Congress appropriated funds last year for grants and loans to U.S. automakers to retool existing factories

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold and Representatives Paul Ryan and Gwen Moore today called on the Chair of the Automotive Task Force at the Treasury Department to employ a Department of Energy (DoE) technology program to keep the Kenosha Chrysler plant open.  The DoE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program provides grants and low-interest loans to help U.S. automakers retool existing factories to produce fuel efficient engines and parts.  Last year, Congress appropriated $25 billion for this program.  Chrysler revealed last week that it plans to close its Kenosha facility and eliminate the hundreds of jobs there as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. 

A copy of the letter from Kohl, Feingold, Ryan and Moore is below:

Mr. Steven Rattner

Chair, Automotive Task Force

Department of Treasury

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Steven,

We appreciate the time you took to meet with the Senate Banking Committee this week to discuss Chrysler’s restructuring and the Chrysler engine plant in Kenosha, WI.  We are writing today to follow up on an issue that was raised during the meeting regarding re-tooling the Kenosha plant.

Last fall, Congress appropriated $25 billion for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program, which is administered by the Department of Energy.  This program provides grants and low-interest loans to U.S. automakers to retool factories to produce fuel efficient vehicles and component parts. These loans can provide the financing Chrysler needs to retool the Kenosha engine plant in order to produce the fuel efficient “Phoenix” line of engines. 

At a time when unemployment is at an all time high in the U.S., every effort must be made to promote American jobs and use Americans’ tax dollars prudently. We strongly encourage you to work with Chrysler to use this available funding to re-tool the Kenosha engine plant.  We look forward to working with you on this important issue.