(Adds letter to CEOs, interview with commerce secretary)
By John Crawley and Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Automakers must provide
Congress with cash and sales data as well as current plans for
making energy-efficient vehicles if they hope to receive a
government bailout next month, lawmakers said on Friday.
Separately, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told Reuters
in an interview that the Bush administration would not offer
emergency aid to General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co or Chrysler
LLC even if their problems worsen over the next few weeks, and
with Congress now out of session.
House and Senate Democratic leaders, in a letter to GM, Ford
and Chrysler executives, said the companies must submit a
"credible restructuring plan" to demonstrate viability.
The proposals for aid are due Dec. 2 and will be reviewed by
the Banking and Financial Services committees, the Federal
Reserve, the Government Accountability Office and relevant
agencies, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid said in their letter.
Congress could reconvene the week of Dec. 8 to consider a
bailout, if leadership accepts the automakers' plans.
Pelosi said earlier in the day that lawmakers "don't have
any intention of seeing the auto industry go down" but stressed
that "what we do will be determined by what they do."
Pelosi said Detroit's top executives failed to convince
Congress this week at two hearings that emergency aid was
needed, especially since they arrived in Washington aboard
private jets.
"CEOs getting off a corporate jet, rattling a tin cup is not
a good image," Pelosi said in summing up the anecdote ringing
loudly in the ears of Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford
and Bob Nardelli of Chrysler when they left town.
Congress failed to act on two $25 billion bailout plans this
week for several reasons, including a palpable aversion by
enough lawmakers to underwriting another rescue that might be
perceived as a "blank check" to corporate America.
Many lawmakers, especially Republicans, were stung by a
voter backlash for supporting the $700 billion financial
services rescue in October.
Currently, Democrats need Republican support to push
anything through the Senate and be signed by President George W.
Bush, who backs one of the $25 billion proposals that remains on
the table.
Pelosi said the main reason for inaction was Detroit's
inability to sell their plan in congressional testimony this
week. Wagoner, Mulally, and Nardelli described a worsening
liquidity crisis and warned of possible industry collapse
without a bailout soon.
Democratic leaders demand the companies demonstrate
financial viability and accountability. In their letter, they
sought:
- Current operating cash position, short-term liquidity
needs to continue operations as a going-concern, and how they
will meet future financing needs.
- Provide estimated sales data -- including improvements and
worst-case scenarios.
- Assurances that government receive warrants for stock or
other instruments in return for taxpayer funds, and that the
companies pay no dividends and impose limits on executive
compensation.
- Proposals to address the payment of health care and
pension obligations.
- Demonstrate an ability to meet a 40 percent increase in
fuel efficiency standards by 2020 and show how the industry
would lead in the production of energy-efficient vehicles.
One option Pelosi does not favor is bankruptcy, saying that
would be "digging the hole far too deep." Some in Congress have
raised the issue of pre-packaged bankruptcy as a route to
quickly restructure.
Gutierrez, a former CEO of Michigan-based Kellogg Co, said
the companies must decide on their own whether to pursue
alternatives such as a possible merger of two of them, or a
pre-packaged bankruptcy.
"That has to be their decision. I mean, that's not a
government call. If that's the way that they believe they can
get to viability, that's their call," he said.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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