Bosses from America's big three car companies face a second day of grilling in Congress over their request for a multi-billion dollar bailout.
The chiefs of GM, Ford and Chrysler have already faced scepticism from US lawmakers as to whether $34bn (£23bn; 26.6bn euros) in aid would work.
On Friday the House financial services committee will hear their plea.
President George W Bush has said "we don't want to put good money after bad" no matter how key the auto industry is.
The House financial services committee chairman, Democrat Barney Frank, has called on President-elect Barack Obama to be rather more assertive on the issue than he has been so far.
The appearance of the three executives in Washington is the second time they have appealed to government for help - just two weeks ago Congress rejected their request for a $25bn loan.
From left: GM boss Rick Wagoner, Ford boss Alan Mulally and Chrysler's Bob Nardelli
The three bosses warned of collapse without a bailout
In a show of contrition and prudence, this time the men abandoned their private jets and drove to Washington in hybrid cars.
But their sense of urgency has only heightened, with General Motors boss Rick Wagoner warning that without help the company could go under within weeks.
The chief executives of Ford and GM have even offered to work for $1 a year if Congress approves the emergency aid.
The carmakers argued that the collapse of any one of them would have disastrous effects on the whole US economy.
Despite the warning and the view of the general banking committee's chairman Chris Dodd that inaction was not an option, Thursday's six-hour hearing ended without consensus.
There was plenty of scepticism, mostly from Republicans, reinforced by President Bush who said that any bailout must ensure the companies' long-term viability.
Mr Wagoner, Ford's Alan Mulally and Chrysler boss Bob Nardelli all blamed the US recession for decimating sales and leaving their companies in desperate need of cash.
We don't want to throw good money after bad he says, after all that's money we could be shoving into the ever hungry maw of the banks and never get back!
Just when you think he can't sound any dumber. :thewall:
"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken
President-elect supports industry aid, but says it must be tied to restructuring.
CHICAGO (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama announced support Sunday for a short-term government bailout of the nation's carmakers that is tied to industry restructuring. He also accused auto executives of a persistent "head-in-the sand approach" to long-festering problems.
Obama said Congress was doing "the exact right thing" in drafting legislation that "holds the auto industry's feet to the fire" at the same time it tries to prevent its demise.
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" and later at a news conference, Obama at one point suggested some executives should lose their jobs.
One leading Democrat in Congress, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, was far blunter. Rick Wagoner, the chief executive of General Motors Corp., (GM, Fortune 500) "has to move on," said Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
The criticism of industry leaders deepened as negotiators for the White House and Congress narrowed their differences over a plan to extend roughly $15 billion in short-term loans to any Detroit automaker that needs it. Analysts say General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, in particular, are at risk for running out of money in the next few weeks, and that Ford Motor Co. (F, Fortune 500) may need help if the economy deteriorates further.
Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, whose state is ground zero for the battered industry, said he was confident an agreement would emerge within the next day.
Democratic leaders have said they hope to pass the measure this week. While Levin declined to predict its approval, support among rank-and-file lawmakers presumably would improve dramatically if both White House and Obama were to signal their backing once the legislation is complete.
"The last thing I want to see happen is for the auto industry to disappear, but I'm also concerned that we don't put $10 billion or $20 billion or $30 billion or whatever billion dollars into an industry, and then, six months to a year later, they come back hat in hand and say, `Give me more,"' Obama said.
Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, has drawn some criticism from Democrats who want him to become more involved in efforts to save the industry. The president-elect said his aides are monitoring developments and considering longer-term plans.
He expressed no support for calls to allow the big carmakers to enter bankruptcy and said, "We don't want government to run companies." Instead, he said, "if taxpayer money is at stake -- which it appears may be the case -- we want to make sure that it is conditioned on an auto industry emerging at the end of the process that actually works, that actually functions.
"Taxpayers, I think are fed up. They're going through extraordinarily difficult times right now."
Obama did not single out any individual executive by name for criticism, and said there had been incremental progress in the past 15 years toward a more competitive line of products.
"What we haven't seen is a sense of urgency and the willingness to make tough decisions. And what we still see are executive compensation packages for the auto industry that are out of line compared to their competitors, their Japanese competitors, who are doing a lot better," he said.
