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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (167165)	5/7/2009 5:04:47 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 362852

'A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.' Don Corleone, in The Godfather

To: stockman_scott who wrote (167165)	5/7/2009 7:54:38 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362852

Energy Department plans to award $10B in auto retooling loans in '09 David Shepardson and Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- The Obama administration plans to award $10.1 billion in advanced technology retooling loans to the auto industry this year. President Barack Obama's budget proposal, released today, also boosts vehicle research spending, but cuts hydrogen fuel cell research funds. The Energy Department has said loans could be approved as early as this month -- nearly eight months after Congress approved funding for the program, but never disclosed how much it planned to award this year. The department has been in talks to finalize term sheet agreements with at least three companies, including Ford Motor Co. In September, Congress approved funding for the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program -- and set aside $7.51 billion to back the loans. The loan program itself was created -- but not funded -- by Congress in December 2007. Detroit's Big Three have sought about $20 billion in loans, while another 70 electric car start-ups, parts markers and even Nissan Motor Co. have applied for loans. In total, 75 companies have sought $38 billion in loans. The loans are to retool factories to build high-mileage small cars, fuel-efficient plug-in hybrids and other efficient vehicles. The loans can also apply to parts and batteries for those fuel efficient vehicles. The Obama budget says it expects to award the remaining $14.9 billion in loans in the 2010 budget year that begins Oct. 1. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, also noted the budget comes after Congress approved $2 billion in battery research grants as part of the stimulus bill. "We have to out these two programs together, see how they fit, see what unmet needs there are," Levin said. "I'd like to see how many good applications could not be funded under that level as proposed and then if a significant number of applications can't be funded under either program, then we would add to it." General Motors Corp. said last week it doesn't expect to get any retooling loans this year because of uncertainty in its financial situation. Chrysler LLC also isn't currently eligible because it is under bankruptcy court protection. The budget plan, subject to congressional approval, also includes a boost in the Energy Department's vehicle research program to $334 million in 2010, up from $273 million this year. But the administration radically cuts hydrogen research -- after the Bush Administration spent $1.2 billion on developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over five years. The administration proposes cutting it from $169 million this year to just $68 million in 2010 -- a $101 million cut. The budget includes a previously announced $475 million program to accelerate Great Lakes restoration projects, money that will tackle invasive species, contaminated sediment and lake pollution. But it eliminates a Pentagon program that potentially meant jobs and business for Michigan: the Army's Future Combat Systems ground-vehicles initiative. The program is over-budget and behind schedule, and defense watchdogs have questioned its value; the Obama administration proposes to save $22.9 billion by eliminating the ground-vehicle portion of the program. Some development work for the program takes place at General Dynamics facilities in Sterling Heights, and the program had the potential to boost manufacturing jobs in Michigan, as well. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Pentagon plans to re-evaluate its vehicle programs, and that Michigan stands to gain jobs from whatever program replaces Future Combat Systems. detnews.com