dealer and the general motors product. walk me through some of that stuff because it is, again, perception is reality. this hearing today is not about the chevy volt. this hearing is about nhtsa. what did they know, when did they know it, when did they let you know it? as i believe we've always had a great partnership, my dad started in '53 after being a parts picker in the warehouse. my relationship with general motors has never been cloudy. it's always been clear and transparent. i know which side of the table i sit. i am not a manufacturer or distributor, i actually sell these cars. but when you look at these things. you say, well, my gosh, if it really isn't government run, if the government really is at arm's length and away from this, this sharing this information, how are we going to market these different messages, how does that happen if it's not that way? how does nhtsa sit there and say, no, no, no, no, we did it the same way we always do it. as a matter of fact, they didn't do it the same way they always do it.

correct. >> no conversation with people you or anyone in general motors had conversation with people at t.a.r.p., and who handled the now defunct task force? no conversation at treasury regarding the issue? >> i had a conversation with mr. massad earlier this week on another general matter and observed to him i was going to testify today, but other than that, no conversation. >> anyone else at general motors that you know of talk to someone in the administration? talk to mr. lahood about this issue? >> no, sir. >> okay. now yield to the chairman of full committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome. >> thank you. >> i'll be brief. the question here is not whether or not gm is making good cars and whether or not it's coming back. i think it is, and we take great pride this that, and i think the president did last night. is this, in your history, recognition and as far as you know a typical response to a typical catastrophic event? is this less aggressive or more aggressive in their response to a brand new automobile? >> as we speak, there's about 8,000. >> there were about 4,000 when

six by $7 billion profit general motors -- $6.7 7 billion profit, general motors.bankruptcy, whahat was the intervening events? the bailout by taxpayers o of the united states. who opposed it? the native son of michigan, on the eve of the micgan primary. he says obama sold outo the union bosses. how does that help him in this primary? >> it doesn't. >> wl, look, i supported the bailout, i thought it was a good idea i thought it should be done to the bush administration said it up. it was the right thing, and i supported the tarp as well. the romney argument is a separate argument and it is complicated and he is losingn it because it is template -- a complex argument. he argued that it should go to a preprogrmed bankruptcy and the government took hold in a way that was quite lawleless. the bondholders got screwed and the union's benefit. what gate is it distorted the settlements of that you did not get the radical changes that would have madee it althy. but that is a complicated argument at it is not going to work and it will hurt him a lot in michihigan. >> it is n

it's a day few at general motors could have imagined two years ago. the world's largest automaker announced its most profitable year ever. for dave gray who works the new third shift at gm's plant in flint, michigan, the record earnings not only mean job security, but he and every other auto worker at gm will also get a bonus check of up to $7,000. >> thanks to the government for saving the auto industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs, uaw and general motors, we've got another chance. >> reporter: gm's second chance came two years ago when the automaker drowning in debt was forced to reorganize. >> tonight general motors filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. >> reporter: backed by $49.5 billion from the federal government, gm closed 14 plants, cut 12,000 jobs and shed well-known brands like pontiac, saab and hummer, eventually profits came back. thanks in part to soaring sales in china where buick is wildly popular. in the u.s., gm's business has rebounded due to a healthier economy, and a revamped lineup featuring something gm struggled to s

you talk about general motors. you go to china -- i was there a couple of years ago -- and business is big in china. general motors profitability is in large part because of the china market. you have a lot going on with this -- the united states has a lot going on with this relationship with china. it is more than foreign policy and defense policy. the trade relationship is underpinning between these countries. >> what could be more american than an open " inside washington" coffee cup made in china? couldn't they make these in maryland or toledo or someplace? >> they could or should. >> we would pay more. >> we are american consumers, citizens, i hope. this conversation seems to take place every time there is a chinese leader with an american leader. we talk about the currency, to talk about intellectual property. this time as well they have let us down in china. in the un, the resolution on syria, the security council. i just wonder when it will take their place as the leader of the plan at. >> never. their conc

