The Auto Bailout’s Terms and Conditions

by Walter Alarkon - 12/19/08 4:08 PM ET

The White House released a fact sheet laying out the fine lining of the $17.4 billion bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

President Bush said Friday that the money for automakers was needed to prevent the two companies’ collapse. The money, which will be given in the form of loans, was taken from the $700 billion bailout program for the financial markets.

As part of the deal, the government said that the automakers must limit executive pay, allow the government to examine their records and set their rules and wages for workers to be competitive with those for foreign automaker employees. But the fact sheet also states that the terms and conditions could be non-binding if the companies can make the case why they didn’t meet them and that they will still be viable in the long term.

The full fact sheet is after the jump.

Financing Assistance To Facilitate The
Restructuring Of Auto Manufacturers To Attain Financial Viability
Conditioned Loans To The Domestic Auto Industry Will Enable Vital Restructuring, While Protecting The American Taxpayer

Today, President Bush announced that the Treasury Department will make loans available from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to assist the domestic auto industry in becoming financially viable. The terms and conditions of this financing will facilitate the restructuring of our domestic auto industry, prevent disorderly bankruptcies during a time of economic difficulty, and protect the taxpayer by ensuring that only financially viable firms receive assistance.