Tonight, Mitt Romney said he’d like to ask President Obama,“How did you do running General Motors?” We’ve got the answer - by making the tough and politically unpopular decision to extend emergency rescue loans to the American auto industry, President Obama saved 1.4 million jobs at GM, Chrysler, and throughout the domestic automotive supply chain, preventing an economic catastrophe for communities across the country. Michigan, where more than one in every five workers’ jobs are supported by the auto industry, would have been at the center of that collapse. In exchange for government loans, GM and Chrysler were required to cut labor costs and overhaul their business models, guaranteeing their accountability to taxpayers. Today, GM and Chrysler have repaid the loans they received from the Obama administration, become profitable and rehired thousands of workers. Yet Romney opposed the very loans the President extended to the auto industry – loans that industry experts say saved the auto companies from liquidation - and instead proposed “letting Detroit go bankrupt” in an op-ed in the New York Times. 
 

THE RESCUE LOANS FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY PREVENTED ECONOMIC DISASTER ACROSS THE NATION AND IN MICHIGAN

• The New York Times Reported That Rick Snyder Believes That, “If The Federal Government Had Not Intervened…The Financial Casualties Would Have Extended Far Beyond Chrysler And General Motors To The Supply Chain That Is The Economic Lifeblood Of The Industrial Midwest.” [The New York Times, 11/9/11 <http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/michigan-governor-warns-candidates-on-auto-bailout/> ]
   
• Gov. Rick Snyder: The Loss Of GM And Chrysler “Would Have Had A Devastating Impact On The Economy.” [Detroit News, 11/9/11 <http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/nolanfinleyblog/index.php?blogid=1428#ixzz1dFeaCPSU> ]

• The Center For Automotive Research: The Auto Industry Rescue Saved More Than 1.4 Million Jobs, Including 1.14 Million Jobs In 2009 And 314,400 Jobs In 2010.  [CAR Report, 11/7/10 <http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/bankruptcy.pdf> ]

• The Auto Industry Rescue Prevented More Than $96 Billion In Personal Income Losses. [CAR Report, 11/7/10 <http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/bankruptcy.pdf> ]
   

• 2008: Moody’s Economist Mark Zandi Said That Without Government Help “The Automakers Will Quickly End Up In Bankruptcy And Be Effectively Liquidated, Resulting In  Hundreds Of Thousands Of Layoffs.” [Testimony To U.S. Senate Banking Committee, 12/4/2008]

• Center For Automotive Research Chairman: “The Whole [Auto] Industry Was At The Edge Of Collapse” And “Had That Occurred It Would Have Taken The Economy Very Likely Into A Depression.” [Detroit News, 2/24/10 <http://www.detnews.com/article/20100224/POLITICS02/2240334/1022/LOCAL/GM--Claims-in-Romney-book-are-false#ixzz0gSsZ5bMP> ]

• Ford CEO Alan Mulally: The Auto Rescue Was “Absolutely Key In Helping Create A Chance For GM And Chrysler Going Forward.” [The Daily Beast, 10/16/10 <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/10/16/ford-ceo-alan-mulally-on-the-auto-bailout-electric-cars.html> ]
   

• Mulally: The Rescue Of GM And Chrysler Was “The Right Thing.” [The Daily Beast, 10/16/10 <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/10/16/ford-ceo-alan-mulally-on-the-auto-bailout-electric-cars.html> ]

• CNN: “Doing Nothing” For GM Chrysler “Could Have Cost More Than Twice As Much” As The Auto Rescue, Which Prevented More Than $28 Billion In Lost Tax Revenues And Assistance To The Unemployed. [CNN Money, 7/22/11 <http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/21/autos/chrysler_bailout_costs_gains/index.htm> ]
   
• UofC Bankruptcy Expert Said GM Would “Die” Without Government Intervention. [McClatchy Newspapers, 3/30/09]

• The Center For Automotive Research Reported That If GM & Chrysler Had Undergone An Unstructured, Disruptive Bankruptcy, Michigan Would Have Lost Over 337,000 Jobs Reliant On The Auto Industry In 2009 And 2010. [CAR Automaker Bankruptcies Report, 5/26/09 <http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/impact.pdf> ]
   

