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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (308075)	6/1/2009 2:27:38 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793926

Agree...that's why I posted Moore...his is the kind of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place.

To: LindyBill who wrote (308075)	6/1/2009 2:40:59 PM
From: KLP	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793926

Auto Maker Loans Were Obama Idea June 1st, 2009 sweetness-light.com In his remarks today about the General Motors bankruptcy, Mr. Obama gave the clear impression that the federal government, specifically the Bush administration, had long ago begun the pernicious practice of loaning the automaker money. And that he, Mr. Obama has always been reluctant to go this route: Good morning, everybody. Just over two months ago, I spoke with you in this same spot about the challenges facing our auto industry, and I laid out what needed to be done to save two of America’s most storied automakers — General Motors and Chrysler. These companies were facing a crisis decades in the making, and having relied on loans from the previous administration, were asking for more. From the beginning, I made it clear that I would not put any more tax dollars on the line if it meant perpetuating the bad business decisions that had led these companies to seek help in the first place. I refused to let these companies become permanent wards of the state, kept afloat on an endless supply of taxpayer money. In other words, I refused to kick the can down the road… Well, a look at the November 11, 2008 edition of the Washington Post tells a very different story: Obama Asks Bush to Back Rescue of Automakers By Lori Montgomery and Michael D. Shear Tuesday, November 11, 2008; A01 President-elect Barack Obama yesterday urged President Bush to support immediate aid for struggling automakers and back a new stimulus package, even as congressional Democrats began drafting legislation to give the Detroit automakers quick access to $25 billion by adding them to the Treasury Department’s $700 billion economic rescue program. Bush, speaking privately to Obama during their first Oval Office meeting, repeated his administration’s stand that he might support quick action on those bills if Democratic leaders drop their opposition to a Colombia trade agreement that Bush supports, according to people familiar with the discussions… Congress could consider the auto measure as soon as next week, when lawmakers are scheduled to return to Washington. Yesterday, in an urgent bipartisan appeal, all 15 House members and both senators from Michigan sent a letter asking the Bush administration to include the auto industry in the Treasury program on its own initiative or to work with Congress to modify the program. "There’s an urgent crisis. It’s a national issue. If the administration won’t act, we’ll have to. But they should act," said Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.)… So far, administration officials have resisted calls to include the Detroit automakers in the Treasury’s bailout program, which was conceived to stabilize banks and other financial institutions reeling from the global credit crisis. Opening the program to the auto industry would expand the government’s role in private enterprise far beyond the banking sector, and analysts warn that it could prompt a long line of companies from other industries to show up in Washington with their hands out. Administration officials have pointed instead to $25 billion in low-interest loans recently approved by Congress as a source of quick help for the car companies. Yesterday, White House press secretary Dana Perino told reporters that the White House would be open to legislation that removes bureaucratic roadblocks slowing the release of that money. "Congress is going to come back into town next week," Perino said. "If it wants to do anything in addition for the automakers, we’ll certainly listen to ideas they have on how to accelerate the loans to viable companies." Democrats said the loan program is intended to provide long-term assistance to the car companies to retool their factories to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. They said it was not designed to provide urgent relief from a crisis in consumer confidence that has pushed auto sales to their lowest level in two decades. "GM has estimated maybe they’d get a billion or two at most next year" from the previously approved loan program, Levin said. "It wouldn’t provide for the infusion of capital that’s absolutely necessary for them to bridge to the future." Democrats want the Bush administration to approve an additional $25 billion in loans from the Treasury program, bringing total federal assistance to the car companies to $50 billion. In a letter sent yesterday to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., Levin and other Michigan lawmakers urged Paulson "in the strongest possible terms to use your authority under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) or other statutes to immediately address a significant and systemic threat to the U.S. economy and provide emergency assistance to the domestic automobile industry." Given that one of every 10 U.S. jobs depends in some way on the auto industry, the letter says, helping Detroit is "well within the broad mandate of the Treasury Department to promote stable economic growth. Given the urgency of the situation, we ask that you work with us in the coming days to provide immediate loan support to the domestic auto industry, including, if necessary," by amending the emergency stabilization act. The letter followed a similar entreaty to Paulson over the weekend by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.)… Michigan lawmakers from both parties said failure to act would be devastating, not only to the car companies but also to the nation. "Our nation’s leaders must not turn a deaf ear toward helping the nation’s automakers," Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), co-chairman of the Congressional Auto Caucus, said in a written statement. "We can either stand by and do nothing, watching tens of thousands of jobs in Michigan and Middle America evaporate, or we can meet our challenges head on." … Once again Mr. Obama tries to re-write recent history. The bailout of GM and Chrysler was the brainchild of the Democrat Congress and Mr. Obama himself.