US lawmakers ready for a face-off over bailing out Detroit Big Three

US lawmakers are divided over a proposed $25 billion bail-out package for the nations three big automakers - GM, Ford and Chrysler. Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress are almost completely ranged against each other on the issue.

The Democrats want to use part of a $700-billion Wall Street rescue plan, approved in September 2008 to help bail out the sinking US automotive sector. Top executives from GM, Ford and Chrysler and leading union officials will appear at congressional hearings in Washington starting 18 November.

But Democrats are likely to face major problems in finalising the rescue plan and securing majority support in the Senate. 

The extent of the opposition by the Republicans to the bail-out plan can be gauged by the suggestion that US automakers should consider even sacking top highly paid executives of US companies if it ensured congressional backing for the bailout, according to Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, a Democrat and an industry ally. 

The Democrats say a bailout is justified as millions of jobs could be lost if the auto industry is not given help. They point to the need for the US to have a manufacturing base without which the US cannot remain a strong economic power.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking a cash infusion as industrywide sales have crashed to a 17-year low as the economy slides into a recession. GM has said it has lost $4.2 billion in the third quarter of 2008, and about $73 billion since the end of 2004. The largest US automaker said it may not have enough cash to get through the year. Ford says it has lost $2.98 billion in the third quarter as sales fell 22 per cent.