Bailout Watch 240: DOE Chief Sends Back D2.8's Loan Requests

by Robert Farago

December 4th, 2008 3:48 PM

bailout watch 240 doe chief sends back d2 8 s loan requests

In the course of tearing the D2.8 CEOs a new NSFW, Senator Corker (R-TN) told the auto execs that Sam Bodman, Energy Sec, has rejected– so far– all the 136 requests for access to the $25b “retooling” loan fund. We have no other information at this time. But Holy frijoles, Corker is after Motown CEOs’ collective Nardelli. “There is not a person alive who thinks Chrysler can make it as a standalone automaker,” Corker asserted. Although the Senator raised the central issue for Chrysler– why the Hell should the U.S. government bail out the ailing automaker if deep-pocketed owner Cerberus won’t do it– Senator Dodd threw the deer-in-the-headlights ChyrCo honcho a lifeline. He changed the subject. Now Corker is sticking it to UAW boss Gettelfinger by trying to get him to agree to swap health care VEBA payments to equity, relieving GM of a big pile of debt. Another squirm. And Corker’s time is up. NSFWs are unpuckering.

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Geotpf on Dec 04, 2008
Stu Sidoti : December 4th, 2008 at 2:18 pm If Reid thinks the votes ain’t there, and he is probably right, this is all just a show anyway. Reid is a master vote counter. If he says the votes aren't there, the votes aren't there. He won't even bring it to the floor if it isn't going to pass. These hearings also bring my "multi-state plant location" theory to reality. That is, Toyota has plants in eight states with one in a ninth under construction. So, that means they own eighteen Senators. Plus, factor in the other states that have foreign plants (or even ones with no auto plants whatsoever), and there's enough to shoot down this proposal. (The loudest voice against the bailout is Senator Shelby, who is from Alabama, which has plants from several foreign makes, including Toyota).

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Vfc on Dec 04, 2008

S'all on YouTube. Man those CEOs are squirming hard, and Corker is enjoying it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxpB7vQFODM

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Pch101 on Dec 04, 2008

The hearings are fun and everything, but the odds are high that there will be a bailout of some kind, if not this month, then in January. Nobody will want to accept the blame if the companies flame out. It's safer to approve something soon and then let them fail later, than it would be to vote nay and then get the blame for certain. This is very much like what happened with TARP. The Congressmen grill their subjects, pretend to be up in arms, and otherwise grandstand for their side, before they go into the back room to figure out how they can get negotiate it so as to get enough votes to pass it without everyone having to cast a yes vote.

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Landcrusher on Dec 04, 2008

In a much better world, a guy like Sen. Corker would head that committee, and Sen. Dodd would have a job as a clueless local news hack.

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