Strings almost certain to be attached to a Detroit bailout

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) suggested Thursday that Congress wait until after Barack Obama is sworn in as president in January to provide further help to the carmakers. "Right now, I don't think there are the votes," he said. But a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Reid would press ahead with the still-unwritten measure next week, when the heads of the Big Three U.S. automakers are scheduled to testify before Congress.

Industry supporters say adding tough conditions to aid could hamstring automakers further and put as many as 3 million jobs in jeopardy.

"The matter at hand is not the fuel efficiency of an automobile. It's that the consumer just doesn't want to buy any automobile right now," said Wade Newton of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents the Big Three, Toyota and some German carmakers.

Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said adding conditions to an automaker bailout is "like saying that you're only allowed to use organic medicine. You need to use the medicine that's going to make you healthy."

One thing is clear: Any major overhaul of the industry is likely to stir political trouble in the short term and cost jobs in the long term. Congressional leaders are preparing for a showdown with the Bush administration, which has been reluctant to extend aid beyond the financial sector.

Key Republicans are demanding to know how Detroit would fix its problems if it received more government aid. "Why have the Democratic leaders of Congress been willing to provide this money without insisting that the companies receiving these federal dollars demonstrate to Congress and to taxpayers that they have a credible plan to strengthen their financial health?" House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday.

With Obama and other Democratic leaders talking about the need for U.S. automakers to produce more energy-efficient cars, the industry is bracing for a fight. As one Detroit columnist recently wrote, a bailout probably "will come with more strings than a loan from Tony Soprano."

General Motors Corp.'s financial condition is so dire that it says it needs federal help even before Obama takes office. Last week, GM reported a $2.5-billion loss for the third quarter and said it could run out of cash in the first half of 2009.