[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5768-S5769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DEALERSHIP CLOSINGS

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I wish to give sort of a progress 
report on the amendment I introduced yesterday and is pending still, 
but after cloture it will be in a different category, of course. I wish 
to say I have had a very productive opportunity to talk to the 
president of Chrysler and the people at Chrysler to try to make headway 
for the Chrysler dealers, the 789 that have gotten the notice they will 
be shut down as of June 9. I think there is a way forward here. It is 
not set in concrete, but I think there is going to be a result that I 
believe will make it a much better situation. That is what I am working 
for because these dealers right now are facing bankruptcy themselves--
every one of them. We are talking about 40,000 employees in these 
dealerships. So as the Government is certainly backing the automobile 
companies and they are trying to have as soft a landing as possible for 
all those involved in this very serious situation we are in, I want the 
dealers to be part of the soft landing.

[[Page S5769]]

  I don't think it is Government's position to go in and change the 
decisions that have been made by Chrysler, but I do think it is our 
responsibility to assure that those dealers have the ability to have 
some accommodation for all the inventory they have--the cars, the 
special equipment, the parts--that after June 9, they will not be able 
to use. They will not be able to sell a Chrysler car or use the 
Chrysler logo. Although General Motors has given notice to its dealers, 
they have given them until the end of 2010 to work things through. But 
Chrysler I think is trying to stay as strong as they can going into the 
merger that has been approved, so they want a quick ending, which we 
all understand and support. I do. I want Chrysler to emerge in a 
stronger situation. I think we all do. But I also want the dealers that 
are suffering all over this country right now, having had 3 weeks' 
notice to shut down, sometimes a dealership that has been in business 
for 90 years or 50 years or 25 years--we can't walk away from that. 
Chrysler can't walk away from that. I believe, from talking to the 
president today, they agree with that.
  We are trying to get something definitive. I will report, again, on 
this. I am going to support cloture because we must provide the 
supplemental funds for our troops who are in harm's way. That is the 
premier purpose of this supplemental appropriation. I am very pleased 
this Senate has acted decisively to stop the funding for moving 
prisoners from Guantanamo Bay into our country or letting them go into 
other countries, where we fear we might see them again on the other 
side of an IED or some other disruption. I am very pleased with the 
action the Senate took yesterday on that. We must fund our troops who 
are in harm's way and their families and their quality of life, giving 
them the equipment and the training and the support they need to do 
their jobs.
  At the same time, the reason I brought this amendment forward is 
because it, too, is an emergency. While it is not a taxpayer expense, 
it is a situation that I think is untenable and that is the people who 
are under the gun until June 9. My message is that I believe the 
Chrysler people are going to try to do the right thing. I believe the 
White House can help us make that happen. We are going to work with the 
White House and the task force. The Senators from Michigan, I think, 
are also being very proactive here. I wish to say I appreciate the 
cosponsors of my amendment. Senator Mikulski, on the floor last night, 
was added as a cosponsor, along with Senator Menendez and Senator 
Brown.
  I ask unanimous consent, at this time, that Senator Casey and Senator 
Lautenberg be added as cosponsors of amendment No. 1189.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. We were adding sponsors just about every few minutes 
as people began to see the plight of these dealers and hear from them.
  My message is we need to vote for cloture. We need to go forward with 
this supplemental appropriation for our troops, but we must--we must--
take care of these dealers in the best possible way and not leave them 
stranded in a situation which was not their doing. Yet they are paying 
the highest of all prices.
  I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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