By Steve Williams, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
July 30--Those who took the time to read Jay Ambrose's commentary in Tuesday's Daily Press ("Grading Congress") can be forgiven if they asked the same question Mr. Ambrose asked regarding Congress's approval rating of 11 percent, to wit: What's the matter with those 11 percent?
Thursday came news about Charlie Rangel that can only help convince that 11 percent that they are hugely out of step with the rest of America. Mr. Rangel, as anyone who follows such things knows, has been on the griddle for violation of House ethics (are there such things?) for the past couple of years. A hearing before the House ethics committee Thursday was billed as a plea-bargaining session to get him off the hook. That didn't happen; no deal was reached.
He now faces charges related to his solicitation of donations for a City College of New York center named after him. He was also charged with using a rent-stabilized apartment as a campaign office in New York; failing to report income from a vacation rental in the Dominican Republic; and for what a news release said was a "pattern of submitting inaccurate and incomplete financial disclosure statements" to Congress. The committee charged him with a total of 13 counts of breaking House rules and launched disciplinary proceedings that scare the hell out of the majority party.
That's because the projected ensuing trial will probably open in September (unless Mr. Rangel resigns, which he is going to be under increasingly heavy pressure to do) and drag on for a couple of months leading up to the critical midterm elections in November. No matter how that trial comes out, Democrats are not going to improve their standing with voters.
The Wall Street Journal Thursday quoted Ken Gross, an ethics and campaign-finance attorney in Washington, as saying that none of the charges would likely result in Mr. Rangel being kicked out of Congress. "The penalty is having to go through the trial process, more than anything that they will do at the end of the day," Gross said.
And we're here to tell you that's a far bigger penalty for Mr. Rangel's party than it would be if he simply announced he was resigning. Our bet is that he will do that within the next few days. It is significant that in the last week, four House Democrats have publicly called on Mr. Rangel to take that course.
Things are so bad for Mr. Rangel that Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi abandoned ship, and said that ethics charges against him should come to light even if that would have a negative impact on Democrats' election prospects this fall.
As we said, the latest polls show that Congress has a public approval rating of 11 percent. Any bets on what that rating will be when the Rangel scandal ends?
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GOP leans on Dems in Rangel ethics case
Jul 30, 09:55 AM
By Colby Itkowitz, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
July 30--WASHINGTON -- New York Democrat Charlie Rangel was charged with 13 ethics violations on Thursday, and the Republicans are renewing efforts to demand Democratic candidates return any campaign money they ever received from him.
Locally, U.S. Reps. Patrick Murphy, Paul Kanjorski and Tim Holden have all gotten money from Rangel's Leadership PAC and Rangel's own campaign coffers.
According to OpenSecrets.org, Murphy and Kanjorski last got money from Rangel in 2008. Holden hasn't received money from Rangel since 2004.
Murphy, for one, has no intention of returning the $19,000 he has taken in donations from Rangel. But Murphy believes that Rangel, the fourth most senior Democrat in the House, should leave Congress.
"Today, I broke with my party and called on Congressman Rangel to resign his seat in Congress," Murphy said in a statement. "Now that we've seen the full list of allegations by the House ethics subcommittee, I believe the time has come for him to step down."
Kanjorski, who has received about $20,000 from Rangel, is not going to ask his colleague to step down. He's waiting to hear Rangel's side of the story, said Nicole Giambusso, spokeswoman for Kanjorski.
The ethics panel charged 80-year-old Rangel with multiple instances of violating a ban on accepting gifts worth more than $50. They also charged Rangel with not reporting income earned on a vacation property he owns in the Dominican Republic, among other charges.
It's bad timing for Democrats, who are fearful of losing their majority in the fall elections. And Republicans are trying to tie House Democrats to Rangel in any way they can.
"Patrick Murphy, Paul Kanjorski, and Tim Holden are all sending a very clear signal that they have no reservations about the corruption problem running through the ranks of Washington Democrats," said Greg Blair, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "Until they give up their tainted campaign funds, any attempts to distance themselves from their disgraced colleague will rightfully be seen as nothing more than shallow political opportunism."
Most Democrats contend that the money was received before the Rangel ethics violations came to light and has already been spent, but Republicans say there's no proof that the Rangel money wasn't rolled over into their 2010 campaign accounts.
