Domestic automakers lobby for loans

WASHINGTON -- Federal loans of $25 billion for the U.S. auto industry would be a "tremendous help," but would not equal a bailout of Detroit's struggling automakers, General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner told Congress on Friday.

The pitch from Wagoner came as the Senate prepares what appear to be the first votes on the industry's loan hunt early this week, as part of several energy bills. While support seems to be building on Capitol Hill, the Bush administration signaled Friday it was still undecided.

Wagoner's remarks were the most public attempt so far from Detroit's automakers to get the loans, which were approved but not paid for in last year's energy bill. Automakers have seized on the program as their best hope for relief from a cash crunch that's expected to last through 2010, although for now they have dropped a bid for $50 billion in aid.

One hurdle for the auto industry faces: the Congressional Budget Office raised its estimate for the cost of the $25 billion loan program to $7.5 billion, double the previous price. The director of the Congressional Budget Office said on his Web site that worsening credit markets had made the government's costs far higher under budget rules.