the foto from athens 8-12-08Car bailout falters in US senate
A $14bn rescue plan for the beleaguered auto industry in the United States has collapsed after the senate failed to reach a compromise over worker wage and benefit cuts, the US senate's senior Democrat has said. "I'm terribly disappointed that we are not able to arrive at a conclusion," Harry Reid, the senate majority leader, said late on Friday after Democratic and Republican legislators spent hours trying to hammer out a deal. Republicans had balked at giving the car makers federal aid unless the powerful union agreed to slash wages next year to bring them into line with those of Japanese car manufacturers. But George Voinovich, a Republican senator, said the union proved unwilling to make the cuts before 2011. Reid called the bill's collapse "a loss for the country". "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight." Legislators, however, went ahead with a procedural vote on the Democratic-sponsored bill negotiated with the White House which ultimately failed. Republican oppositionA similar version of the plan had passed in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday night by a vote of 237-170, but the senate had to pass the deal before George Bush, the US president, could sign it into law. Republicans in the senate appeared to have strengthened their opposition to the proposed bailout package earlier on Thursday, despite pleas from the White House and Barack Obama, the US president-elect, to pass the measure. Mitch McConnell, Republican senate minority leader, said on Thursday he opposed the measure - developed by the White House and congressional Democrats, because it "wasn't nearly tough enough". In Chicago, Obama said the US government could not leave the industry to collapse, saying it would have a "devastating ripple effect" throughout the US economy.
A $14bn rescue plan for the beleaguered auto industry in the United States has collapsed after the senate failed to reach a compromise over worker wage and benefit cuts, the US senate's senior Democrat has said. "I'm terribly disappointed that we are not able to arrive at a conclusion," Harry Reid, the senate majority leader, said late on Friday after Democratic and Republican legislators spent hours trying to hammer out a deal. Republicans had balked at giving the car makers federal aid unless the powerful union agreed to slash wages next year to bring them into line with those of Japanese car manufacturers. But George Voinovich, a Republican senator, said the union proved unwilling to make the cuts before 2011. Reid called the bill's collapse "a loss for the country". "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight." Legislators, however, went ahead with a procedural vote on the Democratic-sponsored bill negotiated with the White House which ultimately failed. Republican oppositionA similar version of the plan had passed in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday night by a vote of 237-170, but the senate had to pass the deal before George Bush, the US president, could sign it into law. Republicans in the senate appeared to have strengthened their opposition to the proposed bailout package earlier on Thursday, despite pleas from the White House and Barack Obama, the US president-elect, to pass the measure. Mitch McConnell, Republican senate minority leader, said on Thursday he opposed the measure - developed by the White House and congressional Democrats, because it "wasn't nearly tough enough". In Chicago, Obama said the US government could not leave the industry to collapse, saying it would have a "devastating ripple effect" throughout the US economy.
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A $14bn (£9.4bn) bail-out package for the beleaguered US car industry has died in the Senate after failing to get enough support in a procedural vote. The failure came after bipartisan talks on the rescue plan collapsed over Republican demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to swift wage cuts. A White House spokesman said it was disappointed Congress had "failed to act" and would "evaluate its options". The House of Representatives passed the White House-backed bill on Wednesday. The Democrats need some Republicans to back the bill in the Senate as they have a majority of just one, and some in their own party are expected to vote against. 'Three words away' The BBC's Andy Gallacher in Washington says it was always going to be a battle to get the US Senate to approve the $14bn bridging loan
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