No bailout yet for Detroit Big Three

20 November 2008

The chief executives of the Detroit Big Three - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - returned empty handed after two days of talks at Capitol Hill. The three American auto makers have failed to impress upon the US lawmakers why the government should use taxpayers' money to offer them a financial lifeline.

Public hearings and behind-the-scenes negotiations did not help even as the Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada went to the floor seeking to raise the Democrats' plan to provide $25 billion in federal aid from the $700 billion financial bailout programme.

The Republicans objected, and effectively killed that option.Thereafter, Republican Senator Christopher S Bond from Missouri requested the Senate to consider a compromise that would fast-track access to $25 billion in federally subsidised loans, which have already been signed into law by President Bush. 

However, since those loans were intended to let the auto companies retool their plants to make fuel-efficient vehicles, Senator Reid objected and shot down that proposal.

Lawmakers criticised GM's chief Wagoner and the chiefs of the other two car makers to long failing the need to build better cars and effectively revamp operations.

Facing their waterloo, the three had no answers to lawmakers, who found it incredulous that the three corporate chieftans had indeed flown in to Washington, on each of their private jets.