Democrats Seek Federal Assistance For Automakers

November 9, 2008 10:13 a.m. EST

Washington, DC (AHN) - Congressional Democrat leaders urged the Bush administration to include automakers in the Treasury Department's $700-billion economic rescue plan.

The call came after General Motors and Ford reported multi-billion third-quarter losses.

Some analysts warn that GM faces bankruptcy unless the federal government steps in to help.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this week asking him to provide "temporary assistance to the automobile industry during the current financial crisis."

The congressional leaders also said, "A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market security."

Critics of this and other industry bailout proposals, say companies in other industries could expect the same treatment and argue that their survival is essential for the economic health of the nation."

Automkers last week went to Capitol Hill to ask Congress for $50 billion in loans to help through tough economic times and to help pay for health care costs of the industry's retirees.

"We left the meeting convinced that our nation's automobile industry -- the heart of our manufacturing sector -- and the jobs of tens of thousands of American workers are at risk," Reid and Pelosi wrote to Paulson.