Pelosi: House will take up auto aid package in next week's session By Justin Hyde Free Press Washington Staff
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that the House will consider aid to automakers during a lame-duck session next week, with conditions including limits on executive pay. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said the amendment to the $700 billion financial industry bailout would specify $25 billion in loans to help automakers survive the economic downturn. While the request for an additional $25 billion for health care costs of retirees is not in Levin’s draft, the UAW said it would continue to press for those loans as well. The move by Pelosi comes after the Bush administration signaled again that it was up to Congress to provide additional aid to the industry beyond the $25 billion in loans for retooling plants. Automakers have said those loans would flow too slowly to help their finances, and General Motors Corp. has said it could face a cash crunch without help by the end of the year. "In order to prevent the failure of one or more of the major American automobile manufacturers, which would have a devastating impact on our economy, particularly on the men and women who work in that industry, Congress and the Bush Administration must take immediate action,” Pelosi said in a statement. Pelosi said she had asked Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to write an amendment to the financial bailout. She also said aid for the industry would carry many of the same strings attached to money for banks, such as limits on executive pay, a ban on “golden parachutes” and protections for taxpayers. Levin said his amendment included many of the same features in his plan. The Senate was already scheduled to meet next week, but Pelosi had not previously committed to holding a House session absent an agreement with the Bush administration on an economic stimulus bill. President elect Barack Obama pressed President George Bush to speed aid to the industry on Monday during their first meeting since the election. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list pen-l@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
