[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3601-H3602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF U.S. AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIPS

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 713) recognizing the significant contributions 
of United States automobile dealerships, and expressing the sense of 
the House of Representatives that in the interest of equity, automobile 
dealers whose franchises have been terminated through no fault of their 
own be given an opportunity of first consideration once the auto market 
rebounds and stabilizes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 713

       Whereas auto dealers have deep roots in local communities 
     and have helped manufacturers with long-term customer 
     relationships that create brand loyalty and maintain customer 
     convenience;
       Whereas dealerships across the country provide jobs, give 
     direct investments to local economies, and supply tax revenue 
     to State and local governments;
       Whereas virtually all new cars and light trucks bought in 
     the United States are sold through franchised dealers;
       Whereas dealers are independently owned, and combined, 
     represent the largest retail business in the United States, 
     with approximately $693,000,000,000 in revenues in 2007;
       Whereas auto dealers are significant employers in local 
     communities across the country;
       Whereas franchised dealers employ over 1,100,000 people, 
     comprise nearly 20 percent of all retail sales in the United 
     States, and, in total, pay billions annually in state and 
     local taxes;
       Whereas the Nation's 20,700 independent franchised new car 
     dealerships comprise an industry that is largely privately 
     held, with private ownership accounting for 92 percent of the 
     market;
       Whereas the franchised dealership system in the United 
     States is the independent link between the manufacturer's 
     assembly line and the consumer and its functions include, but 
     are not limited, to the following--
       (1) selling the product and providing information for 
     consumers;
       (2) holding vehicle and parts inventory;
       (3) performing service and providing parts to fulfill 
     manufacturer warranty obligations;
       (4) handling product safety recalls;
       (5) facilitating the exchange of used vehicles; and
       (6) arranging financing for consumers;
       Whereas some restructuring of dealer networks was in the 
     public interest and necessary to increase the competitiveness 
     of automobile manufacturers;
       Whereas the economic downturn put thousands of jobs at 
     risk, including those at automobile dealerships and 
     automobile manufacturers; and
       Whereas auto dealers will play a key role in any effort to 
     revive the United States auto industry: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the House of Representatives recognizes the significant 
     contributions of United States automobile dealerships; and
       (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
     automobile dealerships which have been successful and are 
     being closed not of their own doing, but instead as a 
     function of the auto market as a whole, should be given 
     consideration to obtain a dealership franchise when the 
     automobile market rebounds and stabilizes.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Capps) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green).

[[Page H3602]]