hubo buenas noticias esta semana aquÍ, vimos que la automotriz general motors tiene ganancias record.o, vemos que despuÉs de dos aÑos, tres aÑos de una recesiÓn, todavÍa tenemos a general motors hasta vamos a ver que es la compaÑÍa que vende mÁs autos que cualquier otra en el mundo es algo diferente de lo que creÍan los republicanos que decÍan no mejor dejar la industria de autos aquÍ en los estados unidos caer el presidente dijo no, muy importante especialmente para los obreros del paÍs y ayudamos y ahora tenemos otra vez, esta industria trabajando y ganando. >>> dicen que ademÁs que los obreros sindicalizados todos van a ganar un bono de 7.000 dÓlares cada uno por esto, esto me gustarÍa que se le diera a todos, bueno por lo menos a los obreros se les va a dar un bono. >>> estÁn recuperando esos empleados mucho lo que le dieron a la compaÑÍa de general motors para poder sobrevivir. poue en ese momento difÍcil general motors le pild pÍo a sus obreros por favor denos algo de su sueldo para poder mantener el trabajo. y ahora van a recuperar algo, trabajando juntos. >>> dicen que aÚn con

we'll hear from the ntsb and the ceo of general motors. this is 2 1/2 hours. >> the committee will come to order. we'll start with our opening statements and then get right to our first panel. administrator, we appreciate you being here today. the delayed public notification of safety risk of the chevy volt raises significant concerns regarding the relationship between the obama administration and general motors. the result was a quasi committee. president oim has used this private sector boundaries to openly taught the results as a top accomplishment of his administration creating a dynamic where the president is reliant on the success of general motors. providing $7,500 tax credits for the purchase of the volt and other electric vehicles. in addition, to the tune of estimates of $250,000 per vehicle sold. the question before the committee is to what extent this conflict of interest has influenced the way in which this administration has approached its duty to inform consumers about the apparent risk that gm chevy volt can catch fire. whi

general motors, and democrats and republicans have a deal. amazing. >> last fall the reason we were even talking about the extension of the payroll tax rate and unemployment benefits was because the president's economic policies have failed. i still believe that to be the case to daty. this is a fair agreement and one that i support. >> what turned him around, mark? [laughter] >> the man with the toughest job in washington. every day john boehner has to put together a new coalition of republicans. he did it, and he forced -- imposed his will upon it, because he understood it was nothing but a killer for his party, and it went down to the last minute again. this was done almost two weeks before it was going to expire, which is miraculous by washington standards. it was something that had to be resolved, and he did it. >> i don't think it was a hard sell at all. i think republicans realized they could not have a repeat of last year. the polls showed it. >> not if you like your job. >> the approval rating for congress is 12%. >> the last gallup

general motors in europe is doing terribly, 12 years of losses. quarter of last year, things really deteriorated. that whole-year number was good but because of the what happened earlier in the year, and all in, not as strong as analysts expected. so your headline right, but the nitty-gritty for gm is not nearly as positive. when you talk about bailouts, as part of general motors trading on the stock market against, u.s. taxpayers, because they bailed it on the got a stake. we own, you, me, everyone watching, own 32% of general motors. that stock is around $27.20 a share. the magic numbers for american taxpayers to be made whole is somewhere around $59 to $60 a share. that goes to show you general motors has a long, long, long way to go and probably more restructuring before it is truly whole again. >>> lots more with erin burnett tonight on "erin burnett outfront." 7:00 eastern. >>> sentencing for the underwear bomber. we have just received the dramatic video used in court. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast?

