$15 billion auto deal advances

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats and the White House Monday settled on a plan to rush $15 billion in emergency loans to the cash-strapped Detroit automakers and were working into the night to resolve final disputes over the conditions the government should attach to the money.

Under the plan, unveiled by Democratic leaders, the Treasury Department would cut checks for the car companies as soon as next week. The proposal also calls for President Bush to name a "car czar" to manage a vast restructuring of the firms and restore them to profitability.

Democrats bent to the will of the president on several key demands, most notably in agreeing that the emergency funding would be drawn from an existing loan program aimed at promoting fuel-efficient technologies.

Still, the White House objected Monday to several elements of the Democratic proposal, congressional aides said, including requirements that the car companies notify Washington of any transaction of more than $25 million and that they pull out of lawsuits against states seeking to enforce tougher tailpipe-emissions standards.

Under the proposal, the car companies would be required to submit restructuring plans by March 31, when they would be eligible for additional aid. The Bush administration was pressing to strengthen those provisions to make clear that only companies that were financially viable or taking steps to achieve viability could receive more federal cash.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the two sides had "made a lot of progress in recent days" and that discussions were continuing.

"Long-term financing must be conditioned on the principle that taxpayers should only assist automakers executing a credible plan for long-term viability," Perino said.

'We call this a barbershop'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Democrats, too, are determined to force changes in the domestic auto industry, which had been losing customers to foreign competitors even before a deepening recession slashed demand for new cars to the lowest level in 25 years.

"Come March 31, it is our hope that there will be a viable automotive industry in our country with transparency and accountability to the taxpayer," Pelosi said, adding that auto company executives, employees, shareholders and local dealers all will be expected to make concessions.

"We call this a barbershop," Pelosi said. "Everyone is getting haircuts."

Talks continued late Monday in Pelosi's Capitol Hill offices. Despite the administration's last-minute objections, both sides remained optimistic that a deal could be finalized and quickly presented to lawmakers for a vote.

"It is overwhelmingly likely that a bill will be on the president's desk by the end of the week," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Along with aides to Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Frank's staff worked until 2 a.m. Monday to prepare a "discussion draft" that was later given to the White House.

It was unclear how quickly a measure could be brought to a vote if a deal is finalized. Senate leaders have said they could hold a vote as soon as today, but such speed would depend on a deal from Senate Republicans not to block the measure. The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was expected to voice an opinion early today.

Under the proposal, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are eligible to apply for bridge loans that would be expected to keep them afloat through March. To make it through March, GM said it would need as much as $10 billion in federal aid. Chrysler has said it would need about $4 billion.

Ford Motor Co. said Monday evening that it would not seek short-term federal aid, denying that it faced the same "near-term liquidity issue" as GM and Chrysler.

The Democratic plan makes no provisions to replenish the loan fund, as Pelosi had hoped. But aides predicted that she would have little trouble adding the cash to a economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to sign soon after he takes office in January.

No corporate jets, bonuses

In exchange for aid, the automakers would be barred from paying dividends to their shareholders or bonuses to their executives as long as the loans are outstanding. They would have to give taxpayers warrants to buy their stock, and submit to an audit by the Government Accountability Office and the special inspector general for the Treasury's bailout program.

The measure also would require them to get rid of corporate jets, which ferried top executives to Washington to make an initial request for cash.

Democrats flirted with the idea of naming a seven-member board to oversee the auto bailout but decided instead to have the president name an individual, as Bush had suggested. Frank said that the czar is likely to be a government official and that Obama could replace the appointee.

The New York Times contributed to this report.