Asked whether the top executives should remain in the jobs, he said, "Here's what I'll say, that it may not be the same for all the companies. But what I think we have to put an end to is the head-in-the-sand approach to the auto industry that has been prevalent for decades now."
Later, at the news conference, he appeared to temper his comments, saying that current management should be ousted if it doesn't understand the urgent need to make changes in the industry.
A breakthrough on the long-stalled rescue came Friday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, yielded to President George W. Bush on a key point: allowing the aid to come from an existing fund set aside for the production of environmentally friendlier cars.
The Big Three executives spent two consecutive days on Capitol Hill this past week pleading for as much as $34 billion in loans to help their industry survive. But they made clear that $15 billion would be enough to keep them running until the end of March 2009.
Dodd appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" and Levin was on "Fox News Sunday."
White House, congressional Democrats reach agreement on stopgap rescue plan. Quick House vote possible but Senate foes dig in.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The White House and leading congressional Democrats have reached an agreement on legislation to provide a stopgap bailout to U.S. automakers, according to officials from the administration and Congress.
The next steps were not clear early Wednesday afternoon. A House vote could take place later Wednesday. But strong Republican opposition in the Senate made prospects there less certain.
The bill could provide the $14 billion that General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC need to avoid filing for bankruptcy, allowing them to continue operations through the end of March.
The $14 billion is $1 billion less than what was being discussed earlier in the week, and less than half the $34 billion requested by automakers last week. Still it may well be enough to stave off the immediate threat of bankruptcy.
GM has said it needs $4 billion by the end of the month to continue operations, and believes it'll need an additional $6 billion in the first three months of 2009. Chrysler has said it needs $4 billion by the end of the first quarter.
Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), which has more cash on hand than its U.S. rivals, is not expected to tap into this bailout in the coming months.
What is in the bill
The stopgap measure is designed to let the new Congress and incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to craft a longer-term solution. It would also give the companies time to negotiate with creditors and the United Auto Workers union on additional concessions needed to stem their ongoing losses.
But the bill also sets strict oversight of the companies. There would be limits on executive pay, prohibitions for so-called golden parachutes and requirements that the automakers get rid of their corporate aircraft and not pay dividends while loans are outstanding.
The bill also provides for a presidential appointee, popularly referred to as a "car czar," to oversee the company's efforts to restructure their operations. If the car czar determines that the companies have not made progress on cutting costs, the loans would be recalled within 30 days.
While most House Republicans have been strongly opposed to the auto bailout from the beginning, multiple Republican aides say that the Michigan Republicans and others from the Midwest auto belt are expected to vote for the agreement. Such support would give House Democrats the votes needed to pass the bill.
The agreement came after Democrats dropped a provision in a previous draft of the bill that would have prohibited automakers from continuing their support of lawsuits against states with emission standards more stringent than current federal rules.
"We do not believe there was any chance the legislation would pass if that provision remained in," said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan.
Still, some Senate Republicans have threatened a filibuster, which could delay and even potentially block a vote on the bill. Five Senate Republican critics of the measure vowed Wednesday to do what they could to defeat the measure.
"What I've seen thus far is a travesty," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "This is an installment on a huge bailout that will come later. This will not make Chrysler, General Motors or Ford competitive. This is only delaying their funeral."
He would not predict whether critics had enough votes to block passage. But he cautioned "I think we're going to have a lot more friends than you probably think."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said "it appears unlikely" the Senate will vote Wednesday on the legislation, saying that Senate Republicans have told him they want to study it before deciding how to proceed.
White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton attended a Senate GOP policy lunch in the Capitol Wednesday to try to persuade skeptical GOP senators to support the bill.
A GOP Senate aide emphasized how crucial the meeting was, since Republicans have not been involved in the negotiations and have to be convinced that the White House sufficiently represented their concerns and interests.
It is unlikely that the White House will be able to sway strong Republican foes, such as John Ensign of Nevada and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. The big question is whether the White House can convince enough Republicans to get 60 votes to overcome opposition among those GOP senators.
Meanwhile, Reid said if Senate Democrats and Republicans can not reach an agreement to cut through the procedural steps opponents of the bill are likely to require, the Senate won't have final passage until late Saturday night or Sunday.
Reid held out hope that an agreement will be reached to require a 60-vote threshold for the bill -- the same vote total needed to break a time-consuming filibuster -- but allow final passage by perhaps Friday.
