Failure of the Auto Industry Would Move the Country Into Depression (Rep. Marcy Kaptur)

I want to thank Chairman Frank for holding the House Financial Services Committee hearing last week and I thought the Auto Executives and Mr. Gettlefinger from the United Auto Workers made a very sound presentation.

We cannot afford to let this industry fail because we would move this country not just into recession more deeply, but depression. The number of jobs that would be lost and the impact – I don’t think the general public realizes how significantly embedded this industry is into our economic welfare.

I thought that the idea of a bridge loan, not just a bailout, is a workable concept. We talked a lot about whether or not other sources of funds, be they private sector, or even some public sectors, some people talked about energy department loans, could be a part of this.