• The Center For Automotive Research Reported That The Auto Industry Supports Over 1.1 Million Jobs In Michigan, A Full 21.8% Of The State’s Workforce. [CAR Industry Contribution Report, 4/21/10 <http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/association_paper.pdf> ]
   

THE AUTO RESCUE HAS MADE THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY STRONGER AND MORE COMPETITIVE

• Wall Street Journal: “Resurgent” Auto Makers Have “Helped Stir Michigan's Economy And Provided Relief To Auto-Driven Local Economies.” [WSJ, 6/22/2011 <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304887904576399801933093180.html?mod=googlenews_wsj> ]

• The Government Accountability Office Found That The Auto Rescue Allowed GM And Chrysler To Reduce Their Labor Costs And Increase Their Production Capacity. [GAO Report On Treasury’s Exit From Chrysler & GM, 5/10/11 <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11471.pdf> ]
   

• Since The Auto Rescue, GM And Chrysler Have Added Thousands Of Jobs And Are On Course To Return To Pre-Crisis Levels Of Employment. [Detroit Free Press, 5/11/11 <http://www.freep.com/article/20110511/BUSINESS01/105110429/GM-Ford-Chrysler-adding-jobs-near-pre-crash-employment-levels> ]

• For The First Time In Nearly Seven Years, All The Big Three Automakers Are Profitable. [Associated Press, 5/2/11 <http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Chrysler-turns-first-profit-apf-2599749535.html?x=0> ] 

• Since The Rescue, GM Has Had Six Consecutive Quarters Of Profitability. [Detroit News, 10/26/11 <http://www.detnews.com/article/20111026/AUTO01/110260335/> ]
   

• In 2011, Chrysler Is Expected To Make Its First Annual Profit In 6 Years. [Detroit News, 10/28/11 <http://www.detnews.com/article/20111028/AUTO01/110280338/1148/Chrysler-posts-profit-of-$212M> ]
   

• For The First Time Since 1995, All Of The Big Three Have Gained Market Share. [TARP 3 Year Retrospective, 10/3/11 <http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/financial-stability/briefing-room/reports/agency_reports/Documents/TARP%20Three%20Year%20Anniversary%20Report.pdf> ]
   

• The Government Accountability Office Said That The Auto Rescue “Allowed GM And Chrysler To Restructure Their Balance Sheets [And] Tackle Key Challenges To Achieving Viability.” [GAO Report, 5/10/11 <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11471.pdf> ]
   

• The Center For Automotive Research Said “Loans And Other Financial Assistance Provided To General Motors And Chrysler…Averted Certain Economic Catastrophe Had The Companies Been Allowed To Fail.” [Center For Automotive Research, 12/17/2010 <http://www.cargroup.org/pdfs/bankruptcy.pdf> ]
   

• Consumer Reports Called Chrysler’s Pace Of Change Under Fiat Leadership “Blistering” And Its Progress “Laudable [New York Times, 7/30/11 <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/business/forced-marriage-of-fiat-and-chrysler-yields-success.html?pagewanted=all> ]
  
  

ALL OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LOANS TO GM & CHRYSLER HAVE BEEN REPAID

• April 2010: GM Repaid The Loans It Received From The US Government. [USA Today, 4/21/10 <http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-04-20-gm-loan_N.htm> ]
   

• May 2011: Chrysler Repaid Its Outstanding Loans To The Government Six Years Ahead Of Schedule. [Chrysler Press Release, 5/24/11 <http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=E3B4ACAD0F44D500DD399074F2147902?&id=10922&mid=1> ]
   

• 100% Of The Money President Obama Loaned To Chrysler Has Been Repaid, Representing Over 85% Of The Entire Investment In Chrysler. [PBS, 5/24/11 <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june11/chrysler_05-24.html> ]
   

• Chrysler Has Repaid $11.2 Billion Of The $12.5 Billion Total Committed By The US Government. [CNN Money, 7/31/11 <http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/21/autos/chrysler_government_exit/index.htm> ]
   

• Chrysler Received $4 Billion From The Bush Administration And $8.5 Billion From The Obama Administration. [Government Accountability Office Report, 11/2/09 <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10151.pdf> ]
   

• The GAO Found That Treasury Had “Taken Steps To Protect The Taxpayer’s Interest In Divesting From GM.” [GAO Report On Treasury’s Exit From Chrysler & GM, 5/10/11 <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11471.pdf> ]