general motors stock was up 9%, after it posted its highest profits in history. g.m. was bailed out only three years ago, causing many to joke that g.m. stood for "government motors." the car maker has covered a lot of road since then, so we asked dean reynolds to catch up with the man in the driver's seat. >> reporter: what do you say to the people who call this government motors? >> well, i think it's important that we just do the best job we can. >> reporter: we met dan akerson, c.e.o. and chairman of general motors since september of 2010, along a detroit assembly line producing g.m.'s volt electric car, what it calls a symbol of its rebound. >> we've got a second chance here. a million jobs are saved. the industrial infrastructure and the manufacturing base of america in large measure is still intact. in fact, it's prospering. all three of the big auto makers are now profitable for the first time since maybe the '60s or '70s. >> reporter: the 63-year-old akerson is a naval academy graduate who's run several telecommunication companies but never an auto maker. when

get the money out of general motors, the government contribution to general motors and come away without a loss, we need general motors' stock to be $53 a share. from this point that stock would have to double in order for american taxpayers to make back their entire contribution. >> doubling would be a significant to say the least. how is wall street reacting this morning, not only to the plan but also to this q 4 report? >> wall street was anticipating actually a stronger report. even though we got stronger than expected earnings out of -- rather, a big number out of general motors, that $7.6 billion, wall street was expecting an even bigger number for their profits so this actually could be read in a somewhat negative way. reining in those pension costs over the long term is something that they're going to be paying attetion to as well because it's been such a huge issue for the automakers in general, not just general motors. >> thanks. good to have you here this morning. >>> a programming note for you. tonight the "cbs evening news" will have an interview with gm. >> we begin with th

chrysler has already paid back the loan and general motors is on schedule. if karl rove wants to be offended let him be offended. rove is offended by a great american success story? clint eastwood is right, this is not a game it's serious business to a lot of americans turning it around. the ceo of chrysler couldn't be more clear about the intention of the ad. he said the message is sufficiently universal and neutral. that it should be appealing to everybody in this country and i sincerely hope that it doesn't get utilized as a political fodder in a debate. you know what, it is, that is the way it is. conservatives believe the auto loan was the wrong thing to do. they are on the wrong side of history. and their only hope politicize like the talk last friday when the job numbers came out. but the message of this ad is just too strong. >> come from behind, how do we come together, and how do we win? detroit is showing us it can be done. and what is true about them is true about all of us. this country can't be knocked out in one punch, we get back up again and

. >>> this morning, general motors says no more pensions for white collar workers. that announcement is raising concerns about gm's finance and the future of pension plans in general. >> rebecca jarvis is here with more on that. becky, what is gm doing with this announcement? >> it's doing two things. first of all, it's freezing pay on 26,000 salaried workers, but the big news here is what's happening to pensions. for those workers 19,000 of them hired before 2001, they will see their pension plan come to an end. they will now be converted to a 401(k) traditional program where there's no defined benefit, there's instead a defined contribution that lessens some of the burden on general motors going forward. >> that lessens some of the burden. there's a question, though about how it will work out down the road for general motors. >> what it means is that general motors is facing two primary concerns right now. one of them has been occurring for many years now. that's the pension plan. the fact of the matter is, pensions are a huge liability. they're a huge obligation i

. >> reporter: and evidenced by this general motor plant in flint adding a third shift last summer. romney renewed his opposition to the auto bailout. >> when general motors got in trouble, instead of having it go through the bankruptcy process where it could come out on its own, perhaps getting help from others from time to time, instead he made sure general motors got handed over to the uaw. >> reporter: a position that may not be shared by many michigan voters. >> to allow the industries that made this state and put this state on the map go under would have been ridiculous. >> reporter: tonight mitt romney is about to begin what he and his aides call a welcome home rally. and his strong roots in the state, the romney campaign with a strong push here showing one more indication how significant they view a win in this state. >> peter alexander on the campaign trail in grand rapids. thanks for that. >>> a quick program note. later on "rock center," a story peter mentioned out of the headlines from flint, michigan, where gm restored that overnight shift at its flint assembly plant, a

money from the general motors investment is also being paid back. shares have been sold to the public. there is still some government money involved, but now with the success of general motors, which as you reported on your program, has been very successful. in fact, they are looking at perhaps a multibillion dollar profit at general motors. that is a big turnaround from where they were. and as a result of that, the remaining investment the taxpayerers have in general motors will be paid back, hopefully most of it but whatever is not paid back, it won't be that much, you have to put that in comparison as to what would have happened if you let the companies disappear. as you mentioned, a million jobs are impacted by it. folks who have jobs now, work hog are paying taxes, who are able to provide for their families and pursue that american dream, that would have washed away if it wasn't for the investment in american manufacturing. the cost would have been catastrophic for our whole nation, to think that we would allow a major manufacturing sector in o

