House OKs 'Cash for Clunkers' Bill

Rebates up to $4,500 would go to buyers of more efficient vehicles
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2009 5:50 AM CDT
House OKs 'Cash for Clunkers' Bill
The bill's backers say it will spur around 1 million new vehicles sales in the US, reversing a massive drop over the last year.   (AP Photo/Mark Stahl)

The House has passed legislation to give people who trade in gas-guzzling vehicles for more efficient new models rebates up to $4,500, the Detroit News reports. The $4 billion "cash-for-clunkers" bill, aimed at giving the auto industry a boost, passed 298-119, and its backers will now try to get it attached to legislation in the Senate.

"The auto industry is going through a tremendous restructuring,” said Rep. Sander Levin, a Democrat from Michigan. “If there is not increased demand, that restructuring cannot succeed.” Some conservative Republicans opposed the bill, charging that it would do little to create demand, while environmentalists criticized it for offering rebates to buyers whose new vehicles were just 4mpg more efficient.
(More Cash for Clunkers stories.)

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