Back in 2007, the US Congress created the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing federal loan program to allow the US Government to loan out $25 billion to car manufacturers. The loans were created to help car manufacturers to retool factories and build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
But those loans have been slowly trickling out. Only $9.2 of the $25 billion set aside has been used. Also, the program has been taking a long time to approve companies for loans. So far Ford, Nissan, Fisker, and Tesla have already been approved for loans. Chrysler has been waiting for eighteen months while GM has pulled their application.
Now, a congressman from Texas wants to get rid of the program.
U.S. Rep. Bill Flores R-Texas., has introduced a bill into Congress to end the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program.
"My proposed bill to terminate the program prior to the end of the current fiscal year could potentially save additional billions in unused taxpayer dollars. Repealing the ATVM loan program will preserve much-needed funds to support projects that have the best chance of providing middle-class jobs here at home in the near term. It will also ensure that funds are provided for an immediate need, rather than letting them sit idly by waiting for a careless and inefficient bureaucratic process that has made little progress in the past three years.," Flores said.
The bill is being supported by many Republicans, but Democrats, led by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Gary Peters, are against the bill.
The Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing federal loan program has been coming under a lot of scrutiny after solar panel manufacturer Solyndra LLC collapsed after receiving $528 million in loans. Last week, the White House launched a sixty-day review of the program.
Source: The Detroit News
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