By John Crawley and Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders pushed on Wednesday to pass legislation to provide up to $15 billion in loans to the ailing U.S. auto industry, but it was unclear if the White House would back it or the Congress would pass it.
With the administration and a number of mostly Republican lawmakers voicing concerns, Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate offered slightly different versions of the bill, with a chief difference dealing with fuel efficiency standards.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said he hoped to have a vote on Senate passage by the end of the week. A bill could be voted on later in the day in the House.
Both chambers would have to pass an identical measure before it could be sent to President George W. Bush to sign into a law that becomes a lifeline for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co.
"I hope we can come together on this," Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, whose home state of Michigan is headquarters for "The Big Three" automakers, pleaded on the Senate floor.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan said, "We made very substantial progress and have a good conceptual agreement." But the White House said it had not seen the final legislation or agreed whether to support it.
But Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, called the proposed bailout "a travesty" and vowed to try to raise procedural hurdles -- sending shares of GM and Ford tumbling in New York trading.
"Everything is in flux," said a Republican Party leadership aide, brushing off efforts by the unpopular and outgoing Bush administration to strike a deal with Democrats.
"I don't understand all the hype on a Democratic-White House deal," the aide said. "The White House is pretty much irrelevant over here" in Congress.
President-elect Barack Obama is set to replace Bush on January 20 and launch a sweeping plan of his own to revitalize the U.S. economy, which could plunge deeper into recession if the auto industry collapses.
BUYING TIME
The bailout is designed to allow GM and Chrysler to avert threatened bankruptcy through March with short-term loans. Ford is not requesting immediate help but would like a line of credit in case its finances worsen.
Democratic and White House negotiators agreed last week that the money would come from an Energy Department fund established to help Detroit make more fuel-efficient cars.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said his members wanted to examine the bill before making any commitments.
McConnell said Republicans want a bill that forces automakers, long struggling to compete with more fuel-efficient foreign-made vehicles, "to reform their bad habits."
The House version would require automakers to comply with anticipated tougher fuel-efficiency standards in state laws while the Senate version seeks compliance with federal standards.
In addition to providing loans, the proposal would force automakers to answer to a presidentially appointed trustee -- or "car czar" -- and make the government their biggest shareholder.
The overseer will have powers to shape a restructuring of the companies, withholding further loans if progress toward a turnaround stalled.
Democrats control Congress and are expected to be able to push a bill through the House.
But they may run into trouble in the Senate where Republicans -- leery of another corporate bailout following the $700 billion government rescue of the financial industry -- could raise a roadblock that would take 60 votes to clear.
Democrats hold the chamber 50-49, but because some Democrats are likely to vote against the bailout they may need 12 to 15 Republicans to clear any procedural hurdles and pass the bill.
(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Donna Smith and Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
