Grassroots Revolt Stops Auto Bailout in Senate

Americans are sick of seeing hundreds of billions in tax dollars used to bailout irresponsible and poorly managed companies. After Congress received an earful from voters, it appears members of the House and Senate have lost their appetite for more bailouts.

Nothing short of a complete reorganization of the UAW’s contracts, product pipeline, crushing debt obligations, oversized dealer network, and poor management team will save the Detroit Three from liquidation. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the best place to reorganize the Detroit Three, not on the floor of Congress where political decisions will trump business realties.

In the run up to the vote, FreedomWorks activists made their opposition known by calling and emailing Senate offices. By the time the Senate rejected the bailout late Thursday, FreedomWorks members had sent over 101,270 emails in an overwhelming response to a call to action sent out to the FreedomWorks membership list.

Following the vote, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) said, “I think it would appear that the people who voted against this are carrying out the will of the voters as expressed through the phone calls to our offices.”

FreedomWorks is disappointed that the White House indicated it will keep the bailout bandwagon rolling by using the final $15 billion available under TARP funds to prop up General Motors and Chrysler for a few more weeks. Unfortunately the White House continues to turn its back on the free market and reward imprudent and irresponsible business practices at the expense of the taxpayers .

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented,

“Americans are clearly not interested in using more taxpayer dollars to bail out private companies. We appreciate the courage of the Senators who voted against the bill, especially the leadership of Senators Shelby (R-AL), Ensign (R-NV) and DeMint (R-SC), for protecting taxpayers.”

“It appears the UAW would prefer to have billons of dollars in taxpayer subsidies rather than bring wages in line with industry standards. What we see playing out in Detroit is the result of decades of irresponsible labor contracts that did not match market realties, products that are not competitive, and poor management. Detroit needs to fundamentally restructure to become competitive, not depend on the federal government to prop up a failed business model.”