US congress continues discussions on carmaker bailout
Ford, Chrysler and General Motors have requested £23 billion in immediate assistance from Congress
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Sunday, 07, Dec 2008 04:32
Discussions on a bailout for major US car manufacturers are gathering pace in the US congress.
Talks have been taking place all weekend over government assistance for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - whose chiefs have requested £23 billion in immediate aid to save the companies and prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs.
Earlier this week, executives of the major car manufacturers apologised for making mistakes that worsened the financial position of the companies and urged congress to provide funding in order to prevent them from going bust.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a vote to take place on the issue next week as disagreements continue over the source of funding for the programme.
Previously the Democrats have insisted that the fund comes from the $700 billion (£480 billion) package called the Troubled Asset Relief Programme, announced by congress to aid ailing investment banks and financial institutions.
However, Ms Pelosi has indicated that funds could be used from money earmarked for the development of fuel-efficient technology.
She said: "We will not permit any funds to be borrowed from the advanced technology programme unless there is a guarantee that those funds will be replenished in a matter of weeks so as not to delay that crucial initiative.
"Regardless of the source, all funding needs will be tightly targeted with vigorous supervision and guaranteed taxpayer protection."
The bailout comes as the US economy experienced the largest monthly job loss in 34 years as 533,000 jobs were lost in October.