Congressman John D. Dingell

Dearborn, MI - Today, General Motors announced the company would build the new Chevrolet Camaro in Canada. Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) said the company had little choice because the Bush Administration and its rubber-stamp Republican Congress refuse to work on legislation to address strategic disadvantages facing the automakers and US auto workers, including health care and currency manipulation.

“The Canadians can make cars much cheaper than we can, because their government covers health care costs for all,” Dingell said. “Whenever the heads of the Big 3 have tried to talk with President Bush about this problem, they get turned away. The automakers have NOT asked the President for a bailout, but they do want fairness and justice. There are legislative initiatives that could make a more level playing field for US automakers, who have taken on massive burdens that their international counterparts don’t have to worry about. But the President is too busy to sit down with three of America’s largest employers. It’s a slap in the face to the industry, the people of Michigan and to all communities with auto industry employees. It’s hard to imagine what he is doing that would keep him from such a meeting.”

Well, by looking at the President’s daybook, one can see where he places his priorities. According to the daybook, since the first canceled meeting with automakers on May 18, 2006 the President has been to almost two dozen fundraisers. In addition, he has prioritized the following events over meeting with the automakers’ CEOs:

May 24: Met with members of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

June 2: Met with the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

June 23: Hosted White House tee ball game between McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and the Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut.

July 7: Traveled to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (to discuss Elvis, not trade)

July 18: Met with Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr. (whose winning car had a Honda-made engine)

July 28: Met with the top ten finalists from “American Idol” (‘Idol’ winner Taylor Hicks does commercials for Ford)

“The closest President Bush has come to a meeting with a representative from the auto companies is Taylor Hicks,” Dingell said.

At the beginning of 2006, the Big 3 automakers directly employed 377,000 people – or 8 out of 10 US auto workers. Another 7.2 million jobs - including dealers, suppliers – are tied to the US automakers. Last year, the Big 3 spent $21 billion in the United States on research and development. More than three-quarters of a million people rely on the Big 3 for retirement, pension and health benefits. However, the number of jobs could drop again when Ford announces more restructuring later this year.

“Congressional Republicans have failed by not demanding action from the White House,” Dingell said. “The President has a lot of friends in Michigan – and he has shown that he is happy to raise money for those friends and their causes – but why aren’t those friends demanding more action from this White House? How can we believe those who promise to create jobs when they won’t even help keep the ones that are here?”

Recent comments on the relationship with the White House from US auto company executives:

(from The Washington Post, 8/19/06) The Detroit automakers, however, contend that the pressure from overseas should raise alarms in Washington. The U.S. companies, struggling to revive their fortunes by slashing costs, benefits and payrolls, are troubled by what they perceive as an unsympathetic ear from Congress and the White House. They say the lack of a U.S. auto policy is putting them at a disadvantage to their fast-rising foreign rivals.

"If you look around the world, most countries have a version of economic patriotism," said Robert Lutz, GM vice chairman in charge of global product development. "They are proud of their own industries. The U.S. is the only major country that, if anything, has negative economic patriotism. I think some people in the United States, in leading government circles, actually detest the American automobile industry. They don't like us."

Lutz said foreign automakers have been "very clever" in building political support for their U.S. operations. He said their decisions on where to locate plants are not based only on economic factors but also on how many representatives and senators the carmakers can win to their side.

Mark Fields, president of the Americas division of Ford Motor Co., who is leading an overhaul of the No. 2 automaker's U.S. operations, blamed inconsistent government and industry collaboration for a "steady exodus" of U.S. auto jobs. Speaking to industry officials in Traverse City, Mich., last week, Fields said the "dismissal" and "cynicism" for U.S. automakers is "like nothing I've ever seen."

In contrast, Fields said, government and consumers in Asian countries view auto manufacturing as a strategically important industry that deserves support. Fields said that in the past four years, Detroit automakers have spent nearly $39 billion in the United States to develop new technology, more than foreign automakers have spent in America over the past 25 years.

(from The Detroit News, 8/11/06) General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner sharply criticized government officials Thursday for failing to show leadership on crucial issues such as health care and energy.

"Some of the things that we all believe are necessary to ensure the continued strength of the (manufacturing) sector, which I think is just vital ... we just don't see the leadership," said Wagoner, speaking at the auto industry's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.

Wagoner's comments followed similar sentiments expressed a day earlier in Traverse City by Mark Fields, Ford Motor Co.'s president of the Americas.

Wagoner and the CEOs of Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have been asking for a sit-down with President Bush for months, but the meeting has been postponed at least twice.

Last month, Wagoner appeared on Capitol Hill asking Congress for a number of reforms to help businesses cope with runaway health care costs.

"They've just taken a complete pass on doing something about the health care situation," Wagoner said Thursday. "It's driving jobs out of the country."