Area Development News Desk (11/20/2008)
The U.S. Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to proceed with a
proposed $25 billion bailout for the American auto industry, with
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) canceling a scheduled vote
with only two days remaining in the current lame duck session of
Congress. During testimony before the House of Representatives
Financial Services Committee, the CEOs of all three U.S. auto companies
- Rick Wagoner of General Motors (GM), Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert
Nardelli of Chrysler - faced harsh criticism about their business
practices that was highlighted by news reports that the three had
traveled to the hearings on company-funded private jets even as they
cut jobs and close factories. The three CEOs argued that they have all
renegotiated union contracts and started to produce fuel efficient
vehicles but were hit hard by the financial crisis. Bloomberg News
reports that there is still a possibility that President George W. Bush
could authorize a previously approved $25 billion, earmarked for the
development of fuel-efficient vehicles, to be dispersed instead for
operating expenses. Both GM and Chrysler have said that without the
bailout, they may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection in the
next few months.
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