Frank Says Auto Deal on Course
Updated: 4:30 p.m. Emerging from a meeting in Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) office Monday afternoon, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) signaled that a near-finished auto industry bailout bill is on track for passage. I dont see anything thats going to stop an agreement, Frank said. It is overwhelmingly likely that a bill will be on the presidents desk by the end of the week. Still, Frank said negotiations on the package are still ongoing. Asked what sticking points remain, he said: Its not useful to talk about that publicly. Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders will hold a press conference at 4:15 to discuss the status of the bill. White House sources said they received a draft of the auto bill Monday afternoon and had concerns that the proposal was inconsistent with what the administration believed all parties had agreed to. Specifically, the sources said the draft language doesn’t appear to reflect an agreement that only viable firms would get long-term financing. But White House officials only just received the legislative language and plan to keep working with Congressional leaders to try to reconcile that provision, according to those sources.