curt hitch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A mammoth spending bill to keep the U.S. government running through March will include a $25 billion loan guarantee package for the struggling auto industry, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT
The must-pass spending measure, which carries a price tag of more than $600 billion, is likely to come up for a vote on the House of Representatives floor on Wednesday, Obey told reporters.
The inclusion of the low-interest loan guarantees is a victory for struggling U.S. manufacturers General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co, and Chrysler LLC, which is controlled by private equity firm Cerebus Capital Management LLC.
“I’m not a fan of the American auto industry and I’m not a fan of this provision. But Congress authorized it and we’re providing the funding for it,” said Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat.
The bill includes $5.2 billion to help low-income people pay their heating bills, $2 billion for student loans and roughly $23 billion in emergency aid to states hard hit by hurricanes and other recent natural disasters, he said.
It does not include other measures many Democrats had hoped for like increased spending for food stamps, extended unemployment benefits and medical assistance for states, all meant to help citizens navigate a slumping economy.
Those measures will be included in a separate economic stimulus bill, Obey said.
The bill also leaves out any mention of offshore oil drilling, pushing the politically sensitive topic past the November 4 presidential and congressional elections.
“The next election will decide what our drilling policy is going to be,” Obey said.
Congress must pass the bill by September 30, the end of the fiscal year, because it has failed to approve any of the 12 annual spending bills need to keep the lights on in Washington.
The Democratic-controlled Congress has spent the year battling the Bush administration over about $14 billion in increases in domestic spending Democrats want for items like health care and science research. That would be dwarfed by the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that the White House proposed over the weekend, Obey noted.
Democrats are hoping that if Barack Obama is elected president, they will have an easier time winning the added spending early next year.
Assuming the bill clears the House and Senate in coming days as expected, Democrats will have ensured full-year funding, through September 30, 2009, for three large, politically sensitive areas: the Defense Department, domestic security programs and expanded veterans’ benefits.
In March, Congress would have to deal with the rest of the government’s funding, such as health programs, law enforcement, space exploration and foreign aid.
Under this measure, the Pentagon would get most of the money — $487.7 billion — to keep its day-to-day operations running for the year. This does not count money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have been running well over $100 billion a year.
Domestic security programs that were significantly expanded after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center in New York would get nearly $40 billion, while veterans’ and military construction programs together would receive nearly $73 billion for the year.
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Image by gmeurope via Flickr Cadillac’s banner year was 1954 (the year Elvis was driving a pink ’54 model). Back then, the big Caddys represented wealth and success (and gas was only $.25 per gallon). Today, a 4,000-pound super-sized sedan averaging 15 mpg in the city cycle doesn’t bode well with anyone. With plans for their replacement on hold, and the rumor that the DTS/STS my be combined into one new vehicle unconfirmed, GM is focusing on coupe and wagon versions of the CTS and smaller and more fuel efficient SUVs. For the record, we don’t consider the just-announced $71,000 2009 Escalade Hybrid smaller and more efficient….
This is a direct replacement that requires removal of the factory grille, but reuses the factory’s mounting locations. The factory emblem is taken off the stock grille and reused. Grille will fit on all current trim levels.
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