"He didn't give us any money for the 2010 election cycle," said Kanjorski's spokeswoman Giambusso, "so there's nothing there to return."
Lawyers for Rangel and the ethics panel struck a plea deal, people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. But the deal will have little meaning if the committee members don't approve it, and Republicans said they are insisting on going forward with a trial. The panel is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
Many Democrats had urged Rangel to settle the case to avoid the prospect of televised hearings right before November congressional elections. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed resigned to the case proceeding.
"The chips will have to fall where they may politically," she told reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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GM and Chrysler will repay funds, Obama says
Jul 30, 09:16 AM
By Justin Hyde
By Justin Hyde
Detroit Free Press
WASHINGTON General Motors and Chrysler will repay all of the money the Obama administration spent on their restructurings, President Barack Obama said Thursday in an interview on ABC's "The View."
But a White House official said the president did not mean to suggest the companies would pay back all of the $86 billion spent by Obama and former president George W. Bush.
While the companies have said they wanted to pay back the government in full, no outside analysis had ever suggested it was possible.
The government's most recent official estimate forecast a loss of $24.3 billion; a Detroit Free Press analysis suggested it could be half that amount, given the improvement in the U.S. auto industry.
Obama said that before his administration shepherded GM and Chrysler through bankruptcy in 2009, the government "had been bailing them out for years before that, just asking nothing in return."
"You now have all those U.S auto companies showing a profit," Obama said on "The View," in an interview taped Wednesday. "They've rehired 55,000 workers. We are going to get all of the money back that we invested in those car companies."
The 55,000 jobs is a total for the entire U.S. auto industry since June 2009.
The Bush administration lent GM $13.4 billion and Chrysler $4 billion in December 2009, money Obama auto task force officials have maintained was unlikely ever to be recovered.
Obama said on "The View" that the recovery of GM and Chrysler, along with profits at Ford, validated the choices his administration made to shepherd GM and Chrysler through bankruptcy - a message he plans to emphasize during his visit to GM and Chrysler plants in Detroit on Friday.
"And the best thing is we're now creating an entirely new clean energy, clean-car technology around advanced batteries and whatnot that will make us a world leader," he added.
GM is expected to launch a public stock offering later this year, the first step toward unwinding the government's 60.8 percent stake.
Chrysler has said it would not consider a stock sale until 2011; the U.S. government owns 9.9 percent of its equity.
GM has paid back $7.7 billion in loans and interest on the $50.7 billion spent in its rescue, while Chrysler has paid back $2.5 billion of the $12.5 billion it received.
The U.S. Treasury also spent $16.3 billion stabilizing Ally Financial, formerly GMAC.
Originally published by By Justin Hyde Detroit Free Press.
(c) 2010 Herald; Rock Hill, S.C.. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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In Brief
Jul 30, 09:06 AM
PHILADELPHIA --Three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt gave his OK to a trade from Houston to Philadelphia on Thursday, becoming the latest ace to join the hard-charging Phillies.
The Astros dealt Oswalt and a sizable amount of cash to the twotime NL champions for pitcher J.A. Happ and two speedy prospects, outfielder Anthony Gose and shortstop Jonathan Villar. Houston then traded Gose to Toronto.
Oswalt joins a rotation that includes star Roy Halladay, acquired from Toronto in the offseason, and Cole Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP. Oswalt is scheduled to make his debut for the Phillies tonight, starting at Washington.
In other trades:
The NL West-leading San Diego Padres obtained infielder Miguel Tejada and cash from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Class AA right-hander Wynn Pelzer. Tejada is hitting .269 with seven homers and 39 RBIs. The former AL MVP can play shortstop and third base. He has appeared in 93 games in the field this season, all at third base, after having played shortstop in each of his previous 1,846 games.
The AL West-leading Texas Rangers added another bat for the stretch, getting third baseman Jorge Cantu from the Florida Marlins for two minor league pitchers. Cantu got two hits, scored twice and made an error in the Marlins' 5-0 win at San Francisco. The trade was completed right after the game ended. "I'm going," Cantu said. BALTIMORE -- Buck Showalter was hired to manage the Baltimore Orioles, his latest rebuilding project in a major league career full of them.
Showalter's first game will be Tuesday night at Camden Yards against the Los Angeles Angels.
