Area Development
Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress have given the chief executives of General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler an ultimatum: Show a definitive plan that government aid would be well spent or go without. The New York Times and multiple news sources report that Congress has given the auto executives 12 days to form new business plans that would clearly spell out exactly how the companies would use the $25 billion bailout, and that a new round of hearings will begin on December 2 to consider those plans; if those hearings prove satisfactory, Congress would be called back into a special session the following week to vote. The Times quotes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at a news conference yesterday: "Until we can see a plan where the auto industry is held accountable and a plan for viability on how they go into the future - until we see the plan, until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money." An earlier proposal put forth by Senators Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) would have given access to $25 billion in loans from a fund approved for research and development into fuel-efficient vehicles; however, Congressional leaders said that this plan does not have the support to win passage at this time.