quorum call:

mrs. hutchison: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mrs. hutchison: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hutchison: madam president, i rise today to speak as if in morning business. i rise today to speak about the

update on the chrysler and g.m. banbankruptcies and their impacn the automobile industry. i offered an amendment to provide at least 60 days for any dealer being terminated by an auto manfacturer receiving tarp funding to wind down its operations and sell its inventory. my amendment was in response to the letter sent to 789 chrysler dealers, may 13th, 2009, informing them that they were being terminated on june the 9th. three weeks later, with no assistance for auto inventory, parts, or special tools. i found that unacceptable. and, you know, a number of the people who heard my amendment on the floor stepped up and said --

i want to cosponsor that amendment. by the end of the day we had 38 bipartisan cosponsors on the amendment to give these valued members of our communities at least 60 days to wind down their businesses. as a result of that amendment and thorough discussions with chrysler president jim press, chrysler responded with a commitment to facilitate the transfer of inventory and parts for the terminated dealers. as soon as we returned from memorial day recess, chairman rockefeller and i called a commerce committee hearing specifically on the impact of the chrysler and g.m. bankruptcies on the auto dealer community. this hearing provided the first outlet for dealers to express their opinion on how they were being treated in this process and it gave chrysler and g.m.

c.e.o.'s an opportunity to explain their reason for the termination of literally thousands of dealerships across the country. we pressed the auto manfacturer executives to reconsidering how they were treating these independent businessmen and women and we sought progress reports on their commitments to me, our committee, and this body to provide a softer landing for terminated dealerships. in response to the concerns we raised in that hearing, chrysler did take another step forward on behalf of their terminated dealers by formally guaranteeing every piece of inventory at these dealerships would be purchased at cost minus inspection and transportation fees. so they made the promise after the memorial day recess that they would buy every car. this reassuring news, of course, was welcomed to the dealer body.

but we still had concerns. i continued to push chrysler for assurances regarding parts and equipment. the commerce committee sought additional answers on transparency, dealer reentry, rural access, and continuation agreements from both chrysler and general motors. on monday i received a letter that i thought was very positive from chrysler acknowledging the need for assurances on parts and they have now guaranteed 100% of the parts inventory for terminated dealers. so we have a situation where they did listen. they eventually said they would buy all of the cars that were still left in inventory and now, of course, they're going to buy the parts. of course the dealers that were being terminated had no use for the parts which they had already purchased, so that was a fair, i

think, ending to that dilemma. i also want to point out another part of the answer to the commerce committee letter which is on dealer terminations and market reentry. because one of the things that came out in our hearing is that in some places all of the dealerships in the area were being closed. and, yet, we had word that there were new people coming in seeking financing for a new dealership in the same place. now, that didn't quite ring right with us and so we did ask for assurances that any dealer that was terminated would have some ability to come back in if another dealership was going to be put in that area. and here is what mr. press said in the letter of june 12th,

2009: "chrysler group l.l.c. will commit to provide nonretained dealers with an opportunity for first consideration of new dealerships that the company may contemplate." now, we sent the same request for information to the general motors c.e.o., and his answer was: "you've asked about situations where g.m. will authorize the establishment of a new dealership near the location where a current profitable dealer has been asked to wind down operations. it is not our plan for current dealerships to be wound down only to open up new dealerships. rather our plan is to reduce overall dealer count. however, in those rare instances where we do open a new dealership in an area previously served by a winding down dealer,

we commit to provide advanced notice to former dealers and allow them an advanced opportunity to apply to run the new dealership." now, i think that is a step in the right direction, and i hope that that will be followed through on in a legitimate and positive way. because it would be the -- the most cruel cut for a dealer who has been closed, a dealer that is profitable to all of a sudden have a new dealer come in to -- excuse me, madam president -- for a new dealer to come in and open on the same ground or in the same area as the dealer who was closed at great loss. because, remember, madam president, that we have a dealer now with a huge piece of real

estate. these auto dealerships are big lots because they have all of these cars on them. so they're big pieces of real estate. they're big buildings that are generally suited just for the purpose of an automobile showroom. and they have been left sort of stuck with this real estate. and stuck with all of the other equipment and things that you have to have to run a business, and i think it is untenable for us to just close that person down and then three months later all of a sudden have a new person come in without all of those expenses and have the opportunity to open a new dealership. so i thought that was a very important part of the -- the letter and commitment that is being made. but, of course, the commitment has to be followed through with responsible advanced notice and

a fair hearing for the dealer who has gone out of business to be able to come back in. so i do commend chrysler for heeding the calls of members of congress and the dealer community and responding in a way that does give additional support to the dealers. general motors, meanwhile, did sit down with the national auto dealers association after our commerce committee hearing to work out concerns with the supplemental agreements continuing dealers were asked to sign. i commend g.m. for making concessions during those discussions, and i hope they will continue that positive dialogue and interaction as the g.m. dealer network seeks additional information, support, and assistance. madam president, i will continue to work with the auto behalfers to -- auto manufacturers to provide our dealer communities with the support and assistance they need in t