Baltimore had the worst record in the majors at 31-70 going into Thursday night against Kansas City and is headed toward its 13th straight losing season. The Orioles fired manager Dave Trembley on June 4 and replaced him on an interim basis with Juan Samuel.
"Buck Showalter's proven track record makes him the right choice for manager of the Orioles," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said in a statement. "We believe Buck's extensive experience and expertise will be a major benefit to us as we look towards a more successful future."
Samuel will return to his job as the team's third-base coach. Baltimore went 16-31 with him in charge.
Showalter's move was first reported by ESPN, where he worked as an analyst. His last television appearance was on Monday.
The Texas Rangers placed All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin.
The Kansas City Royals promoted Greg Holland from Class AAA Omaha to fill the roster spot of outfielder Scott Podsednik, who was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Investigators have determined that Colorado Rockies president Keli McGregor's death in April was from natural causes, Salt Lake City police said. McGregor was pronounced dead April 20 after being found in a Salt Lake City hotel room. He was 48.
-- From wire reports
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Detroit Free Press Tom Walsh column: Visiting Obama deserves credit for saving GM, Chrysler
Jul 30, 08:52 AM
By Tom Walsh, Detroit Free Press
July 30--President Barack Obama comes to Detroit today, looking for love in the factories of America's hardest-hit big city.
Beset by a sputtering jobless economic recovery, Obama will tout the federal rescues of General Motors and Chrysler as bold moves that staved off another Great Depression and saved thousands of jobs.
While the revivals of GM and Chrysler are still works in progress, at least the automakers are still alive to launch the Chevrolet Volt and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee from the Detroit plants Obama will visit. And that's about as big a triumph as the president can claim from his first 18 months on the job.
Yes, there are still partisan critics sniping about bailouts and "Government Motors." But make no mistake about the Detroit rescue.
The fact that GM and Chrysler are not only alive but modestly profitable in a weak market, after years of losing billions of dollars when car and truck sales were 50% higher, looks like more than just a successful government intervention.
It looks like a flat-out miracle.
Celebrate the rescue
OK, I get it.
People don't like bailouts -- of Wall Street or Detroit.
Most people who work hard and behave responsibly resent it when their tax dollars are used to prop up big companies run aground by insanely wealthy executives.
Here's the key analogy, though.
People didn't like the rationing of sugar, butter, meat and gasoline during World War II, either. But citizens supported these anti-free-market intrusions as necessary in a time of national emergency.
They assumed in the 1940s that government would restore economic freedoms when the war ended, which is what happened. And that's pretty much what's happening today in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and federal response.
Most banks have paid back their bailout money. GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcies as leaner companies, repaid loans and stopped losing money. They are moving to shed their government ownership via stock offerings.
Political opponents, though, can't concede even a small attaboy for Obama on the auto rescue. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, leaps to denounce GM at every opportunity, as he did last week when GM bought AmeriCredit, and when GM repaid $6.7 billion in loans ahead of schedule in April. Even home-state U.S. Rep. Candice Miller has sniped recently at GM and Chrysler for eliminating dealers.
Sorry, but the auto rescue critics are all wet. This was much more than a handout to weather a slump. Obama's auto task force totally reshaped a bloated and dysfunctional industry, forcing sacrifices from all, into something that now looks sensible and sustainable.
"This was not just a rebound from a brutal recession, but it is a repositioning of an industry after a decade or more of decline," said Brian Deese, a member of that task force and now an economic policy assistant to Obama.
Stephen Girsky, a longtime auto industry analyst who's now a GM director and vice chairman for strategy and business development, accepts that GM must live with the bankruptcy stigma and political brickbats until it sheds federal ownership.
"The results are better," Girsky said during an interview, alluding to a $900-million first-quarter profit for a company that lost $82 billion in the four years preceding its 2009 bankruptcy.
"The company is acting differently," he added. "There's a lot of work to do. Nobody's in denial here."
Officials of the U.S. Treasury, which owns 61% of GM, get occasional updates on how the company is doing, but are not asked for approval on business decisions, even moves as big as last week's $3.5-billion offer to buy the AmeriCredit auto finance outfit.
Until GM begins a public offering of stock, expected later this year, we won't begin to get a clear sense of how much U.S. taxpayers will recover of its $50-billion in federal assistance, or when.
