GOP senators want to stall auto bill
Several Republican senators say they'll try to block an auto bailout bill proposed by congressional Democrats and the White House. Why? Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) speaks at a press conference about Republican lawmakers' opposition to the auto bailout. Others, from left, are Senators John Ensign (R-NV), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Shelby (R-AL) and David Vitter (R-LA). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL: Plans to rescue Detroit keep limping along. A number of Senate Republicans say they're going to filibuster a bailout bill that's been hammered out between congressional Democrats and the White House.
Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer explains.
NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: Republican Senator Richard Shelby today made no secret of his opposition to a congressional bailout of U.S. automakers.
RICHARD SHELBY: This is only delaying their funeral.
Lots of lawmakers are opposed to the bailout on ideological grounds. Michelle Krebs of Edmunds' AutoObserver.com says regional politics are also at play. Especially for Shelby. His home state of Alabama has spent millions convincing foreign automakers to build plants there.
MICHELLE KREBS: I think he's protecting his home base of automakers, just as our Michigan delegation are protecting theirs.
Shelby denies that.
Peter Hastings is an auto industry analyst with Morgan Keegan. He points out that Alabama's tax breaks are not unusual. Domestic automakers get them, too.
PETER HASTINGS: Pretty much every time a major company decides to go and look for a new facility, that's part of the sweetener.
Hastings says the bailout wouldn't give domestic automakers an unfair advantage because it's aimed at helping the entire U.S. economy, not just Detroit.
In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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From Wharton, TX, 12/10/2008
This is a UAW bailout. In Chapt 11, the auotmakers could reopen as non union shops, and put the health and pension liabilities on the US Government an obligation of hundreds of billions which would require a PGBC bailout.
From Washington, DC, 12/10/2008
Kai -
What no one is talking about is that there are 5 TARP banks who together have 18B in revolving debt with the US 'domestic' auto industry. When the Congress gives money to the industries, that debt obligation will elbow aside the debt obligation to the banks. Are we then going to have to bail out (again!) the banks who get the shaft because GM and Chrysler are paying back the Treasury, but in order to do so are shorting the private sector TARP recipients who have already exposed themselves to the industry??
From ontario, CA, 12/10/2008
I don't think I would back such a bailout in ordinary times. However, these are not ordinary times. I believe government intervention is necessary even if there is no turnaround. That is to say, I am in favor even if it only delays the inevitable. We are still headed toward double-digit unemployment with another half million jobs expected to be lost this month after a record this month. This amount of money is small in comparison to the trillion already being spent to prop up the banking institutions. We must slow down the job losses and try to stop the bleeding.
12/10/2008
I don't republicans or their tactics. For them it's just another game of polictics but for me as a taxpayer and a RESPONSIBLE citizen. It does not make any financial sense to bail out private companies who will default on their loans. No bank will issue them credit because of their lack of foresight, goes to show how unworthy the automakers are. Sure everyone wants a big paycheck, but at the same time the demand for good honest, quality work is required. One can not believe that the UAW have the interest of GM or Chrysler in their hearts, for them it's all about how much the union workers get paid and how many hours a week lunch break they get.
GM, Chysler and Ford as well, are all failed institutions. The govt and the people of this great nation will be better off letting them fail so that a stronger management which has the welfare of the brand can restructure it. Throwing money at things does not work, usually never does.
From NC, 12/10/2008
The story was way too short and superficial for it's importance. No mention of the republican's favorite pastime of trying to crush unions for the benefit of business interests and other dysfunctional ideological, financial, and political ploys. Please go to the real story and how much obstruction the republicans have used against the democrats and congressional progress and how many failed policies they have initiated and defended!!!!
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