Sen. Sherrod Brown optimistic automaker loans will pass

An Ohio senator who was part of Thursday’s deliberations said passage of the automaker loans next week will be difficult, but he is optimistic of gaining enough support.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a member of the committee that met with automaker CEOs, said he expects a repeat of the bailout of the financial services industry: Lawmakers didn’t like it but decided it was necessary.

“We have two choices. Either we approve the bridge loans or we allow the economy to drive off the bridge,” Brown said in a conference call with reporters.

He predicted that a failure of an automaker would lead to a “cascading of bankruptcies” across the country as suppliers, car dealers and small-town retailers begin to struggle.

Local car dealer Chuck Eddy said he has been asked to return to Capitol Hill Monday to talk to lawmakers about the Main Street impact of an automaker collapse.

“They have got to understand the depth and the magnitude of what the bridge loans mean to auto dealers and their communities,” said Eddy of Bob & Chuck Eddy Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Austintown.

The Detroit automakers have nearly 15,000 dealerships, which employ an average of 50 people each, he said. If those dealerships fail, businesses that supply them will be damaged and community retailers will suffer, he said.

Chrysler also asked Eddy to speak with lawmakers two weeks ago. He is the Chrysler representative to the National Auto Dealers Association.

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com