WASHINGTON — A Treasury Department official said Monday that no decisions have been made on what type of support to provide Detroit automakers.
Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said department officials are continuing to assess the information they have received from the auto companies. Treasury officials are providing regular briefings to the White House, but she said there was no estimate on when a decision might be made.
“We continue to assess and review the information that we have received from the automakers,” McLaughlin told reporters.
President George W. Bush said Monday that short-term government help for the automakers was in the works and could come soon.
“We’re now in the process of working with the stakeholders on a way forward,” Bush told reporters on Air Force One as he was returning from a surprise weekend trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This will not be a long process because of the economic fragility of the autos,” Bush said.
Officials at the Treasury Department and the White House are considering ways to provide emergency support to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, both of which have said they could run out of cash within weeks without government help.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Monday that he expects Bush’s solution will follow the previous deal reached with congressional leaders.
The deal approved by the House provided loans for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. to help them survive until March 31, but it was blocked by some Republican senators.
At a news conference in Detroit Monday, Levin said he expects GM to get $8 billion and Chrysler $7 billion under the Bush administration’s plan, while the Treasury secretary likely would become the “car czar” and oversee restructuring the automakers.
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