Stabenow, Levin Announce $6 Billion Investment for Retooling American Auto Plants for Job Creation and Millions for Advanced Batteries

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow, (D-MI) a member of the Senate Democratic Leadership, and Carl Levin (D-MI) today announced the inclusion of $6 billion to provide low-interest credit to automobile manufacturers for retooling older factories in the new stimulus package. The legislation also allocates $300 million for the research and development of advanced batteries right here in the United States. The provision is part of a second economic stimulus package announced yesterday evening. The new legislation, designed to revitalize the economy, comes as Michigan’s unemployment rate leads the nation at 8.5% and as automakers are announcing the elimination of thousands of jobs.

“This critical line of credit and funding for advanced batteries, would not only create good-paying jobs, but would help an industry racing to create the next generation of automobiles that will free us from our dependence on foreign oil,” said Stabenow. “At a time when the credit crisis and rising gasoline and energy costs continue to plague our economy, this investment can’t come soon enough.”

“I believe it is critical that the federal government provide assistance for retooling our existing manufacturing facilities and for the development of the advanced battery technologies that will be required to support plug-in hybrids and other advanced vehicle technologies,” said Levin, the co-chairman of the Senate Auto and Auto Parts Caucus. “The reality is that our domestic auto manufacturers are competing against foreign countries – not just foreign companies – and this federal funding would start to reverse that trend and help to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.”

The retooling provision would instruct the Department of Treasury to provide up to $6 billion in low-interest credit to American automakers to finance the retooling of existing manufacturing facilities. These facilities can then be utilized to produce the next generation of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids, advanced diesel and fuel cell vehicles.

The second economic stimulus includes an additional $300 million to help domestic manufacturers produce advanced batteries. This funding will help resolve problems in developing long-term, cost-effective storage systems, the biggest hurdle to bringing plug-in hybrid or pure plug-in vehicles to the marketplace.

Senators Stabenow and Levin have been strong advocates for federal investment in both advanced technology development and the retooling necessary to produce such advanced technology vehicles. Stabenow’s Green Collar Jobs Initiative, which was included in the Congressional Budget, calls for such an investment, building on provisions adopted in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Senator Levin has also worked for many years as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee to develop advanced vehicle technologies, including advanced batteries, through government-industry partnerships with the domestic auto industry, the Department of Defense, and academia.

Michigan has lost over 29,000 manufacturing jobs in the past year while automakers have closed plants and scaled back the production of trucks and cars across Michigan. Since President Bush took office in 2001, the nation has lost more than 3.5 million manufacturing jobs and the trade deficit has climb to over $700 billion.