The White House on Tuesday said it was open to considering any
proposals from Congress to accelerate loans to the auto industry.

President-elect Barack Obama reportedly raised the issue of additional help
for the auto industry -- perhaps an additional $25 billion -- in a meeting
with President Bush on Monday.

Reuters -
With the U.S. auto industry bleeding cash on a daily basis from the global
economic slowdown, the White House on Tuesday said it was open to considering
any proposals from Congress to accelerate loans to the industry from funds
already appropriated.

Congress has already approved a $25 billion package of low-interest loans
to help automakers meet fuel-efficiency standards.

But a spokeswoman for President-elect Barack Obama said he raised the issue
of additional help for the auto industry-- perhaps an additional $25 billion
-- in a meeting with President Bush on Monday.

All this as General Motors -- which recently lost it's reign as the world's
largest automaker to Toyota -- saw it's stock price hit a 65 year low.

Efriam Levy is an auto industy equity analyst for Standard &
Poor's.

Efriam Levy, auto industy equity analyst for Standard &
Poor's.
"What they have to do in order to survive is they need to get the
liquidity-- presumably at this point through government assistance-- and then
survive enough until 2010 where they will get additional cost savings and
hopefully start in the recovery of demand and profits."

On Friday, GM and Ford said they had burned through a combined $14.6
billion in cash in the face of the deepening global downturn. A report from
the industry-supported Center for Automotive Research warned that up to 3
million jobs would be lost next year if Detroit's Big Three automakers--
including privately-held Chrysler-- collapsed into backruptcy.

Efriam Levy, auto industy equity analyst for Standard &
Poor's.
"I think there would be a ripple effect first through the suppiers
who would then allow them to possible fold or go bankrupt themselves which
would have a further ripple effect on the greater economy."

Obama, who takes office on January 20, said in a news conference on Friday
that aid for U.S. automakers-- who have been squeezed by the unavailabilty of
credit and depressed sales-- is a high priority of his transition team. The
concern is based on the dire warnings from automakers that they need
unrestricted cash now --simply to meet payroll and other expenses.

Jon Decker, Reuters.