The wait continues for GM and Chrysler as they sit on the precipice of collapse and watch their operating capital melt away by the minute.
Bush told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that a bailout package was not yet ready. The President was on an unannounced farewell trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last Friday, Senate Republicans blocked passage of a 14 billion dollar bailout package for GM and Chrysler, the most desperate of the Detroit Big 3 automakers. The Bush administration had agreed to a deal with Congressional Democrats on that package, but since that measure failed, the White House has begun to reconsider using funds from the 700 billion dollar financial bailout to provide emergency loans to the industry.
But timing is a critical factor since GM has said it needs 4 billion dollars this month to survive to the end of the year. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, who has been part of the Big 3's push for cash from Washington, said that the industry had been given "no sense of timing" from the administration for exactly when any help was coming.
