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.
据报导，尽管美国两大主要汽车公司几个星期后将陷入财务崩溃，但是在如何制定一个避免他们破产的政府救援计划方面，华盛顿仍没有取得一致看法。几天前，在参议院否决了向汽车制造商提供紧急援助的计划后，白宫目前正在权衡各种救助途径。
在概念上，每个人都同意向陷入经济困境的美国汽车行业提供联邦援助。汽车制造商、汽车工业工会、布什政府和国会两党的领导人都支持政府提供过渡性贷款的想法，以换取汽车公司重组并加强竞争性的重要举措。目前是这项可能达成交易的细节出了问题。最大的分歧是采取哪些措施让汽车制造商走上财务可行性的道路，要求汽车工业做出哪些牺牲，以及以什么方式提供联邦资金。
参议院共和党议员要求汽车工业、工会和债权方做出最大的让步。田纳西州的共和党参议员考克说，他和其他的共和党参议员投票反对上星期的议案。在此之前，全美汽车工业联合会拒绝在工资和福利方面做出重大让步，这是得到过渡性贷款的一个条件。考克在哥伦比亚广播公司的“面向全国”的电视节目上驳斥了所谓共和党人在蓄意阻挠的说法。
他说：“这决非是什么阻挠议案的通过。这是在设法寻找一条能奏效的解决方案，如何才能确保这些公司能健康发展。但是如果各方不能分担这些牺牲，救助计划就不能通过。”
考克还补充说，由于白宫已经表示愿意向汽车制造商提供援助，而且布什政府能绕过国会，动用现有的7000亿美元金融救助款，工会官员在同意作出新一轮让步方面的积极性就不大。
过去几个星期以来，白宫表示不愿意动用国会10月份批准的救助计划资金。这笔资金是用来帮助美国的金融机构摆脱困境的。但是白宫说，在参议院上个星期否决了汽车工业救助方案之后，他们正在重新考虑这个构想。被否决的计划包括提供140亿美元的过渡性贷款，并设立一个所谓的“汽车沙皇”来指导汽车工业走上营利的道路。
白宫官员说，他们正在评估汽车公司的财务数据，并正在考虑可能采取的行动。
对于主要汽车制造商来说，他们已经主动做出一些让步，但是目前还不清楚这些让步是否足以让汽车公司从长远来看能够获利。
美国三个主要汽车公司的总部都在密西根州。他们的代表说，拯救汽车工业的时间所剩无几。他们说，汽车工业是美国日落西山制造业的支柱。
密西根州的民主党参议员莱文也接受了“面向全国”的电视采访。
他说：“没有任何一个生产汽车的国家允许其汽车行业崩溃。他们都有相同的问题。他们都向这些汽车行业提供贷款。这并不是美国所特有的。”
同时，英国媒体报导说，劳工官员正在敦促政府向汽车工业注入资金，以确保汽车工业能度过目前的全球金融衰退。
