The Future for America’s Automakers
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Over the course of the past few decades, Detroit’s Big Three automakers have continually refused to modernize their outdated business model. As a result, the American auto industry has failed to compete in the global market and now stands on the brink of failure. In an attempt to save their ailing businesses, these automakers have asked the American people for a loan to help them get back on the right track.
On Wednesday, December 10th, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank [D-MA] presented a bill to the House of Representatives that would provide the automakers with a $14 billion taxpayer-funded loan. The loan was widely viewed as only the first of many payments necessary to prop up the auto industry. I voted against the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act (H.R. 7321) because the bill did not require adequate reforms necessary to make these companies more competitive.