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Senator Debbie Stabenow Statement on the Floor of the U.S. Senate December 11, 2008 Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, first let me say that this is not a bailout this evening, this is a bridge loan of $14 billion to stop us potentially, if one of the companies goes under, from over $150 billion in taxpayer funds that we will be spending, including assuming the taxpayers' cost for 775,000 pensions in a bankruptcy that will go into the pension guarantee fund. So we are talking about a small bridge loan in a global credit crisis where every other country in the world has stepped up to help their auto industry because they understand it is critical to their national defense, they understand it is critical to their economy, and they are trying to create the middle class we have had in America. In America, if this goes down tonight, we are saying we do not care about the backbone of the economy, which has been and will continue to be manufacturing. Somebody has to make something in this country. We cannot all push paper on Wall Street. Somebody has to make something. The reality is, this is a tough bill. I wish to thank our leaders, Senator Reid for his patience and diligence and leadership, and Senator Dodd for his incredible patience, his staff being involved. It placed one more crisis on the doorstep of Senator Dodd to have to deal with. I appreciate Senator Corker stepping up to try to work this out and certainly Senator Voinovich and Senator Bond. Senator Levin and I have worked closely with them. But the reality is this: If we walk away this evening and do not vote to proceed with this bill, we are saying it is okay for a major auto company in America to go bankrupt, for 2.5 million people in this economy to lose their jobs. Over what? We have a tough bill that creates a restructuring mechanism where everybody comes to the table to restructure. We give them until March 31. If they are not moving in good faith, the $14 billion can be rescinded. If they do not have a viable plan by March 31, there is no more assistance. Unfortunately, what my Republican colleagues have said is that the only way we are going to do this, the only way we are going to do this, is the workers have to negotiate first with the Republican Party, with the Republicans. As long as the workers were willing to take all of the cuts the Republican Party thinks they should before the negotiation, they would be willing to step up and save the backbone of manufacturing in this country and 2.5 million jobs. We have tried everything. We have negotiated with the White House in good faith. I appreciate that. They have kept their deal. We have negotiated with every party that wanted to come forward, including today, all day, focusing with Senator Corker. But the reality is, we are in a position where evidently the only thing that matters to the majority of those on the other side of the aisle is that workers get paid too much in this country--somehow, workers get paid too much in this country--and unless we sock it to the workers, they are not willing to allow a $14 billion bridge loan to be able to save an industry. Mr. President, there are those who think they can play games with this and there are no consequences. This is not, tonight, about Democrats and Republicans. It is not about auto executives versus workers. This is about the economy of this country. We are in serious trouble, ladies and gentlemen. If one of our auto companies goes down, we are going to pick up the paper and begin to see the suppliers of this country go down. And they supply not only the folks in my State, they supply Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. They supply the Army. The same folks who make the axles for the trucks that our brave men and women are driving in Iraq and Afghanistan today make the axles put on our trucks and our cars. The reality is, our national defense and our economy and the middle class of this country are hanging in the balance by this vote. Shame on us if we walk away cavalierly thinking that we can do this another time. Now is the time. People are watching, not just in Michigan but all across the country, businesses large and small, families in their homes, retirees who have done nothing but work hard their whole lives and now want to know their pensions or their health care, as part of something they worked for all of their lives, is protected. This is about whether we are going to make a commitment to the middle class and a commitment to American manufacturing. You cannot walk away from the American auto industry and not affect every part of manufacturing in this country. It is not too late. I know we assume the votes are not there, but the votes can be there. There are enough votes in this room. There are enough votes in this room to give them the chance, just the chance to restructure. And if folks do not believe in the end that what they have come up with, 3 months from now, is good enough, then that is it. But don't 2.5 million people and the major auto presence and manufacturing in this country deserve 3 months, 3 months of time to be able to restructure, for advanced manufacturing in the future? If we do not do that, we are going to change our dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on foreign automobiles. We will be asking other countries to send us their tanks, send us their automobiles, send us their trucks for our defense. That makes no sense. People of good will know better. I would ask my colleagues to join with us in voting for the future and the economy of this country.
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