Reporting from Washington — The House approved a $14-billion bailout for U.S. automakers Wednesday after White House and Democratic leaders finalized a deal empowering a government "car czar" to force the companies into bankruptcy by next spring if they don't restructure.
But the fate of the plan -- and of some of the nation's most storied companies and brand names -- remained uncertain because of deep-seated Republican opposition in the Senate, where Democrats cannot pass the bill without GOP help.
Supporters, including administration officials, Democratic congressional leaders and many independent economists, warned that hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost and hundreds of related businesses damaged or destroyed if one or more of the U.S. automakers failed.
"The consequences of defeating this bill would be disaster for the economy that is already in trouble," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told his colleagues during the debate. The vote was 237-170, with 32 Republicans joining 205 Democrats in supporting it.
The White House dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney, Chief of Staff Josh Bolton and top economic advisor Edward Lazear to Capitol Hill to sell the deal, but they were barraged by questions during a two-hour, closed-door meeting and failed to secure much, if any, support, senators said.
"People are rightly concerned that the automakers and unions won't follow through. Many simply don't believe that the changes that need to be made will be made," Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) said after meeting. He said Cheney, Bolton and Lazear acknowledged that the bill wasn't as strong as they would have liked but urged Republicans to support it.
Many Republicans are weary of government bailouts and worry that providing money to automakers will lead other industries to seek aid. Many on Capitol Hill also are convinced they should have attached more strings to the $700-billion Wall Street bailout.
A central goal of White House and congressional negotiators has been to design a bill tough enough on the Detroit automakers and United Auto Workers Union to pass muster in Congress.
"It's a bill that provides bridge financing to one of two possibilities . . . fundamental restructuring or bankruptcy," said Joel Kaplan, White House deputy chief of staff for policy. "We wanted to make sure it was tough and that this was not a bridge financing to nowhere."