when we compaq, we'll talk about general motors.hey're pulling into earnings central this morning. phil lebeau joins us from michigan right after that. snickers bars may soon be a thing of the past. mars announcing it will stop selling products with more than 250 calories in them by the end of the year. the maker of snickers, twix, m&ms trying to improve the nutritional value of its products but this change means the huge sized snickers bar which packs 540 calories will be gone by 2014. mars says it plans to reduce sodium levels in all products by 25% by the year 2015. you'll have to buy two of them instead of one. let's take a look at yesterday's winners and losers. >>> when i left my job, 93% of the people were against the t.a.r.p. and the same poll 60% were against torture. people don't like it. >> a critical acquisition is for the company, nearly triple the size of our international snack business. >> this ceo is making it grow. this stock is a buy. across the golden state,rnes where everyone has been unbelievably nice. mornin'.

i think general motors would be leaner and stronger today. back a lot faster and the precedent wouldn't be set. remember, martin, big business and big government love to pretend they hate each other. at the end of the day they're in love with each other. they sleep with each other every night in this town. that's why i voted against the bail out, voted against the wall street bail out. i think that federal flood insurance is extremely important thing. we spend billions of dollars on disasters, natural disasters that weren't caused by management and bonuses and ceo malfeasance and big unions as you had in detroit and wall street. >> just to end this interview, i did speak to a realtor and he said he thought your property would double in value. >> tell him i will list it tomorrow if that's the case. >>> thank you. a presidential twist in the super pac vote. we have the cnbc market wrap. good afternoon. >> about 13 minutes left in the trading day. stocks are holding onto gains in the home stretch. today's move comes on relatively low volume. wal

he's given a big hung of general motors and chrysler to uaw. that was a mistake. lower corporate taxes and lower marginal tacks for americans across the board, secondly to get regulations to encourage free enterprise in this country, not to stifle it. third, have energy policies that take advantage of energy resources. fourth is to have trade with other nations, open up trade agreement. this president has stalled in that front. finally crack down on china for stealing our jobs in an unfair way. you do those things detroit will come back, america will come back and we'll be working again. >> congressman, agree, disagree? >> he's totally off base. in order to create jobs you need to invest in detroit. that's exactly what the president did when his leadership helped rescue the auto industry. the president's tough decisive action providing emergency loans saved not only the auto industry but our u.s. economy. so many jobs come from manufacturing. the folks in michigan are doing so much better now that the president was able to save the auto industry. we have many folk

started in late december nineteenth thirty six workers that two general motors plants in flint michigan found their working conditions unbearable long hours no time for bathroom breaks and excessively cold conditions in the winter and hunt in the summer there were people who were dropping over because of the heat and the other workers were told just step over them until we can get them out of the way. they didn't they didn't slow down the line they didn't stop it. so the workers stopped at themselves coming into work and sitting down it was it was technically very revolutionary and very successful and i think it was extremely important in creating the modern way john crawford works long hours on an assembly line today for the same company that was targeted in the sit down strike general motors workers have been down for forty four days workers stayed put as their employers turned off the heat and blocked food deliveries it was the dead of winter but still they stayed sean crawford great grandfather was one of them. was actually. several times has just broken on two occasions. because he

. >> susie: general motors helping drive wall street's gains with record 2011 earnings. we look at the road ahead for the auto maker. it's "nightly business report" for thursday, february 16. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening and thanks for joining us. the dow hasn't been this high since the spring of 2008, susie. the gains were powered by fresh signs of improvement in the u.s. economy. >> susie: it was a winning day on wall street, tom, thanks to good news about housing and the job market. jobless claims fell by a bigger than expected 13,000 in the past week to the lowest point in four years. housing starts rose more than expected, up 1.5% in january. investors focused on this upbeat news on the u.s. economy and shrugged off worries about greece. the dow surged 123 points, moving closer to the key 13,000 level. the nasdaq added 44, closing at its highest level in 11 years, and the s&p rose 15. >> tom: as impressive as these gains are, it's t

and later, general motors posts a record profit and unemployment claims hit a four-year low. all good news for the economy. bad news for mitt romney. robert reich with the conversation. stay with us. we're right back.

