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CNBC is reporting that four U.S. senators have reached a bipartisan agreement on a bill to help the Big 3 automakers in Detroit. Those senators include Michigan Democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Ohio Republican George Voinovich and Missouri Republican Christopher Bond. Details of the bill are not yet available, but a news conference is scheduled for 2:30PM EST, at which time we should learn more. It will likely be some compromise between the Democrats' wish for taking an extra $25 billion out of the $700 billion financial bailout fund and the plan supported by the White House that would allow automakers to use the already approved $25 billion in low interest loans for anything they wanted rather than just investing in green technology.

Still, CNBC says the bill faces some big procedural hurdles, not the least of which is that senators want to go home soon for the Thanksgiving holiday. Trying to squeak in a vote before the break will be tough, and lawmakers may have to reconvene in December to vote on the bill. Plus, there's no guarantee the House of Representatives will pass it even if the Senate would.

Regardless, Wall Street seems pleased with the news as shares of General Motors and Ford have jumped, with the latter hitting as high as $4 after ending the day yesterday at $2.79.

Stay tuned, we'll bring you all the details on the new automaker bailout bill when they become available. Thanks for the tip, everyone!

UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have held a press conference in which they said that the compromise agreement reached by the above senators would not be approved, and instead that Congress will come back in December and hold more hearings with the CEOs of the Big 3. Each automaker has been charged with the task of showing "accountability and viability" at this second round of hearings, specifically telling Congress exactly how they plan to use any bailout money they might be given.

UPDATE 2: For details on the compromise bill, click here.

[Source: CNBC]

So here's a breakdown of what's going on in Congress concerning federal aid for U.S. automakers. A Senate bill expected to be voted on this Thursday would expedite funds for Ford, GM and Chrysler so that they could actually get the cash they need within 22 days after the bill becomes law -- should the bill become law. The $25 billion loan, paid back at an initial rate of 5-percent, would come out of the $700 billion bailout fund for financial institutions. The Senate's stipulations would be that the government receives "stock warrants or senior debt instruments to the government," similar to actions taken with banks that accessed the $700 billion. As well, top executives get no big payouts and stockholders get no dividends.

The rumblings on the track indicate that unless the folks in favor can change a lot of minds before Thursday, the Senate bill has little hope of passing. That makes it even more unlikely that a House version of the bill would pass, since it has even stricter requirements. The House bill would also get money for the automakers quickly, but would establish a Financial Stability Oversight Board that would have veto power over any auto company action that would cost more than $25 million. Who would be on that board and how would they be chosen? Who knows.

Latest word is also that the White House doesn't want to take money from the $700 billion bank bailout and use it for the auto industry. It would rather speed up disbursement of the $25 billion in low interest loans that was already approved for research into more fuel efficient vehicles and let the automakers use that for their current cash needs. The White House also wants, and the Senate bill requests, that Ford, GM and Chrysler give the Treasury "a detailed plan on how the government funds requested will be utilized to ensure the long-term financial posture of the company." Cue the dramatic music, some maniacal laughter and the late Vincent Price intoning: the plot thickens.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

"Thick and fast." That's the phrase that describes the opinions, pleas, advice, denunciations, and WTF? going on around the U.S. auto industry right now. Enter Congress, which is trying to figure out how to give Detroit automakers the $25 billion they were promised a few months ago. Congressmen are sounding off almost daily on what kinds of stipulations they want to attach to the loan/bailout/whatever you want to call it -- and that's just the ones who would vote for it at all.

Next up is Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida democrat, who wants U.S. automakers to achieve a fleet average of 50 mpg by 2020. Right now, the CAFE target is 35 mpg by 2020 -- a goal agreed upon only after a huge amount of jockeying in and out of Congress. Nelson asked, "Why should we be pouring taxpayer money into an automobile industry that has continued to resist higher miles per gallon, which has led us in part to the problems we're in?"

While that might sound like a great idea to some, it would cost a terrific sum of money to achieve. The Detroit Three need the money they're asking for just to get to Q2 of 2009, not to create a range of cars that would represent magnificent advances -- based on where we are right now -- in 11 years. There's a good chance nothing will be decided until the president-elect takes office, and by then, who knows what other requests Congress will have.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill approving a $25 billion loan for the Detroit 3. Now the Senate, by a similar margin, has passed the bill, which means it needs George W. Bush's John Hancock in order for the automakers to see their funds.

The process actually began last year when Congress put the language for the loan into an energy bill, but didn't allocate the money for it. Now that the actual sum has been "found" and approved, the details of the loan and repayment need to be sorted out. The energy department has 60 days to do the math once the loan becomes law, but the Energy Secretary said it could still take 18 months or more for GM, Ford, and Chrysler to get the money.

