Looks like a deal has been cut here in D.C. to throw a life line to the auto industry:
The ailing U.S. auto industry needs changes at the top, an influential Democratic senator said on Monday as Congress and the White House work to complete a plan to save Detroit's Big Three and stem the deepening U.S. recession.Republicans are trying to blame auto workers for the industry's woes. The U.A.W. is fighting back -- and they should. You never heard buffoons like Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) attack the workers on Wall Street, including those raking in millions, for the collapse of the financial sector. Shelby's home state of Alabama provided hundreds of millions in subsidies to foreign auto makers. It's not news that Republicans are hypocrites and want to screw over working men and women. This is just a particularly glaring example.
Even if they manage to reach an agreement in principle to provide General Motors Corp, Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co with at least $15 billion in short-term loans, it was uncertain if it would become law.
Democrats have a majority in the 100-member Senate, which is to meet on Monday and could begin consideration of legislation within days. But skeptical Republicans could kill such a measure with a procedural hurdle that would need 60 votes to clear.