The telltale numbers for grading the auto rescue now are the first-quarter profits posted by GM and Chrysler while overall industry sales were still rotten -- compared with the horrific losses in pre-rescue years when people were buying cars like crazy.
These are stunning results. Obama is right to celebrate them. We all should.
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Rangel says panel violated his rights
Jul 30, 08:28 AM
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., says a House ethics panel violate his constitutional rights by not giving give him enough time to rebut charges against him.
Rangel said the subcommittee that brought 13 charges against him violated his right to due process under the Fifth Amendment because it did not allow him to repudiate the accusations point-by-point, The Hill reported Thursday.
An investigative subcommittee of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct Thursday submitted the allegations, including charges that Rangel's conduct discredited the chamber. The charges were announced after efforts to reach a settlement failed.
Among other things, Rangel is accused of soliciting donations to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York from businesses appearing before the House Ways and Means Committee when he was its chairman; using a rent-controlled apartment in Harlem for his campaign office; failing to include more than $600,000 on his financial disclosure report; and failing to pay taxes on rental income from a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic.
Rangel has denied any wrongdoing, calling the report "deeply flawed."
"The undisputed evidence in the record … is that Congressman Rangel did not dispense any political favors, that he did not intentionally violate any law, rule or regulation, and that he did not misuse his public office for private gain," the veteran congressman said in a statement.
The Hill said a trial is expected to begin in mid-September, less than two months before the midterm elections. Rangel, who has served 20 terms, faces a competitive primary Sept. 14.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the unanimous findings of the ethics panel, if proven, indicate that Rangel broke federal statutes as well as House rules.
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Rangel faces 13 ethics charges
Jul 30, 05:00 AM
By John Fritze and Naomi Jagoda
WASHINGTON -- A House investigative panel formally charged longtime Rep. Charles Rangel with 13 ethics violations Thursday, setting the stage for a politically thorny trial months before the midterm elections.
In a 40-page statement of charges, a bipartisan panel said the New York Democrat had improperly solicited donations for a public center and library bearing his name and that he omitted hundreds of thousands of dollars of income and assets on disclosure statements.
The broad allegations had previously come to light over the course of the committee's nearly two-year investigation into Rangel's conduct, but the detailed charges -- and the start of a public trial -- came as lawmakers prepared to go home to meet with voters during the summer recess.
"One of the most difficult tasks assigned to a member of Congress is to sit in judgment of a colleague," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who led the four-member investigative panel. "The task is even more difficult when the subject of the investigation has befriended and mentored so many new members of Congress."
Rangel, 80, did not appear at the 30-minute hearing but instead submitted a lengthy statement in which his lawyers deny Rangel broke House ethics rules. The 20-term lawmaker said his lawyers are negotiating with the committee's staff to find an agreement to avoid a prolonged trial.
"The undisputed evidence is that ... Rangel did not dispense any political favors, that he did not intentionally violate any law, rule or regulation, and that he did not misuse his public office for private gain," the statement reads.
Republicans on the committee left little room for an agreement, which would require a vote to take effect. "Mr. Rangel was given multiple opportunities to settle this matter," said Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama. "Instead, he chose to move forward to the public trial."
The committee's charges centered on four broad issues, including: Rangel's solicitation of donations for a public service center at the City College of New York, his failure to report income and assets, his use of a rent-stabilized apartment for campaign offices, and taxes he did not pay on rental income from a Dominican Republic beach villa.
From 2005 to 2007, Rangel used his official letterhead to solicit donations for the Charles B. Rangel Center from organizations that had business before the House Ways and Means Committee, according to the charges. Rangel chaired the committee until he stepped down in March.
The ethics panel also alleged that Rangel accepted a rent-stabilized apartment in Manhattan he used for his campaign offices and that he initially did not pay federal taxes on the Dominican Republic property. Rangel acknowledged the tax issue in 2008 and said Thursday that the matter was resolved.
An eight-member committee -- four Democrats and four Republicans -- must decide whether to uphold the charges. The committee did not say when it would meet next. An ethics trial was last held in 2002 -- for James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat later expelled from Congress.
The gravity of the hearing was underscored by committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the eight-member panel. "We live in a time where public skepticism about the institutions in our country is very high," Lofgren said.
