009 and make 250,000 fewer vehicles than previously planned.

Gettelfinger, often a harsh Bush critic, said he hopes to avoid a rerun of the Senate showdown in which "organized labor was singled out."