Hi there,

In the six months since President Trump’s inauguration, we have seen unprecedented attacks on the press. Instead of pushing back, corporate owners of commercial networks are caving in. Because we do not accept any corporate or government funding, we rely on audience members like you to sustain our work. I hope you will donate today to support our independent journalism.Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. If you believe that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential to the functioning of a democratic society, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Auto Execs Lobby for $25 Billion Bailout

HeadlineNov 19, 2008

US auto executives warned Congress on Tuesday that their industry was teetering on the brink of collapse as they pleaded for lawmakers to bail out the industry with $25 billion in government-backed loans. The CEO of Chrysler, Robert Nardelli, blamed the company’s financial woes in part on healthcare and pension costs.

Robert Nardelli: “At the same time, Chrysler has billions of dollars in cash payment obligation to pay wages, pay suppliers, to pay healthcare, pensions, all in the range of about four to five billion dollars a month. Therefore, without an immediate bridge financing support, Chrysler’s liquidity could fall below the level necessary to sustain operations.”

Lawmakers repeatedly criticized the auto executives. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd accused the CEOs of seeking treatment for wounds that are largely self-inflicted. Lawmakers and the Bush administration have sparred over the best way to extend help to the automakers.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top