Michigan Congressional reps have cried foul, especially because the bill also included $10 million for the Energy Department to hire outside consultants to speed things up. The department probably won't want to waste time, because Michigan Senator Carl Levine has already pledged to begin work on another round of $25 billion loans for 2009 and 2010. But when the checks finally do come, you can probably expect to see automaker reps waiting outside E-Z Check Cashing.

[Source: Detroit News]

Click above for high-res gallery of Chrysler's three new EVs

Legislation that includes tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles has passed the Senate. Now the House gets a chance to look things over and put it to a vote. The tax credits allow buyers of PHEVs to receive a credit as high as $7,500 and as low as $2,500 depending on the capacity of the vehicle's battery. Toyota had raised concerns that the bill focused solely on battery capacity, as its currently announced hybrid plans do not include anything that would approach the maximum credit. In fact, the Chevy Volt sits alone as the only product that has enough battery capacity for the top tier. Chrysler's recently shown electric vehicles would theoretically qualify if they ever see the light of day.

Once 250,000 qualifying PHEVs are sold, the credits begin to get smaller until they go away completely. At this point, the legislation -- and the vehicles -- have a long way to go before anybody could actually purchasing a qualifying car, but the framework is now in place.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Drivers give in to a lot of distractions behind the wheel. Phone calls, eating, drinking, and slapping the kids around are one thing, but something that's always irked us is drivers traveling with pets on their laps. Aside from the possibility of Fluffy freaking out and doing its doggone best to create a crash, we've always envisioned a Chihuahua-sized cavity in someone's chest after the airbag deploys. Well, California Assemblyman Bill Maze shares our concern and has proposed a bill to make it illegal for an animal to be held on a driver's lap while behind the wheel. The bill passed the Assembly on Monday by a vote of 44-11 and is on its way to the state Senate before landing on Arnie's desk. Here's hoping that the Governator does what's right for man and his best friend.

[Source: AP]

Despite being passed by the House of Representatives yesterday by a 235 to 181 margin, the new energy bill reached the Senate floor this morning and failed to muster enough votes to move on to the White House, where the President has threatened a veto of it in its current state. The Senate vote was 53 to 42, a majority but still seven votes shy of the 60 it needed. This means that the Senate will now spend the weekend reworking the bill, after which it will have to go back to the House for approval yet again. The funny thing is, the automotive industry actually supports the bill in its current state, despite the fact that it calls for a jump in CAFE requirements to a fleet-wide average of 35 mpg by 2020. Even with the support of the industry, politicians seem intent on keeping this bill running around in circles.

[Source: Automotive News]

The word yesterday was that new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were on their way down from Capitol Hill, and late last night House leaders finally agreed to a deal that would increase fuel economy standards to 35 mpg by 2020 – a 40-percent increase over the current decades-old legislation. By leaders, we mean a compromise was reached between Democratic top dog and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.). Despite playing for the same team, Dingell also has an obligation to protect the interests of his home state.

The new requirements are similar to measures proposed in the Senate energy bill passed in June, but the House rules keep standards for cars and trucks separate, something preferred by the automakers. It also assures that credits will be extended to automakers that produce E85-capable vehicles, something that was fought for hard by politicians and auto manufacturers alike despite the limited impact this alternative fuel has on either the environment or reducing this country's dependancy on foreign oil.

A House vote will take place on Wednesday to enact the 1,000-page bill.

[Sources: Detroit News, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press]

Yesterday, House Democrats withdrew two amendments to an energy bill in the House that would increase fuel economy standards significantly over the next 12 years. The bill, which is slated for debate this week, included a proposed increase in fuel mileage by close to 40-percent for both cars and SUV/light trucks. The goal was to revise the outdated fuel economy standards to 27.5 MPG for cars and 22.2 MPG for trucks and SUVs by 2019.

Ed Markey, D-Mass withdrew his amendment after a conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, although Markey insisted that support on both sides of the aisle was enough to bring it to the President's desk. Surprised? We weren't either.

[Source: Detroit News]

As our colleagues over at AutoblogGreen note, with all the lobbying going on this week for and against tougher fuel economy standards, it's been tough following who's for what and what's good for whom. Regardless, the debate came to end late yesterday when the Senate agreed to a portion of the new energy bill that calls for raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard to 35 mpg by 2020 for both cars and trucks. The current CAFE standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.5 mpg for trucks.

The new bill is a compromise of sorts, as a proposed annual 4% increase in the CAFE standards after they reach 35 mpg in 2020 was scrapped along with a $29 billion tax package that would have paid for tax breaks for producers of alternative fuels and owners of plug-in hybrids.

All is not over, as the larger energy bill will continued to be debated today, and then the bill will move over to the House of Representatives. If it passes through the House, there's no guarantee the president won't strike it down with his veto pen, as he's already stated he does not approve of specific mileage numbers. Nevertheless, yesterday's 65-27 vote was somewhat historic considering how effective the auto industry has lobbied against raising CAFE standards for decades.

[Source: Automotive News, AutoblogGreen]