We fell short of our Fall Fundraiser goal of 2,500 donations. Help us catch up ⏩ Give Now

Hearings for Big Three continue

Alisa Roth Dec 5, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Hearings for Big Three continue

Alisa Roth Dec 5, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Scott Jagow: Today is day two of the carmaker bailout hearings on Capitol Hill. Alisa Roth tells us what we’ve heard so far, and what we can expect.


Alisa Roth: All three CEOs will show up in the House of Representatives today. And they’ll probably give spiels much like those they gave the Senate Banking Committee yesterday: They’ll work for better fuel efficiency and lower production costs, and they’d be happy to be supervised by a federal oversight board.

Robert Schulz follows the auto industry for Standard and Poor’s. He expects the government will eventually come through with some money for Detroit.

Robert Schulz: At the same time that could probably only just buy them time, because the big challenge being the economy and their turnaround plans, you know, will continue on in ’09 and 2010.

No matter what they get from the government, the companies will still be in trouble if people don’t start buying their cars again.

Meanwhile, the amount Detroit wants keeps getting bigger — two weeks ago, they said
$25 billion would cover it. Now, it’s more like $34 [billion].

Chris Dodd, the senator from Connecticut, said yesterday the government has to do something. But not everybody’s convinced: Richard Shelby, from Alabama, says he will not support a bailout.

In New York, I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.