Send a message to Congress, Obama on auto bailouts!

Subject:

Dear [ President-Elect Barack Obama Transition Team and members of Congress ],

(Edit Letter Below)

I am writing to you to urge that any loan-guarantee bailout to Detroit automakers should insist that, in exchange for taxpayer dollars,  the car manufacturers  agree to end their four-year-long legal assault against global warming laws in California and three other states.  I also want to see any such aid for car makers precisely targeted so that it is used for the development and delivery of hybrids, clean diesels and other highly fuel-efficient vehicles.

The "loan guarantees" the auto industry wants are investments.  And since my tax dollars are going to back this up, I want to make sure that these are smart investments.   Congress and the Administration should send a clear signal to Detroit that  the industry needs to get America off of the current dead-end road of addiction to foreign oil and escalating climate change pollution.

We need to make sure that Detroit is building the cars of tomorrow, not the gas-guzzling dinosaurs of yesterday.  I agree with President-Elect Barack Obama's statement to the U.S. auto industry that:  "The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It's not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time."
 
A total of 15 states have adopted regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to reduce significantly the greenhouse gas emissions of their cars and lights trucks.   The U.S. automobile industry has been waging a four-year legal battle against these state emission standards.  I don't think it makes sense to give Detroit $25 billion in loan guarantees without insisting that, in exchange, it halt its war on the states' legitimate interest in cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

There are no "free rides" in life. The U.S. auto industry needs to understand that taxpayers are prepared to help them out, but only if Detroit moves away from the mistakes that brought it to the low point it is at today.

Please keep me informed about what you do on this topic to protect the interests of myself and other taxpayers.

Yours,

[Your name]
[Your address]

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