Senate response to auto bailout cool

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Senate approval of a new bailout package for U.S. automakers appeared unlikely, even after Detroit's top executives personally pleaded for help, senators said.

"Votes for what?" said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate banking committee, after Tuesday's hearing in which executives from Chrysler and General Motors Corp. said they could run out of cash by the end of the year.

The White House has been advocating amendment of a $25 billion loan package to waive fuel-efficiency standards so automakers could use the money for a variety of purposes. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr., meanwhile, implored lawmakers at a lunch meeting to oppose using any of the $700 billion financial bailout package to assist automakers, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was skeptical more funding would return the carmakers to profitability.

"How is this money going to be used?" he asked. "Will it be used to improve their business model and product lines, or is this just life support?"

Even Dodd was less than magnanimous. "They are seeking treatment for wounds that are to a large extent self-inflicted," he said. "No one can say they didn't see this coming."