Auto-makers get an early present

White House to Loan Auto Industry $17.4B

The low-interest loans will be drawn from the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund, Bush said. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday that Congress will need to release the last half of the fund because the first $350 billion has now been committed.

One official said $13.4 billion of the money would be available this month and the next, $9.4 billion for General Motors Corp. and $4 billion for Chrysler LLC. An additional $4 billion will be made available to the companies later. Ford Motor Co. has said it does not need immediate help.



The Associated Press and FOX Business Network's Peter Barnes contributed to this report.