Big 3 Bailout Plan Goes to White House

Measure has provision for watchdog, but other questions remain
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 8, 2008 3:38 PM CST
Big 3 Bailout Plan Goes to White House
In this Nov. 18, 2008 file photo, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, from right, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally, testify at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing on the automotive industry bailout on Capitol Hill in Washington. General Motors' board of directors...   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

A draft of the multibillion-dollar bailout agreement for the Big Three automakers went from Capitol Hill to the White House this afternoon and found a chilly reception, the AP reports. The draft legislation calls for a government watchdog appointed by the Bush administration to oversee the companies' operation, but its short-term provision for bridge loans to be extended as soon as this week appears to violate an agreement not to bail out companies deemed not viable.

The plan calls for a concrete restructuring plan to be submitted by March 31 to the watchdog, who would have the option of recalling the loans if he or she deems the companies' progress unsatisfactory, the Detroit Free Press reports. Meanwhile, UAW leadership floated the idea of securing an equity stake in GM in exchange for labor concessions, the Wall Street Journal reports.
(More Big Three stories.)

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