Ex car czar Bloom asked by Congress to clarify statements made under oath

Ron Bloom, the former car czar under President Barack Obama, is being asked to clarify some of the statements he made under oath to the United States Congress last month. Three members of the Congressional oversight committee are specifically interested in the Bloom's denial that he remarked "I did all this for the unions" during a farewell speech. Representative Dan Burton, R-Ind., questioned Bloom about the statement at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. Now Congress is giving the former car czar a chance to correct his statement.

Why should Bloom feel the need to change his tune? As it turns out, both The Detroit News and Steven Rattner, Bloom's predecessor, recorded the statement for posterity. The quote was featured in an article in The Detroit News and in Rattner's book, Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry. As Automotive News points out, Rattner claims that Bloom made the statement as a joke.