Automaker Bankruptcy Would Be 'a Disaster': Frank

Debate rages on auto bailout
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2008 11:02 AM CST
Automaker Bankruptcy Would Be 'a Disaster': Frank
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., gestures on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

The CEOs of the Big Three are back on Capital Hill this morning testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, and Barney Frank at least seems sympathetic. The chairman said bankruptcy “would be a disaster,” given the current credit markets and today’s dire job report, adding that “the country is held hostage” by the debate, the Detroit News reports.

The panel’s top Republican said he’d support “limited transitional assistance” for the companies. Democrat Paul Kanjorski echoed Frank, admonishing some in Congress for wanting to “play chicken” with the industry. And Democrat Gary Ackerman complained that the proposed bailout price had ballooned from $25 billion 2 weeks ago to $34 billion. “I don’t want to send you home again,” he quipped, “because it’s going to get more expensive.” (More Barney Frank stories.)

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