Legislative Background
Recent Action on the Auto Industry Bailout
Detroit’s Big Three — Ford, General Motors (GM), and Chrysler — began losing money and laying off workers in 2005. By November 2008, their chief executives were on Capitol Hill pleading with Congress for $25 billion to help pay suppliers, workers, and other expenses, claiming that without Federal assistance, the companies could be bankrupt within months. Senate Proposal Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV-D), proposed legislation authorizing $25 billion in rescue loans for the automakers. The money would have come from the $700 billion already set aside by Congress in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), established…
