Obama Lauds Bush’s Bailout Decision

President-elect Barack Obama this morning praised President Bush’s decision to grant $13.4 billion in immediate loans to General Motors and Chrysler from the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout fund.

Obama called on the automakers to take the opportunity to begin restructuring their companies. See his full statement below:

Today’s actions are a necessary step to help avoid a collapse in our auto industry that would have devastating consequences for our economy and our workers. With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together — including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers — to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability. The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring that is absolutely required to save this critical industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it.