|
Auto Loan
Gets Boost
It looks as
though the big three automakers might be a
little closer to getting their auto loan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Bush
administration have taken one step closer
to assisting the auto industry, even
though nothing is set in stone. Pelosi has
dropped her opposition to borrowing money
from a $25 billion program that was meant
for other uses.
The program was set up to retool plants
for advanced fuel-efficient vehicles, and
instead that money will be spent giving
the automakers their auto loan. This auto
loan will enable the plants to stay in
business, for without it they said that
they would be looking to close their doors
within the next few months.
Pelosi and the other Democrats had wanted
the money to come from the $700 billion
financial industry bailout that taxpayers
had already paid for, and the Bush
administration would not. They said that
the money was already earmarked for the
banks and they would not be willing to
give an auto loan from it.
The auto loan package is now looking to be
about $15 billion, and although they
wanted to keep that money where it was
supposed to be, they had no choice but to
move in another direction. Unfortunately,
according to experts, this move will end
up hurting the auto industries attempts at
getting more fuel efficient in the long
run, but the Democrats say that this is
exactly what the Bush administration wants
– to keep Americans dependent on foreign
oil.
Back to
December
2008
Archives
|