Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor Co, added new urgency to industry lobbying for $25 billion in government loans, with financial sector turmoil prompting some in Congress to seek assurances privately that help for automakers would not be a bailout.
Ford said he came away from meetings with a sense that lawmakers understood the financial services meltdown -- including late word of a massive government rescue of insurance giant American International Group was distinct from action to help automakers finance more fuel efficient vehicles.
"I don't think there has been any confusion at all," he said.
Nevertheless, there is some indication that worsening corporate upheaval involving major financial firms and the deepening regulatory response has cast a shadow over efforts to get quick congressional approval of billions in funds needed to issue the low interest loans to the auto industry.
"There are a lot of questions, unfortunately, with what's happening in the financial markets this week," Rep. Candice Miller, a Michigan Republican, said after attending a meeting with Ford that included other members of the Michigan and Ohio delegations.
"It's not a walk in the park," Miller said. "We keep trying to educate members that this is not a bailout."
Those lobbying for help are telling anyone who will listen on Capitol Hill that industry will pay back the loans -- with interest -- just like Chrysler did in the 1980s when it received loan guarantees to survive.
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