WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., say the auto industry should get help under the U.S. economic rescue plan.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Pelosi and Reid urged a review of the rescue plan to determine whether it can provide "temporary assistance to the automobile industry during the current financial crisis," The Washington Post reported Saturday.
The letter came one day after General Motors Corp. said its financial resources are rapidly dwindling and it might not have enough cash to operate in 2009.
The letter from Pelosi and Reid noted that the rescue plan enacted by Congress granted the Treasury secretary discretion to use bailout funds to "restore financial market stability."
"A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market security," the letter said.
The U.S. auto industry has been reeling under the collapse of the credit market and steep declines in auto sales.
Treasury officials did not comment on the letter from Reid and Pelosi, the Post said.
"We continue to work on a strategy that most effectively deploys the remaining funds to strengthen the financial system and get lending going again," said Treasury spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.
