WASHINGTON DC – Michigan’s Congressional delegation, in a message mirrored by the delegation from Ohio, on Monday urged the Bush administration to use authority within the $700 billion financial rescue package to provide immediate help to the Detroit Three automakers.
The potential crisis that could force the closure of more manufacturing sites also prompted mayors of four factory-heavy cities to ask Governor Jennifer Granholm and federal officials for redevelopment funds if the plants close.
The Congressional delegation letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said aid to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler is urgent given the “significant and systemic threat to the U.S. economy” posed by possible bankruptcy of the companies.
“It is our view that providing emergency assistance to this uniquely important industry, which is struggling to meet the challenge of a severe financial crisis that has spread far beyond Wall Street, is consistent with the authority granted to you by EESA, and indeed well within the broad mandate of the Treasury Department to promote stable economic growth,” the letter from the two U.S. Senators and 15 members of the U.S. House said.
They asked for meetings to work out a loan program, or devise amendments to the bailout package, to facilitate the assistance.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Trenton) said: “U.S. automakers are on the verge of producing new high-quality, energy-efficient vehicles that consumers want and will transform the marketplace. This is the time to invest in companies wanting to create new green jobs here in the U.S., but we must protect the millions of jobs at risk right now. We cannot simply let these jobs and these companies disappear because we will never be able to replace them.”
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mount Clemens) said: “When Wall Street was in trouble the administration acted with lightning speed to provide relief. Now our industry needs help and the administration has been slow to act. It is long past time that the administration recognizes the threat to our economic security and national security posed by the precarious financial situation of our domestic automakers and take appropriate action authorized by law.”
THE MAYORS: The mayors Sterling Heights, Warren, Dearborn and Livonia drafted a proposal to give to state and federal leaders asking for redevelopment assistance that could be used for buying land, cleaning sites, demolishing buildings and creating jobs if plants larger than 500,000 square feet are closed.
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