Snowe Responds to Administration’s Plan for Providing Loans to Auto Industry
December 19, 2008
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) released the following statement in reaction to the Administration’s plan for providing temporary loans to the U.S. domestic auto industry:
"This is a difficult issue, given the industry’s mismanagement -- exacerbated by the global financial crisis and particularly the credit crunch imposed on both consumers and retailers alike – and epitomized by their refusal to transform and produce the kind of fuel-efficient vehicles Americans want. We are, however, in perilous and tumultuous economic times – with 19,000 jobs in Maine alone relying on the auto industry. A collapse of U.S. auto companies would have a catastrophic multiplier effect on an economy in which unemployment has already reached a 15 year high, with an immediate loss of 1 percent of GDP and one million jobs – which translates to $10 billion in taxpayer money for additional unemployment benefits – and a total loss of three million jobs within 12 months.
"I found it regrettable that Congress did not arrive at a bipartisan solution that would represent the best interests of the nation. This process should give the companies an opportunity to restructure as it averts a drawn-out, disorderly bankruptcy process while protecting taxpayers – and now all of the industry stakeholders must make the concessions necessary to ensure future, long-term viability for U.S. automakers or they would be required to repay the loans immediately."
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