Outstanding news on the auto industry bailout:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in a Saturday afternoon announcement, says the House plan would require existing funds from the $700 billion financial rescue plan to be used to help the auto industry, meaning no new money would be authorized by Congress under this plan.
Pelosi said the auto industry funds would come with many strings attached, including restructuring company finances, meeting new standards for gas mileage and requiring advanced technologies "to compete in the domestic and global market."
So far, so good. If it's not too much to ask, let's make those standards really, really high.