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WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of senators reached tentative agreement Thursday night on an emergency $14 billion bailout for U.S. automakers, the Senate's top Democrat said. Majority Leader Harry Reid said the lead Republican architect of the deal was briefing colleagues on the compromise, and Democrats were prepared to move forward on it quickly.
"We're ready to go," said Reid.
His announcement came after hours of marathon talks at the Capitol between labor, lawmakers and the auto industry to salvage the Big Three rescue. The talks centered on possible wage and benefit concessions from the United Auto Workers union as well as large-scale debt restructuring by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
The developments unfolded after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined other GOP lawmakers in announcing his opposition to a White House-backed rescue bill that was approved by the House on Wednesday. He called for an alternative that would reduce the wages and benefits of the U.S. automakers to bring them in line with those paid by Japanese carmakers Nissan, Toyota and Honda in the United States.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee took a leading role in the closed-door talks for Republicans.
"The meetings have gone very well," he said as he ducked out of negotiations at one point. "We've got some issues to work out."
Majority Leader Harry Reid said the lead Republican architect of the deal was briefing colleagues on the compromise, and Democrats were prepared to move forward on it quickly.
"We're ready to go," said Reid, D-Nev.
His announcement came after hours of marathon talks at the Capitol between labor, lawmakers and the auto industry to salvage the Big Three rescue. The talks centered on possible wage and benefit concessions from the United Auto Workers union as well as large-scale debt restructuring by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
The details of the agreement weren't immediately known, and it was not clear whether Republicans senators — who revolted against an auto bailout the Bush White House negotiated with congressional Democrats — would go along.
Leaders stressed that the deal wasn't final.
"All issues are still on the table," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, as he emerged from the talks.
But it was clear lawmakers had made substantial progress toward getting the auto industry aid back on track, and members of both parties were in search of an accord.
"We've got some issues still to resolve but we all want to resolve them," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who led the closed-door talks for his party.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, who was his party's point man, said staff aides were working on legislative language of a still-emerging deal.
"While we've reached some agreement on a lot already, there are issues that are still outstanding," Dodd said.
Progress in the negotiations were the latest development in a long-running debate over bailing out the beleaguered auto industry. The issue gained urgency last week when the government reported the economy had lost more than a half-million jobs in November, the most in any month for more than 30 years.
"There's a lot of hardship out there. People are losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their cars and losing their patience," said Reid, D-Nev. "We don't need to pile on."
General Motors has hired lawyers and bankers to consider whether the company should file for bankruptcy protection as it continues to await a Federal bailout package, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday on its Web site. GM management had recently contacted bankruptcy expert Harvey Miller of Weil Gotshal & Manges LP to handle what would be one of the largest filings in U.S. history, the newspaper said.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee took a leading role in the closed-door talks for Republicans.
"The meetings have gone very well," he said as he ducked out at one point. "We've got some issues to work out."
When he re-entered the talks a short while later, industry representatives had departed, leaving only the autoworker union and lawmakers.
Originally posted by redhatty
And folks, grab your backsides... The futures markets are TANKING HARD on this news.
Madoff being busted on the Ponzi scheme hedge fund