Senate Passes Compromise by a Vote of 79-12

Washington, D.C. - Last night after the Senate passed a deal to provide emergency relief funding without killing auto jobs by a vote of 79-12, Rep. Gary Peters issued the following statement:
 
“I'm pleased that the Senate passed a bill which protects auto jobs and provides needed disaster assistance relief. I worked very closely with Senator Stabenow and I thank her for her leadership in working to reach this agreement. Republicans have shown that they're going to continue attacking the auto industry to promote their own ideological agenda, but I will never stop fighting to protect our jobs.”

Timeline:

September 14th: Republicans release their $3.65 billion plan to fund the government from October 1st – November 16th. This includes funding to pay for disaster relief from Hurricane Irene, Lee and the east coast Earthquake. To pay for this bill, Republicans propose to cut $1.5 billion from the Section 136 auto loan program – a program which was established with bipartisan support in 2007.

September 15th: Rep. Gary Peters issues a press release calling on Republicans to drop their cuts of $1.5 billion in Section 136 auto loans which has been credited with creating over 40,000 jobs and literally bringing the production of the Ford Focus from Mexico to Detroit.

September 20th: Rep. Gary Peters and Rep. Anna Eshoo released a letter which was signed by 77 Democrats calling on Speaker John Boehner to eliminate these job killing cuts.

September 20th: Senate Leader Harry Reid announces at a press conference that he is “not going to cave in” to the Republicans on this issue.

September 20th: Letters of Endorsement from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Automotive Policy Council (Chrysler, Ford and GM) and MEMA (Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association).

September 20th: Letters of Endorsement from the BlueGreen Alliance, Clean Economy Network, Ecology Center, Environment America, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, Safe Climate Campaign, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Auto Workers International and the United Steelworkers.

September 20th: Letter of Endorsement from the National Wildlife Federation.

September 21st: Because of the growing momentum, 31 more members of Congress signed onto the Peters-Eshoo letter bringing it to a new total of 108. You can read the signed version by clicking here.

September 21st: Rep. Peters spoke on the floor about the importance of protecting these auto manufacturing jobs.

September 21st: The House defeats the Continuing Resolution by a vote of 195-230.

September 22nd: The Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers announced their support for job creating Section 136 auto loans.

September 23rd: House Republicans passed their Continuing Resolution by a vote of 219-203.

September 23rd: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate would meet on the following Monday to work out a deal.

September 26th: Senator Reid worked out a deal that met the Republicans half way by agreeing to their requested spending level, but also eliminates the auto job killing cuts House Republicans have worked for. The agreement passed by a vote of 79-12.

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