U-S Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he's not sure yet which approach he supports to help the nation's domestic automakers out of their financial predicament.The leaders of GM, Ford and Chrysler have been making their case this week in Washington for a $34 billion government bailout.McConnell and his Capitol Hill colleagues will debate the matter when the lame-duck session of Congress resumes next week."I haven't decided yet which course I think is best," McConnell said today in Louisville. "One thing is not in dispute, no one wants the American automobile manufacturers to go down."McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, says "everybody agrees" that the automakers must change their business model, and government assistance will only come if there's going to be a major restructuring of the industry.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.