WASHINGTON — The White House and Democratic congressional leaders reached broad agreement on a $15-billion auto industry bailout measure Tuesday night, but continued to negotiate details as they aimed at their next challenge: persuading deeply suspicious members of Congress to go along with another government handout to big business.
A final deal could be announced as early as this morning after House and Senate negotiators agreed to Bush administration demands for tougher government oversight and expanded powers for the proposed "car czar," according to White House and congressional aides.
The remaining stumbling block was a Democratic provision to force automakers that receive government money to stop funding lawsuits against California and more than a dozen other states to overturn tougher emission standards.
Though supported by environmentalists, that provision was opposed by the White House, and its inclusion could alienate Republicans whose votes are needed to get the bill through the Senate.
Every vote is crucial. Many lawmakers, looking back on the $700-billion Wall Street rescue package they approved in October, wish they had imposed more restrictions on how those funds would be used. Now those regrets are making it harder to sell aid for Detroit.
"There's bailout fatigue right now," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking House Republican. "People are tired of 'Give us the money and we'll see what we need to do with it.' I think that's why . . . a lot more questions are being asked both by taxpayers and by members of the House and Senate."
While big financial institutions such as Citigroup and large banks got tens of billions in aid without their chief executives having to trek to Washington hat in hand, the chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have come pleading twice -- and most likely will have to accept tougher conditions, such as tighter government oversight and more limits on their pay.
"We're faced with a reality that we've given away almost $1 trillion in taxpayer money with what we thought were some strings attached to a bunch of financial industry people," Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) told the Big Three chief executives last week. "And you face the fury around here with the American public of having really no accountability for any of that money."
