The House on Wednesday night appoved a $15 billion auto industry rescue package, but supporters in the Senate said they lacked the votes for passage due to GOP opposition.

The package easily sailed through the House in a 237-170 vote, with 1 member voting present. But support from the White House was not enough to win many votes from House Republicans, who broke in large numbers from a lame-duck president.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) cast a rare vote in favor of the package. By tradition, the House Speaker generally does not place a vote and by casting one, Pelosi meant to underline the importance of the package.

In the Senate, Democrats, who forged the deal with the White House, would need at least 11 or 12 GOP senators to advance the measure that would create a government “car czar” to oversee the funds and plans for the Big Three to restructure. One industry source put the number of GOP votes needed at 16, noting that a few Democrats are likely to vote against the bill.

House Republicans had presented an alternative proposal earlier in the day, and their leaders voted against the package with the exception of Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a memer of the Michigan delegation and the GOP policy committee chairman.

Several conservative Blue Dog Democrats voted no, including Reps. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), Collin Peterson (Minn.) and Heath Shuler (N.C.). Other Democrats voting against the package included Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.), Pete Stark (Calif.). and Tim Walz (Minn.).

A number of rust-belt Republicans voted for the package, including the new ranking Republican on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.).

Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) voted present.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) stressed in his floor statement in support of the bill that if Congress did nothing, it risked losing the auto industry.

"I would say right now from what I can pick up that I don't think the votes are there on our side of the aisle," said George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who helped craft the deal. "Some effort needs to be made to respond to some of the concerns of my colleagues."
 
Most Republicans said the car czar outlined in the legislation would be too weak to oversee the restructuring plans and force the companies to make necessary changes.
 
"I'm very concerned about the potential loss of jobs and the impact on innocent victims like the employees of car dealerships across the country," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). "On the other hand, I have a lot of unanswered questions about the authority of the czar and I still do not see why a prepackaged bankruptcy, with the federal government acting to provide debtor and possession financing, might not be a better approach."
 
Five GOP senators —  Jim DeMint (S.C), Richard Shelby (Ala.), John Ensign (Nev.), Tom Coburn (Okla.) and David Vitter (La.) —called the bill “a travesty” and said they would seek to stall the process long enough to allow a sixth senator, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), to complete work on an alternative bill that force the companies to restructure but without the formal stigma of filing for bankruptcy.
 
“We need to let the market fix this,” said DeMint. “This is not a political problem; it’s a business problem and once we allow them to restructure, they can come out on the other side.”
 
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who hails from a state where the economy depends on the American auto industry, reserved judgment on the legislation.
 
"I haven't made a final decision myself" about whether to support it, McConnell said. "Whatever is dealt with will be in a 60-vote context."
 
House Republicans offered their own alternative to the auto bailout package, proposing that the government instead provide insurance to cover up to 50 percent of company losses of new investment in the case of default, which they say will unlock immediate money from private investors who have been unwilling to come forward.
 
McConnell said there would be no Senate vote on the auto package Wednesday, but added the issue would be addressed before the end of the week. “On a bill this critical, with so much taxpayer money at stake, we cannot rush this through without adequate review,” he said.
 
Montana Democratic Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, as well as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have expressed concerns about the bill that makes their support questionable.

Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, released a statement on Wednesday morning criticizing a tax provision in the package. Later in the day, Baucus and Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the finance panel, said they would oppose the bill if the provision is not stripped out.
 
"It's a big problem," Baucus said. "I will oppose if the bill comes to the floor and that is in it... That provision needs to be taken out."
 
 The draft language of the bill would send GM and Chrysler $15 billion, and would require President Bush to appoint a car czar who would oversee the automakers’ restructuring plans and bailout funds.
 
McConnell hinted at one possible hurdle to Republican support: a provision that would bar car companies from pursuing lawsuits against California and other states that are imposing tough vehicle emissions standards.
 
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the lawsuit provision would be removed from the bill because of White House opposition and because it might not have worked anyway.

“We’re dealing with this administration now,” Hoyer said. “If we wait 41 days we might not have one or more of the major automakers.”
 
Jared Allen, Alexander Bolton, Ian Swanson and Mike Soraghan contributed to this article.

This article was updated at 7:07 p.m. 

This article was updated at 9:08 p.m.

This article was updated at 9:30 p.m.