With two of America's major automobile companies reportedly weeks away from financial collapse, there continues to be little agreement in Washington on how to craft a government rescue package that would stave off bankruptcy. The White House is weighing options days after the Senate defeated a plan to provide emergency aid to carmakers.
In concept, everyone agrees on the basic idea behind federal assistance to the troubled U.S. auto industry. The carmakers, their unions, the Bush administration and leaders of both parties in Congress have endorsed the idea of a government bridge loan in return for significant steps to restructure automobile companies and make them more competitive. It is in the details that potential deals have fallen apart. Just what steps will be taken to put carmakers on a path to financial viability, the sacrifices that will be required of autoworkers and how federal funding will be provided have all proved highly divisive.
Senate Republicans have demanded the largest concessions from the auto industry, labor unions and creditors. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee says he and other Republicans voted against last week's bill after the United Autoworkers union rejected far-reaching wage and benefits concessions as a condition for the bridge loan. Speaking on the CBS program Face The Nation, Corker rejected any suggestion that Republicans are being obstructionist.
"This has not been about blocking [legislation]. This has been about trying to find a solution that works and really causes these companies to be in a position to go forward in a healthy fashion. But, without all of these shared sacrifices, that will not happen," said Corker.
Corker added that union officials had little incentive to agree to a new round of concessions, since the White House had already signaled its willingness to provide aid to carmakers, and the Bush administration could bypass Congress and tap the existing $700 billion financial rescue package for the funds.
For weeks, the White House expressed reluctance to dip into the rescue package, which Congress approved in October to bail out U.S. financial institutions. But the White House said it was reconsidering the idea after last week's Senate defeat of the automobile aid program, which would have provided $14 billion in bridge loans, while establishing a so-called "car czar" to help guide the industry to profitability.
White House officials say they are reviewing financial data on the automakers, while considering possible courses of action.
For its part, the main autoworkers union has already offered some concessions, but it is not clear whether those would be sufficient to allow car companies to become profitable in the long term.
All three major U.S. carmakers are headquartered in the state of Michigan, where representatives say time is running out to save the industry, which they describe as the backbone of America's diminishing manufacturing sector.
Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan also spoke on Face The Nation.
"No other country that produces automobiles is allowing its industry to collapse. They all have the same problem. They are all providing loans to those industries," said Levin. "This is not unique to the United States."
In Britain, meanwhile, labor officials are quoted as urging the government to inject cash into the country's automobile industry to ensure it survives the current global economic slump.
據(jù)報導，盡管美國兩大主要汽車公司幾個星期后將陷入財務崩潰，但是在如何制定一個避免他們破產(chǎn)的政府救援計劃方面，華盛頓仍沒有取得一致看法。幾天前，在參議院否決了向汽車制造商提供緊急援助的計劃后，白宮目前正在權衡各種救助途徑。
在概念上，每個人都同意向陷入經(jīng)濟困境的美國汽車行業(yè)提供聯(lián)邦援助。汽車制造商、汽車工業(yè)工會、布什政府和國會兩黨的領導人都支持政府提供過渡性貸款的想法，以換取汽車公司重組并加強競爭性的重要舉措。目前是這項可能達成交易的細節(jié)出了問題。最大的分歧是采取哪些措施讓汽車制造商走上財務可行性的道路，要求汽車工業(yè)做出哪些犧牲，以及以什么方式提供聯(lián)邦資金。
參議院共和黨議員要求汽車工業(yè)、工會和債權方做出最大的讓步。田納西州的共和黨參議員考克說，他和其他的共和黨參議員投票反對上星期的議案。在此之前，全美汽車工業(yè)聯(lián)合會拒絕在工資和福利方面做出重大讓步，這是得到過渡性貸款的一個條件?？伎嗽诟鐐惐葋啅V播公司的“面向全國”的電視節(jié)目上駁斥了所謂共和黨人在蓄意阻撓的說法。
他說：“這決非是什么阻撓議案的通過。這是在設法尋找一條能奏效的解決方案，如何才能確保這些公司能健康發(fā)展。但是如果各方不能分擔這些犧牲，救助計劃就不能通過?！?/FONT>
考克還補充說，由于白宮已經(jīng)表示愿意向汽車制造商提供援助，而且布什政府能繞過國會，動用現(xiàn)有的7000億美元金融救助款，工會官員在同意作出新一輪讓步方面的積極性就不大。
過去幾個星期以來，白宮表示不愿意動用國會10月份批準的救助計劃資金。這筆資金是用來幫助美國的金融機構擺脫困境的。但是白宮說，在參議院上個星期否決了汽車工業(yè)救助方案之后，他們正在重新考慮這個構想。被否決的計劃包括提供140億美元的過渡性貸款，并設立一個所謂的“汽車沙皇”來指導汽車工業(yè)走上營利的道路。
白宮官員說，他們正在評估汽車公司的財務數(shù)據(jù)，并正在考慮可能采取的行動。
對于主要汽車制造商來說，他們已經(jīng)主動做出一些讓步，但是目前還不清楚這些讓步是否足以讓汽車公司從長遠來看能夠獲利。
美國三個主要汽車公司的總部都在密西根州。他們的代表說，拯救汽車工業(yè)的時間所剩無幾。他們說，汽車工業(yè)是美國日落西山制造業(yè)的支柱。
密西根州的民主黨參議員萊文也接受了“面向全國”的電視采訪。
他說：“沒有任何一個生產(chǎn)汽車的國家允許其汽車行業(yè)崩潰。他們都有相同的問題。他們都向這些汽車行業(yè)提供貸款。這并不是美國所特有的?！?/FONT>
同時，英國媒體報導說，勞工官員正在敦促政府向汽車工業(yè)注入資金，以確保汽車工業(yè)能度過目前的全球金融衰退。
