Detroit Not Out Of The Woods

The House may have passed a rescue package for the auto industry, but Senate Republicans could stop it cold.

By a vote of 237-170 Wednesday night, the House of Representatives passed a $14 billion bailout package for General Motors and Chrysler.

That was the easy part. Democrats who supported the bill hold a clear majority in the House. The real test is the Senate, where it's far from certain that there are enough votes to pass the measure because of broad opposition from Republicans.

The Senate could take up the measure as early as Thursday. But unless Democrats who support the bill can rally 60 votes, they won't be able to overcome a potential filibuster, which could derail the bailout effort.

And it's looking increasingly like it won't be possible to reach that magic number. Earlier Wednesday, Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., John Ensign, R-Nev., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., David Vitter, R-La., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., held a press conference to voice opposition to the bill. Shelby, who believes it’s a waste of taxpayer money--particularly after controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the financial services bailout two months ago--calls the Detroit rescue a "travesty."

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has opposed the bailout bill on the grounds that it doesn't propose strict enough conditions on the automakers. He wants to see the companies reduce their debt load and further concessions by the United Auto Workers union.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, doesn't like it because he thinks it doesn't force Cerberus Capital Management, Chrysler's parent, to help the company. In addition, Grassley, the Senate's top Republican tax writer, says the bill would "prop up" a complex tax shelter related to banks' leasing facilities to transit systems and public utilities. Grassley and his Democratic colleague on the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., shut down the tax shelter in 2004.

In other words, there's still a long way to go legislatively before a bailout for Detroit makes it to President Bush's desk for his signature.