House Expected to Pass Auto Bailout

In the Senate, however, some Republican members were threatening a filibuster.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) - The White House and Congress reached agreement Wednesday on how to pump $15 billion in emergency aid to auto companies, but many key Republican lawmakers remained wary of the deal, jeopardizing its prospects.

The House of Representatives could vote as soon as late Wednesday, and chances of passage there were considered good.

In the Senate, however, some Republican members were threatening a filibuster. White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten was to meet Wednesday with Republican senators, hoping to persuade them not to filibuster the agreement to create a "car czar" who would dole out loans to ailing automakers and require them to restructure.

"Let me remind everyone of the Republican criteria for this legislation," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "We will not let taxpayers spend their hard-earned money on ailing carmakers unless these companies are forced to reform their bad habits, either inside or outside bankruptcy."

Administration officials and leading Democrats were convinced that the companies would retool dramatically.

The emergency loans, which could be made within days of the bill's passage, are expected to go to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which face severe cash shortages and imminent bankruptcy. Ford Motor Co. has said its needs are less urgent.

The loans are "a bridge to either fundamental restructuring or bankruptcy," said Joel Kaplan, the deputy White House chief of staff for policy.

Republicans wanted a clearer definition of what would constitute "long-term viability" for any assisted automakers, and they got it. They had been concerned that without clear guidelines on how the companies would restructure themselves, the carmakers could return to Washington next year and get more government aid.

Kaplan said at a White House news briefing that the legislative language was toughened to say that the firms must earn profits as they continued doing business. He called that viability definition "firm." And, he said, if the companies don't come up with restructuring plans that make them viable, "the government gets its money back."

In that scenario, the companies presumably would declare bankruptcy, go out of business or come up with another plan. "If there is no plan that satisfies the conditions for long-term viability," Kaplan said, "there is an explicit prohibition put in the legislation against any federal financing being used to help these firms avoid bankruptcy or to achieve financial viability."

Republicans also wanted to eliminate a provision of the Democratic measure that would have required the automakers to drop lawsuits challenging emissions limits in California and elsewhere, and Democrats agreed.

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However, some Republicans continued to have philosophical objections to providing taxpayers' money to private industry, as well as a reluctance to face constituents who are still angry about October's $700 billion financial industry bailout.

"Republicans will not allow taxpayers to subsidize failure," McConnell said.

While President George W. Bush would appoint the car czar, Kaplan said, he would work closely with President-elect Barack Obama on the choice.

Kaplan said the czar would have the power to force deals with unions, management and suppliers. "This is not somebody who is going to run the companies. This is someone who is going to bring them around the table, knock heads."

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