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the managing Member for 
yielding me this time, and I also thank the Member who is managing for 
the other side for allowing this important piece of legislation to come 
to the floor. I want to thank Representative Hensarling who is not here 
today. He is in Financial Services, and we have a hearing there that is 
exceedingly important; but for that, I am confident he would be here. 
He and I serve on the committee together.
  Representative Hensarling and I have been working on this resolution 
for some time. For us it has become a means by which we not only 
developed what I believe to be a good piece of legislation for the 
House, but also we have developed a good relationship as a result of 
working together. This is truly a bipartisan piece of legislation. We 
have 107 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.
  I also would like to thank Representative John Dingell for helping us 
with this piece of legislation. He, at a crucial time, stepped forward 
to help us move the legislation such that we are now on the floor with 
it. I would also mention the staff members from Congressman 
Hensarling's office and from my office, my staff, I thank you for what 
you have done, Representative Dingell's staff, and all of the persons 
who have been associated with this piece of legislation, especially 
Representative Capps because I thank you for helping us get it to the 
floor as well.
  This resolution, H. Res. 713, does two things: it recognizes the 
significant contributions of the auto dealerships; and it expresses the 
sense of the House of Representatives that dealerships which were 
successful, and I highlight and underline successful, dealerships that 
were successful and are being closed, some have been closed because of 
the economic crisis, that these dealerships be given consideration when 
the market rebounds and we start to bring on new auto dealerships. It 
is an opportunity for consideration.
  With these two things in mind, I would share these thoughts: one, 
that the auto dealerships are the face of the auto industry within our 
various communities. As the face of the industry, they do more than 
simply sell cars, which is a good thing to do. Selling cars promotes 
growth and jobs, and helps us have people who are employed, but they do 
more than this. They also engage in being good corporate citizens, 
which means that they allow their largess to be shared by various not-
for-profit organizations in the community, various community 
organizations that are involved at the grass-roots level in 
communities. For example, the Little League baseball teams will often 
be sponsored by auto dealerships. Other small, but significant, 
organizations in our communities benefit from these auto dealerships.
  They are across the length and breadth of the community in large 
cities and small towns. They make it possible for us to experience the 
opportunity of having largess that we would not ordinarily have, and I 
will tell you that that largess is being sorely missed at this time of 
economic crisis. So we want to get them back. We want to get them back 
online because they are good corporate citizens.
  My next point, 20,000 independently owned dealerships exist across 
the country--maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depending on who 
is counting and how you count--employing about 900,000 people, new car 
dealerships alone. These 900,000 jobs are jobs that our country 
benefits from greatly, and we have missed many of the jobs because of 
the dealerships going offline. We want to see these dealerships give 
the community the job base it has enjoyed by virtue of these many 
persons who were trained to do various and sundry things, giving these 
jobs back to the community.
  Bringing them back will be an important part of these dealerships 
coming back online as a result of the rebound in the economy. In 2008, 
there was about $650 billion that we can call revenue generated from 
the dealerships. They are truly small businesses at their best, and 
some of them large businesses because of just the sheer amount of 
revenue that they generate. But they are small businesses that benefit 
greatly from what we are trying to do in Financial Services today, but 
they are also small businesses that cause a community to benefit 
greatly because of what they do in the various communities wherein they 
are located.
  I would simply remind us that as we vote on this, please, dear 
friends, give thought to your community; give thought to the fact that 
this is a small business that brings jobs back to the community; give 
thought to the fact that these corporations are good corporate 
citizens, for the most part; that they are part of the fiber and the 
fabric of the communities; that they help the Little League baseball 
teams, the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, all of these organizations that 
benefit from their largess; and give some thought to the fact that but 
for them, many of our communities would not be as vibrant as they are. 
In fact, many of our communities are not as vibrant as they were 
because we have lost some of these various small businesses, these auto 
dealerships.
  I beg all of my colleagues, please support this resolution. It 
encourages us to do the right thing, and that is give these dealerships 
that were successful that went offline the opportunity, not because of 
some fault of their own but because of some economic crisis that they 
had little control over. In fact, no control over for the most part.
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 713, expressing the sense 
of the House of Representatives that the automobile dealers whose 
franchises were terminated through no fault of their own, be given an 
opportunity of first consideration once the auto market rebounds and 
stabilizes.
  Dealerships play an important function in the distribution model. It 
was the economic downturn that exacerbated the already slowing 
automobile sales. Some dealers assert that they had sufficient sales 
and should not have been marked for closure. Despite their importance 
to manufacturers, the fact that they were well-run businesses and the 
Federal Government's bailout of GM and Chrysler, to the tune of $80 
billion, many franchises were taken away from these dealerships. Jobs 
supported by these dealerships were eliminated, and this lost income 
continues to plague American families.
  In addition, the lost tax revenue and absence of those dealerships 
that played an important civic role in their communities has further 
strained local communities. When the auto market recovers, these 
dealerships should be given an opportunity to reclaim their franchises 
as manufacturers expand their distribution channels.
  I would like to commend Congressman Green and Congressman Hensarling 
for their leadership on this issue. I support the resolution and urge 
my colleagues to support it.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I would like to make the point that 
several minor changes were made in House Resolution 713 in order to 
clarify that the focus of the resolution is on automobile dealerships 
and not on automobile manufacturers.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 713, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Recognizing 
the significant contributions of United States automobile dealerships, 
and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in the 
interest of equity, automobile dealers be given consideration to enter 
the automobile market once it rebounds and stabilizes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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