Automakers to get $25,000,000,000

Congress members working through the weekend provided $25 billion in aid to the struggling U.S. auto industry… "The Senate voted 78 to 12 to pass a broad, must-pass spending bill…” The bill requires that automakers use the money "to retool aging auto plants to make hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles…"

The loans aren't strictly limited to American-owned automakers. AFP explains, "Under provisions of the new legislation, not only US carmakers are eligible for the guarantees but also suppliers and foreign automakers with plants in the United States…."

Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press told ABC, "It's not a bailout. It's a good investment between industry and government." Critics of the plan disagree. Economics Professor Peter Morici of the University of Maryland said "Oh, I'd call it a bailout. They are having increasing difficulty borrowing money in the private credit markets because there's a high risk of default. In that environment, giving them a government loan is a bailout."

… Democratic nominee Barack Obama touted his support for the loans. In response, prominent John McCain supporter Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) replied, "that McCain not only supports the $25 billion loan package for automakers approved by Congress on Saturday, but also has proposed a $300 million prize for development of a battery powerful enough to run a car."

They're competing with one another over who wants to give Detroit more money. On that front, the Big Three couldn't be happier.