The Rangel controversy also continued to play into this year's elections. Republicans have been eager to remind voters that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi orchestrated the 2006 Democratic takeover of Congress in part by promising to "drain the swamp" of ethics violations.
"The fact is that the swamp has not been drained," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.
A growing number of Democrats have called on Rangel to resign. Several others, including Rep. Joe Sestak, the party's Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, have returned campaign contributions from Rangel.
Asked about a trial's potential impact, Pelosi said, "The chips will have to fall where they may politically."
(c) Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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Ellen DeGeneres bows out of 'American Idol'
Jul 30, 05:00 AM
By Bill Keveney
The Ellen DeGeneres era on American Idol is over.
After deciding Idol "didn't feel like the right fit," the first-year Idol judge and popular talk-show host has decided not to come back for a second season of the top-rated Fox hit. In a statement, she cited time commitments and the discomfort of hurting contestants' feelings.
"It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings," DeGeneres said.
"I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be."
Idol already is searching for a replacement for Simon Cowell, arguably the show's top attraction, on its four-judge panel. No announcement has been made on that front, and Fox did not make any additional comment on whether it would have three or four judges next season. Auditions already have started for Idol's 10th season.
Idol remains TV's top-rated show, with its Tuesday and Wednesday episodes heading the Nielsen charts, but its audience has been slipping in recent years. May's ninth-season finale, which featured the crowning of Lee DeWyze, drew 24.2 million viewers, down from 28.8 million the previous year.
In the statement, DeGeneres said she told producers a couple of months ago of her feelings but that she wouldn't leave them in a bind and would hold off on doing anything until they decided on what they planned to do next.
Idol producers and Fox executives praised DeGeneres, who was halfway through a two-year contract.
"I loved Ellen's passion for the artists and her nurturing skills," Idol creator Simon Fuller says. "She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel, and I will miss her greatly."
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Haynesworth held out of first practice
Jul 30, 04:45 AM
By Rich Campbell, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.
July 30--ASHBURN -- Albert Haynesworth's return to practice with his Washington Redskins teammates was delayed at least one more day because he didn't pass a conditioning test yesterday morning.
"Albert has got a lot of ability," new coach Mike Shanahan said after opening training camp with an afternoon practice. "If we get him in shape, if we get him in great football shape, he can help us. We're not going to put him out there until he's in that type of shape."
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Haynesworth failed the test -- which included two timed sets of six 50-yard shuttle runs -- after he left the field to use the restroom following the first set.
The test allows for a limited amount of time between sets, and Haynesworth was forced to start over from the beginning when he returned to the field despite having met the time requirement for the first set, sources said. There is a portable toilet on the sideline of the practice fields at Redskins Park, but a source said Haynesworth used a restroom inside the building that contains the locker room.
Shanahan would not confirm details of the test or say why Haynesworth failed. He also denied a ProFootballTalk.com report that he and Haynesworth exchanged tense words after Haynesworth failed.
According to the website, Haynesworth told Shanahan that he couldn't have passed the test even in his All-Pro seasons (2007 and 2008) with the Tennessee Titans. Shanahan reportedly replied, "I guess you have never been in shape, then."
"Albert was first class all the way," Shanahan insisted to reporters after practice. "He understood where I was coming from. He understands that he's got to be at a certain level to go out on the field and practice with the rest of our football team."
Haynesworth spent 40 minutes during the 70-minute practice on the treadmill inside the Redskins Park weight room, Shanahan said. After practice, he worked on a side field with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and defensive line coach Jacob Burney for about 20 minutes. The three discussed the terminology of the new defense, Shanahan said.
Haynesworth declined comment through a team spokesman. He appeared thinner than he ever did last season, evidence of the 35 pounds he lost during a 16-week program with a personal trainer.
Haslett also did not comment.
Haynesworth was the only player subjected to the test, Shanahan said, because he did not meet an unspecified threshold of attendance at the team's offseason conditioning program. Other players did enough running drills during the program to prove to Shanahan that they are in shape, he said.
Tackle Jammal Brown did not have to take the test because he did conditioning work at Redskins Park after being traded to the team following the conclusion of the offseason program, Shanahan said.
Meanwhile, Haynesworth's teammates did not seem irked by the situation.
"The conditioning test, a lot of us guys that were here 100 percent couldn't have passed that thing," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. "But that's what conditioning tests are. That's what they're supposed to be for. They're supposed to be, some of them, unattainable. Ones we've had in the past were definitely unattainable.
