[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                FINANCIAL-AUTO INDUSTRY DOUBLE STANDARD

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment in 
President Obama's decision regarding General Motors and Chrysler. 
Personally, I feel that Rick Wagoner was treated shabbily.
  Financial institutions were provided with hundreds of billions of 
dollars--significantly more than the recent GM and Chrysler requests 
for new loans totaling $21.6 billion, at most.
  The people primarily affected by yesterday's decision in the auto 
industry are those whose greatest daily concerns are their mortgage 
payments, their children's college tuition, and medical bills. 
Financial executives are concerned primarily with their own bonuses, 
awarded for what can only be described as massive failure.
  The President has joined the chorus of caustic critics of the 
automobile industry while only giving faint praise to the high-quality 
vehicles produced by the American manufacturers like the Buick 
LaCrosse, which this year matched the Jaguar in J.D. Powers and 
Associates' rating for the world's most reliable car.
  This double standard is offensive, Mr. Speaker.

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