Labor unions railed against Senate Republicans today after the proposed auto bailout's failure last night in the upper chamber, accusing the GOP of scapegoating autoworkers in the name of conservative ideology.
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger began the salvo this morning at a news conference on the vote.
"Quite frankly, we wondered if we were being set up," Gettelfinger said, adding that discussions over UAW wages were "just simply subterfuge on the part of the minority in the Republican Party who wanted to tear down any agreement that we come up with."
Gettelfinger accused the Senate GOP caucus of treating unions unfairly by demanding wage cuts as part of legislative negotiations, while leaving the Big Three's corporate fates up to an executive-appointed "car czar." Gettelfinger pointed to a February, 2007 Detroit Free Pressstory claiming American employees of foreign automakers earn higher wages on average than UAW members.
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President-elect Barack Obama this morning said he's disappointed that the Senate could not reach a compromise an auto industry bailout last night, but expressed hope that Congress and the Bush administration can still forge a viable deal.
"I am disappointed that the Senate could not reach agreement on a short-term plan for the auto industry," Obama said in a statement released by his transition office. "I share the frustration of so many about the decades of mismanagement in this industry that has helped deliver the current crisis. Those bad practices cannot be rewarded or continued. But I also know that millions of American jobs rely directly or indirectly on a viable auto industry, and that the beginnings of reform are at hand. The revival of our economy as a whole should not be a partisan issue."
"So I commend those in Congress as well as the Administration who tried valiantly to forge a compromise. My hope is that the Administration and the Congress will still find a way to give the industry the temporary assistance it needs while demanding the long-term restructuring that is absolutely required," Obama said.
The White House this morning revived hopes of federal assistance for Detroit by suggesting it could use remaining frunds from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) package to help the Big Three.
President Bush will consider new measures to rescue trouble U.S. car companies now that the Senate has killed a $14 billion bailout bill, White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.
One of the options the president may look at it is using some of the $700 billion reserved for the rescue of Wall Street investment banks. Democratic leaders in Congress had urged the president to tap those funds to help the carmakers, but Bush had rebuffed the request.
Read Perino's full statement below:
It is disappointing that while appropriate and effective legislation to assist and restructure troubled automakers received majority support in both houses, Congress nevertheless failed to pass final legislation. The approach in that legislation provided an opportunity to use funds already appropriated for automakers, and presented the best chance to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy while ensuring taxpayer funds go only to firms whose stakeholders were prepared to make the difficult decisions to become viable, competitive firms in the future.
Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms. However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary
Speaking outside a press conference on the proposed auto bailout yesterday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) warned that citizens will riot if the federal government continues to bail out various sectors of the failing U.S. economy.
"We're going to have riots," DeMint told a member of conservative GetLiberty.org, when asked "where do you think the bailout mania is going to end?"
House Republicans have decided to offer their own alternative to the auto bailout package, once again throwing a potential wrench into the works at the eleventh hour of a tenuous negotiation process.
The GOP bill, which Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) described as alternative to the nationalizing of the domestic auto industry through a
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Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is pressing for Congress to create a 'car czar' position by early next week to guide a bailout process for the Big Three.
Schumer sent a letter to colleagues today pushing the idea, which he forwarded at yesterday's Senate Banking Committee hearing where the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler testified. The so-called czar, under Schumer's plan, would guide restructuring talks with the companies and disburse bailout funds.
The czar would also be empowered to offer a government guarantee on car warranties.
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House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), reacting to today's Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the U.S. economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, said that now is not the time to spend taxpayer money on the economic stimulus plan being pushed by Democrats.
"Families and small businesses are facing difficult times, and now is not the time to make matters even worse by asking taxpayers to pay for a slate of new government spending in the name of 'economic stimulus,'" Boehner said.
See Boehner's full statement below:
Families and small businesses are facing difficult times, and now is not the time to make matters even worse by asking taxpayers to pay for a slate of new government spending in the name of
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today recommended that, if Congress awards Detroit its requested $34 billion in federal assistance, a board of overseers should be appointed to disburse the bailout and oversee structural reforms in the Big Three auto companies.
Congress could establish a board "to approve, disburse, and oversee the use of these initial funds and provide any additional federal funds and continued oversight. This board could also oversee any structural reforms of the companies. Among other responsibilities, Congress could give the board authority to establish and implement eligibility criteria for potential borrowers and to implement procedures and controls in order to protect the government
On the eve of auto executives' return to Capitol Hill to ask for a federal bailout, the second-most senior Republican on the Banking Committee said he doubted the industry would get any help.
Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah, in the Senate for meetings late Wednesday, said he believes the plans submitted by Ford, Chrysler and General Motors are too vague. Top executives of all three companies are scheduled to testify before the Banking Committee Thursday.
"They're asking for 25 billion and they're not saying how they're going to spend the money," Bennett said.
Bennett also said he believed most of his colleagues on the Banking Committee feel the same way. "I just don't think anything is going to happen," he said.
Most Americans don't want taxpayer money used to pay for a bailout of the Big 3 U.S. automakers, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.
The survey found that 61 percent of Americans oppose federal help for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. Just 36 percent support such a measure. Most Americans -- 53 percent -- thought an auto bailout wouldn't help the U.S. economy, and few Americans -- 15 percent -- thought that the companies' bankruptcy would immediately affect them.
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