. >> general motors stock up 9% after it polesed the highest profits in history. >> general motors has reclaimed the title of world's largest automaker from toyota. >> for dave gray who works the new third shift, it not only means job security but they will get bonus checks of up to $7000. >> that is great, right? the detroit comeback is a huge success story for the whole country. but in a republican primary it is an awkward thing. because the at height of the financial crisis when the auto industry on the brink of death, republican the at the national level argued that detroit should be left to die. and that anybody who wanted to save detroit was a fool because it would never work. >> we can't call eight bail out because that might be too honest a statement to our citizens so we call eight bridge loan, it's a bridge loan to no where. >> this will not make chrysler, general motors, or ford competitive. >> the fact this is doesn't fix the problem. it exacerbates the problem in the long term. >> this plan will really in opinion doom them failure. >> you wrote in an op-ed, you said "if ge

blacks still to come, general motors announces record profits. workersthousands of because a big pay off of it. we are reaching the age --re reunion that becomes smaller .ith each passing year talk with some veterans of their memories of that battle. more hopes that the payroll be approvedn will it. [ female announcer ] more people are ing wireless devices in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting croed. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum, we can empower more people to innovate, create jobs, and put momentum behind our economy. and a spectrum auction could raise as much as 30 billion dollars to help fund the payroll tax cut. it's simple. more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my

the government felt strongly and interestingly whitaker who was the chairman of general motors felt morernment control of yen mot g motors was hurting their business. so the company could never perform as well as they hoped because of consumer resistance. so the decision was made which i supported that to have the government lighten up half of its holdings would take that stigma away from the company. the ipo was in 309 plus range, so the government got a fair deal for its shares and i do believe they made the right decision. >> the bailout will color their results probably for years. and i don't need to tell you even on a day like today record profits, the outrage about what they still owe the american taxpayer iks what do they oat taxpayer at this point? what do they owe the government? >> they owe the government whatever their 30ish percent of the company is worth. if the question will the government lose money on the rescue of general motor, the answer is almost certainly yes. but when i look at that money, let's say it might be $10 billion or some number like that, i don't know what

as goes general motors, so goes the nation.here seems to be some truth to that. >> there is some truth to that and general motors, rescued by there president, check out this headline from this month. general motors profit could reach new highs. 7.6 billion in 2011. almost all of it in north america. well done mr. romney. you just sold america and michigan on president obama's greatest american success story. to be fair, at least the romneys are doing their part and mrs. romney in particular. >> detroit made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chev quick pickup truck and ann drives a couple of cadillacs actually. >> romney's campaign staff might want to tell him to stop talking. we've got a fantastic friday panel with us. dr. peterson, i must start with you. which is it, do you work innen elitist ivory tower or dark satanic mill? >> i would say neither. this is an interesting arrange of things that the republican party is now been addressing over the last several weeks. i'm calling this the politics. they want to have a hedge a

. >> reporter: detroit's largest automaker, general motors, posted earnings of $7.6 billion last year, its biggest profit in nearly two decades. at gm's assembly plant in flint, michigan, for the first time in two years gm's overnight shift is back up and running. 750 new full-time jobs with benefits. >> i have a real piece of mind because i feel like i'm back on track. >> reporter: the iconic american company still has a long road ahead. the government still owns a big share of stock and gm still owes billions from the bailout. on the campaign trail mitt romney worked to rub up the crowd in his native miracle michigan giving a nod to its come back. >> i love the auto industry. i'm glad it went through a managed bankruptcy process which i recommended from the beginning. >> reporter: meanwhile, rick santorum kept the heat on president obama. >> this is a president who is suffocating this economy. this is a president who doesn't care about you. >> reporter: there are signs companies are starting to hire again. in the past week jobless claims fell to their lowest in nearly four years. ec