Top House GOP Lawmaker Says GM CEO Wagoner Stepping Down Make Sense
30 März 2009 - 6:40PM
Dow Jones News
A senior House Republican lawmaker said Monday that President
Barack Obama's announcement that General Motors Corp. (GM) Chairman
and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner had agreed to step down makes
sense giving the enormity of the challenges facing the troubled
auto maker.
Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the senior Republican on the House Ways
& Means Committee, said that GM must undergo massive
restructuring in order to survive, and that it may be easier to do
under new management.
"It was well known that GM's restructuring plan would have to be
significant," Camp said. "It was going to be difficult for the
current management to carry that out."
Camp was speaking in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.
He was reacting to the president's announcement made Monday that
the administration had concluded the plans the two companies are
set to submit as part of their case for more federal funding do not
go far enough.
Obama said taxpayers would continue to fund GM's day-to-day
expenses for 60 days as the company worked to come up with a viable
way forward, but he said that Chrysler was not viable as a
stand-alone entity.
He said that Obama's statement that the federal government will
back warranties on new GM and Chrysler LLC car sales was a
"stunning announcement" that is "paving the way" for the companies
to go into a managed bankruptcy in the near future.
Camp called the administration's assessment about Chrysler
"fairly significant," and said he hoped that the company would be
able to reach an agreement with Italian car maker Fiat, which it is
currently in negotiations with.
He said that, in many ways, the companies were already in
bankruptcy in all but name, giving the restructuring they are
undergoing.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., another member of the House GOP
Michigan delegation, said that he agreed with Obama's decision not
to keep writing blank checks to the companies.
"I do believe that you can't just keep putting money into the
autos," Hoekstra said. "You do need to have a viable plan. The
question is whether the president is putting up benchmarks that are
obtainable."
Hoekstra said the administration should be doing more to
stimulate demand for new cars, and let the consumers decide whether
the companies are viable.
Obama said he would instruct the Internal Revenue Service to
promote a new tax break that allows people to deduct the sales and
excise tax on any car purchased this year.
He said also he would work with Congress to develop a program
that would provide a generous tax credit to people who turned in
older less fuel efficient vehicles and bought newer vehicles that
are more environmentally-friendly.
-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601;
corey.boles@dowjones.com