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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It’s gonna get worse; the day is young. The longer those senators sit there the angrier they seem to get. If Reid thinks the votes ain’t there, and he is probably right, this is all just a show anyway.
See you on January 20th.
Corker’s right (and agrees with TTAC) that Chrysler has deep-pocketed owners. Why should we taxpayers help them out?
Thank goodness someone in Congress is asking these questions.
Sen. Corker has almost (almost!) restored my faith in Congress! Can’t wait to catch some of this on YouTube.
The 25 was kicked out because the govt planned to use it for the bailout. It’ll be back.
Got the live video playing in a window on the computer here at work- this is REALLY FUN to watch!
Hope you have 8 hours to watch YouTube tonight, because there are a lot of great zingers in there…
geeber :
December 4th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
“Thank goodness someone in Congress is asking these questions.”
Well said!!
I’m both surprised and happy that they are not just handing out money!
Update. DOE says requests not rejected – they are just asking for more info.
— 1st Impressions —
Senator Corker … Clearly an undercover TTAC reader.
Wagner … nerdy dufus … ok, now I understand how he’s run GM into the ground … what a dufus. Comes off like a whiny nerd who can’t give a straight answer. Clearly skipped the PR lesson on projecting a forceful decisive persona. Gheeesh!
Gettlefinger … he comes off like he should be retailing iron, not building it… most likely at BillyBob’s Buy-Here-Pay-Here-We-Tote-The-Note Used Car Emporium.
Corker’s a corker alright. a blast of righteous fresh air.
Dodd has begun sucking up to Corker. The voter input to his office must be roasting Dodd’s NSFW but good.
These Senate hearings are actually pretty good.
They’re talking about a real industrial policy for the auto industry.
If I may distill the Senate’s consensus:
– give a short term loan for a quarter
– install a car-czar to supervise the industry
– force immediate cramdowns on stakeholders: bondholders get 30%, the UAW VEBA is cut in half, labor costs are immediately cut down to Toyota’s level
– force GM and Chrysler to merge
– lots of layoffs and plant closings
I’d never heard of Corker until the first round of bailout hearings. He’s a bright guy.
UTenn grad.
Ran his own businesses and made millions.
Since he’s not a Harvard MBA, he can actually understand the real world.
Hope he has some “corkers” to ask RIR also.
He’s asking some of the right things.
RF-send him a packet of editorials, including the pre-pack bailout stuff.
This guy might actually listen, understand and ask.
Worth a shot.
Bunter
I agree with corker’s point of forced bankruptcy by march 31 if they dont improve after getting the loans. Its the only way to make sure they revamp all the contracts.
“DOE says requests not rejected – they are just asking for more info.”
Good bureaucrats never reject anything. They always ask for more information in the hope that you will die or go away.
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).
S’all on YouTube. Man those CEOs are squirming hard, and Corker is enjoying it.
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.
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.