Here‘s the latest on the mess that is the auto bailout on Capitol Hill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today insisted that the GOP be allowed to vote on an amendment by Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.
From his speech on the Senate floor:
“The Corker Amendment does not just encourage reform, it requires it. And it does so with crucial specificity. First, participating companies would be required to reduce their outstanding debt by at least two-thirds through an equity swap with bondholders.
“The Corker Amendment also requires that labor costs at participating companies be brought on par with companies like Nissan, Toyota, and Honda — not tomorrow but immediately — because it is delusional to think that a company which spends $71 per labor hour could compete with a company in the same industry that spends $49.
“The Corker Amendment would improve the liquidity and cash-flow of automakers by requiring that a portion of the payments made to union accounts consist of company stock.
“And finally, the Corker Amendment would require participating companies to file for Chapter 11 reorganization if any of these conditions aren’t met by a fixed date.
“The Corker Amendment forces necessary reforms, holds companies accountable, and assures taxpayers that these companies won’t be back for more. If legislative action were necessary, the Corker proposal would make many much needed and dramatic improvements to the underlying bill.”
In a similar speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this morning said he’s more inclined to allow substitute bills than amendments.
“I’ve had calls from a number of senators today; frankly, mostly Republican senators, telling me that they have a solution to all the problems of the auto industry. Just need a few amendments. Mr. President, we have done our very best to include everyone that wants any input into this legislation.
“The White House, President Bush and his people, have been heavily involved in this legislation. There was a decision made that the minority would not participate in the preparing of this legislation, but the White house was heavily involved. Negotiations took place for days between Chairmen Frank and Dodd and the White house and now we have a piece of legislation. Some have asked, well what we want is to set up a procedure where we have lots of amendments, and then we’ll ultimately vote on the final version.
“Mr. President, I think it’s only fair, if the minority, the Republicans, want to have a better bill, then they should offer an alternative. And I invite them to do that. The House passed a bill last night. It would be my suggestion then we, perhaps, have a vote on the substitute or the alternative that the Republicans would put forward, vote on the House bill, vote on the Senate bill. If there’s no agreement that can be reached on that, Mr. President, we have danced this tune long enough.”
It seems we have reached détente. We’ll see over the next few days who blinks. But a surprising number of aides (and members) on both sides of the aisle reminded me yesterday that President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke do have the authority to act here. If Congress can’t get something passed, the market will take a huge hit, yes. But it would also force Bush or Bernanke to deal with the Big Three since everyone agrees that they also have the power to fix this. And, given the last few weeks (or months or years), dumping the problem in Bush’s lap would produce no small amount of Schadenfreude on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill.
Update:
Apparently, Corker and Dodd are sequestered in the Capitol working on a compromise amendment. As you can see in McConnell’s remarks above, Corker’s pretty tough on the UAW. But the union is apparently willing to cede a lot of ground in order to see a deal done. Word is the two are surprisingly close to a deal — though there remains some serious details to be ironed out — and if an agreement is reached the leaders plan to run to the floor with it tonight.
Update2:
They have an agreement and Corker is meeting with the Republican conference right now to see if the GOP can come up with enough votes. If so, they will vote tonight.
Update3:
The talks collapsed over whether the UAW would accept salary parity with other automakers in the U.S. by the end of 2009. The cloture vote to end debate failed 52-35.