090119: Democrats Want Government to Appoint a "Car Czar"

"People's Car" here we come!

Things are truly getting scary in Moscow - sorry, Washington. The liberals in DC are starting to flex their muscles as they seek to impose more and more government control over more and more of the economy. Next on the list is a 200- mpg car that runs on water (peddles included).

(Reuters) -- Legislation drafted by a senior Democrat to impose stricter conditions on the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout program would also create a "car czar" to oversee the U.S. auto industry restructuring, according to a draft copy of the bill.

Separately, an ABC News blog reported private equity investor Steve Rattner, who founded Quadrangle Group, was in the running to fill the car czar job. The "Political Punch" blog described Rattner as a "leading candidate" to oversee the restructuring of the American auto industry.

Rattner was not immediately available for comment.

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, attached the car czar and other auto-related provisions to a draft bill that would add stricter conditions for companies seeking funds from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The car czar job was originally in an auto industry bailout bill approved several weeks ago by the House of Representatives but rejected by the Senate. Ultimately, the Bush administration bailed out Detroit automakers with $17.4 billion in emergency loans to try to avoid a collapse that would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Frank said he hoped to have a floor vote on the legislation as soon as Wednesday.

It was unclear whether the wide-ranging bill had support in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to get legislation swiftly approved.

The car czar position was described in Frank's bill as a presidential appointee who must have "appropriate expertise" in financial restructuring, energy efficiency, environmental protection and environmental stabilization.

The individual would set "appropriate measures" by February 1 to assess the progress of General Motors, Cerberus Capital Management LP's Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co in transforming the outlines they submitted to Congress last month into a detailed restructuring plan.

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