WP,pg1: Automakers Are Lining Up Aid, But Just Don't Call It a Bailout

[DeepModem Mom]

Automakers Are Lining Up Aid, But Just Don't Call It a Bailout
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 4, 2005; Page A01


Troubled U.S. automakers and their allies on Capitol Hill are seeking billions of dollars in aid from the federal government ranging from health coverage for their workers to extra tax write-offs for themselves.

They're also asking for one rhetorical favor: Please don't call the requests a bailout.

"I don't view it as a bailout," Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said.

"We're not looking for a bailout," agreed William C. Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co....

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Taken together, however, the components of their wish list would cost tens of billions....With pleadings that large, breaking the requests into smaller pieces makes a great deal of legislative sense, and industry and labor leaders hope that several relief packages could begin to move in Congress next year. The outlook is uncertain, especially given the size of the federal budget deficit, but auto industry representatives said they were optimistic that at least some of their proposals would succeed....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301326.html