President Barack Obama said the “tough decisions” he made to give almost $60 billion in aid to the U.S. auto industry saved a million jobs and led to the strongest period of growth for automakers in a decade.
In his weekly address on the radio and the Internet, Obama said the help given to General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC have led to a “hopeful story” of economic recovery following the nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
“There’s no doubt that we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before folks here and across the country can feel whole again,” he said in the address, recorded at a GM plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, yesterday. “But what’s important is that we’re finally beginning to see some of the tough decisions we made pay off.”
Obama is stepping up his defense of government aid to automakers as polls show voters haven’t been persuaded the spending was worthwhile. A Bloomberg National Poll conducted July 9-12 shows the federal assistance package to automobile companies is becoming less popular: 48 percent say they became less supportive of it in recent months, while 17 percent say they have become more supportive.
Obama visited GM and Chrysler plants in Michigan yesterday as part of an administration campaign leading into the November congressional elections to highlight the impact of the president’s economic policies.
Government Aid
The administrations of Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, committed a total of $85 billion to rescue the automakers, aid suppliers and prop up the financing arms of GM and Chrysler. About $67 billion in loans and equity investments are still outstanding, according to administration figures.
