November 12, 2008
House Speaker Calls for Lame-Duck Session
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled on Tuesday that she wants a lame-duck session of Congress next week, and that a life-preserver of some sort for America’s imperiled automobile industry is likely to be high on the agenda.
Ms. Pelosi said she was confident that the lawmakers could come up with emergency legislation next week, “and I hope the Bush Administration would support it.”
The Senate was already expected back next week to take up legislation concerning public lands and to reorganize, so if the House also reconvenes, as Ms. Pelosi’s statement portended, then both chambers will be able to take up the issue of how to try to rescue Detroit, and how much taxpayers’ money to put at risk.
President-elect Barack Obama has urged President Bush to support a rescue of the auto industry, but the president has declined to commit himself.
If Ms. Pelosi follows through and a lame-duck session of the full Congress is indeed held, it will take place with the very survival of American automakers, once the unquestioned global leaders of the industry, hanging in the balance. Legislators have already approved $25 billion in government-backed loans for Detroit, but industry officials have said they need even more help, and quickly.
Once rare, lame-duck sessions have become more common in recent years, with about 15 convened since 1940. They are not always productive because of post-election hangovers and the sour mood of members who have just been defeated at the polls.
But Ms. Pelosi said in a statement that she was confident that Congress could agree on legislation to provide “emergency and limited financial assistance to the automobile industry.”
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, said Democrats were committed to doing everything they could for the automobile industry.
“Next week, during the lame-duck session of Congress, we are determined to pass legislation that will save the jobs of millions of workers whose livelihoods are on the line,” Mr. Reid said. “They deserve no less.”
Mr. Reid noted that, until the new Senate with its larger Democratic majority is sworn in in January, Democrats have “the slimmest of majorities” in the Senate, 51 to 49. “This will only get done if President Bush and Senate Republicans work with us in a bipartisan fashion, and I am confident they will do what is right for our economy,” Mr. Reid said.
Although timing and other details were still unclear on Tuesday afternoon, it appeared likely that the lawmakers’ deliberations could extend into other areas of the economic crisis, especially the deep problems in the housing industry.
“In order to prevent the failure of one or more of the major American automobile manufacturers, which would have a devastating impact on our economy, particularly on the men and women who work in that industry, Congress and the Bush Administration must take immediate action,” Ms. Pelosi said.
Ms. Pelosi said she had asked Representative Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, to work with House and Senate leaders, and with the Bush Administration, to draw up the legislation.
“Emergency assistance to the automobile industry would be conditioned on executive compensation restrictions, a prohibition on golden parachutes, rigorous independent oversight, and other taxpayer protections to ensure that any companies that benefit from this assistance — and not the taxpayers — bear the full burden of repaying any costs that are incurred,” Ms. Pelosi said.
“It is essential for the domestic automobile manufacturing industry to re-emerge as a global, competitive leader in fuel efficiency and in new, path-breaking energy-efficient technologies that protect our environment. For the automobile industry to be truly viable, it must continue to move in this direction.”
David M. Herszenhorn contributed reporting. |
