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Stricken US carmakers looking close to a bailout
Bill Condie4 Dec 2008
A bailout by American taxpayers of Detroit's crippled carmakers looked ever more likely tonight as key politicians voiced their approval of a $34 billion (£23 billion) aid request.
Bosses of GM, Chrysler and Ford travelled to Washington, some by car rather than the private jets that caused so much fury on their last visit to the capital, to again push for the funds they say they need to get them through the credit crunch.
Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, said: "In my view, we need to act." He added that while carmakers' plans for reform still left many questions unanswered, they had done far more than America's embattled banks to show they merit taxpayer support.
Meanwhile, the auditor to the committee added strength to the carmakers' case by saying he believed the US Treasury had the authority to offer the cash under the previously approved laws providing bailout cash to banks.
