UAW not accountable for begging for bailout???
GOP rep criticizes UAW for refusing to testify at auto oversight hearing
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, who is member of the Congressional Oversight Panel, said the UAW refused to testify at today's hearing at Wayne State University.
The panel confirmed that it sought the testimony of the UAW. Alan Reuther, the UAW's legislative director, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Hensarling said he was "disappointed" that UAW President Ron Gettelfinger did not accept invitation to testify.
"He was able to rearrange his schedule to come and ask for TARP money," he noted.
Hensarling also expressed concern about the "the chilling and far-reaching consequences" of the Task Force's decision to subordinate the interests of major investors in General Motors and Chrysler to the union as part of their recent restructuring.
The new top White House adviser on autos, Ron Bloom, is testifying today, along with the treasurers of both GM and Chrysler.
"The UAW came before Congress and pleaded for billions of taxpayer assistance. Their ownership stakes in Chrysler and GM look suspicious at best and like sweetheart deals at worst. It's outrageous they would benefit from the taxpayers' money and then refuse to testify about it," Hensarling said in a statement before the opening of today's hearing.
The hearing has been in the works since early June. Hensarling wrote to the chair of the panel, Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, urging her to hold a hearing on the decision to loan GM and Chrysler and their finance arms about $80 billion.
The panel held a June 15 conference call to discuss the hearing. "The panel must invite witnesses from the administration's auto task force who were intimately involved in the Chrysler and General Motors assistance efforts," Hensarling wrote in a June 15 letter to Warren. "Without these participants, the panel cannot provide meaningful oversight for $80 billion of taxpayer support rewarded to Chrysler and GM."
In this morning's testimony, Warren asked Bloom for a timeline for GM to emerge from government control.
"The best way to get out as quickly as possible is not to commit to a defined schedule," Bloom said, adding that this would make it harder for the government to sell its shares.