Democrats and White House reach deal on up to $17 billion for auto industry
After two days of going back and forth with the House and Senate, Detroit’s Big 3 can breathe a sigh of relief. Democratic leaders and the White House has reportedly reached a deal to provide billions in aid to the hurting U.S. auto industry.
A senior congressional aide told Reuters yesterday that the package, which Democratic leaders will send to President Bush next week, totals between $15 to $17 billion. While the amount is a lot less than the $34 billion requested by GM, FoMoCo and Chrysler, Democratic leaders believe that the money should hold them over until President-elect Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20th. After that they hope a new effort can be made to rescue the auto industry.
The $15 to $17 billion should be enough to meet GM and Chrysler request for a total of $11 billion by the end of 2008.
Source: Reuters