"But, you know, Haynes still came out here and gave it his all, man. He's doing everything he's got to do to get out on the field."
Linebacker London Fletcher, who called Haynesworth "selfish" for skipping a mandatory minicamp last month, seemed glad that Haynesworth was on the premises.
"Albert is coming here with the right mind set, and he is ready to work," Fletcher said. "Having the right mind set is important because from there a lot can be accomplished."
Shanahan said Haynesworth will have one chance per day to pass the test. He is expected to try again this morning before the Redskins practice at 8:30 a.m.
In the meantime, the saga continues.
"Hopefully he'll get it done tomorrow, but it may take two or three days," Shanahan said. "It may take a week. I really don't know."
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Obama to tout Chrysler, GM repaying aid, adding jobs
Jul 30, 04:37 AM
By Justin Hyde, Detroit Free Press
July 30--WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will tout today the prospects of General Motors and Chrysler adding jobs and repaying much of the aid they received last year during his first visit to Detroit since taking office.
The visit, along with a stop at a Ford plant in Chicago next week, represents a large wager by his administration that the unpopular $86-billion salvage of Detroit's auto industry can be turned into a political profile in courage ahead of midterm elections.
In a new report today, the White House contended the U.S. auto industry as a whole had added 55,000 jobs since June 2009, the largest employment growth since 1999, and that Detroit's three automakers could add 11,000 jobs by the end of this year.
"The president didn't think that walking away from a million jobs and people in these communities made a lot of sense," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. Noting that radio host Rush Limbaugh and other critics had called for letting GM and Chrysler collapse, Gibbs added: "I'll let those that sat in the cheap seats a year ago and wanted to walk away from a million explain to every one of those workers why they made that decision."
Obama said in an interview on ABC's "The View" that he expected GM and Chrysler to pay back the roughly $60 billion that his administration had put into their bankruptcy reorganizations. The government's most-recent official estimate of its return on the rescues forecast a loss of $24.3 billion; a Free Press analysis suggested it could be half that given the improvement in the U.S. auto industry.
Obama said before his administration shepherded GM and Chrysler through bankruptcy in 2009, the government "had been bailing them out for years before that, just asking nothing in return."
"You now have all those U.S. auto companies showing a profit," Obama said on "The View," in an interview taped Wednesday. "They've rehired 55,000 workers. We are going to get all of the money back that we invested in those car companies."
"And the best thing is we're now creating an entirely new clean-energy, clean-car technology around advanced batteries and whatnot that will make us a world leader," he added.
The Bush administration lent GM $13.4 billion and Chrysler $4 billion in December 2008, money Obama auto task force officials have maintained was unlikely to ever be recovered.
Obama will stop at Chrysler's Jefferson North first, followed by a quick tour around GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the automaker will make the Chevrolet Volt. He will be joined by top officials, including the CEOs of GM and Chrysler, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the UAW.
Ron Bloom, head of the administration's auto task force, declined to provide more specific estimates of the government's return on its spending or divulge details of GM's upcoming public stock offering. "Right now, the trajectory is positive," he said.
GM is expected to launch a public stock offering this year, the first step toward unwinding the government's 60.8% stake. Chrysler has said it would not consider a stock sale until 2011; the U.S. government owns 9.9% of its equity.
GM has paid back $7.7 billion in loans and interest on the $50.7 billion spent in its rescue, while Chrysler has paid back $2.5 billion of the $12.5 billion it received.
The U.S. Treasury also spent $16.3 billion stabilizing Ally Financial, formerly GMAC.
Related content
Talking points on auto industry progress
Highlights of the auto industry's progress the Obama administration is promoting ahead of his trip today:
--In the year before GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, the auto industry shed 334,000 jobs. In the year since, auto industry employment has increased by 55,000 jobs. This is the fastest year-over-year growth in auto employment since 1999.
--Nine of GM's 11 factories, including Hamtramck, skipped summer shutdowns to meet growing consumer demand. Chrysler's Jefferson North also remained open.
--Thanks to growing demand, the Detroit Three will have added as many as 11,000 jobs before the end of 2010.
--Exports of vehicles and parts from January to May 2010 increased by 57% over the same period one year ago.
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