[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14354-14355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       AUTOMOBILE DEALER ECONOMIC RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT OF 2009

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Maffei) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MAFFEI. Madam Speaker, I rise to ask Chrysler and General Motors 
to continue to honor their commitments to auto dealers in this country. 
Chrysler and GM should not deprive economic rights to profitable 
dealerships across this country.
  Yesterday, I joined with Representative Frank Kratovil of Maryland 
and introduced the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 
2009. The act claims to restore the economic rights of GM and Chrysler 
dealers as they existed prior to each company's bankruptcy. We want to 
preserve GM and Chrysler car dealers' rights to recourse under State 
law and, at the request of an automobile dealer, require GM and 
Chrysler to reinstate franchise agreements in effect prior to those 
companies' bankruptcies. These are bankruptcies negotiated with Federal 
officials, and taxpayer dollars are helping to maintain both companies. 
Therefore, these bankruptcies should not be used to change the rules 
that dealers have been operating under.
  I first wrote a bipartisan letter with Representative Chris Lee of 
New York and more than 65 of our colleagues to the auto task force in 
May asking them to work with the companies to reconsider the forced 
closings. Since then, thousands of dealers have been informed by GM and 
Chrysler, through a seemingly arbitrary system, that their 
relationships were ending essentially immediately, leaving some dealers 
with millions of dollars invested in car stock with no options for 
consolidation and little leverage for liquidation.
  In my home district in upstate New York, there is a dealership, Lewis 
Goodman Chrysler, which has been the cornerstone of one of our 
communities for 50 years. Mr. Goodman opened his dealership in 1959 in 
Syracuse. Two years ago, at the age of 82, Mr. Goodman passed away, but 
his dying wish was to make sure the dealership reached the half century 
mark. His widow promised to keep their dealership running at least 
through its 50th anniversary, which was just last week. Lewis Goodman 
Chrysler received a letter on May 15 informing them that Chrysler was 
severing their relationship. The letter gave no indication as to why 
this particular dealership was targeted, just that the relationship was 
ending.
  I visited Mrs. Goodman last week to celebrate the 50th anniversary. 
This is a dealership that is profitable, partly because of selling 
preowned cars. It employs dozens of people and has been loyal to them 
for years. It is exactly the kind of small family business that we in 
this House claim to want to help, not close.
  We all recognize that the economy is not favorable to the auto 
industry right now and especially not in certain sections of the 
country where the population can no longer support an extensive dealer 
network. We have already seen layoffs from parts manufacturers in my 
district, plant closings, and a Chapter 11 among one of their 
suppliers. In this context, across central New York 11 dealerships have 
closed on their own since 2007, and we expect to see other dealerships 
consolidate and close this year. But we do not, in the middle of a 
recession, need to take a hatchet to local, family-owned businesses 
that have supported our communities for decades when market forces are 
already at work. These dealerships employ hundreds of people across my

[[Page 14355]]

district. They sponsor our local little league teams, our pancake 
breakfasts, and they buy ads in our local newspapers and local TV 
newscasts. They have been the cornerstone of our community for 
generations.
  I have also signed a letter with Congressman Chris Van Hollen, 
Majority Leader Hoyer, and over 100 of our fellow Members, and we sent 
it to President Obama talking about our concerns, the total lack of 
transparency and how this system is shutting down profitable 
dealerships. And we want to know, from both sides of the aisle, whether 
we can get more transparency and an indication of how this, indeed, 
saves money.
  The auto companies, who are buoyed by taxpayer dollars, should be 
honest with the dealerships and with the American people about how 
these decisions are being made, and the dealerships should be 
negotiated with on how to consolidate dealerships in a way that will 
help to find a soft landing for the workers and communities, not just 
in my district, but across the country.

                          ____________________