WASHINGTON — The heads of the Big Three automakers of Detroit pleaded on Tuesday for emergency government aid to stave off potential collapse, but after four hours of testimony, it appeared they had not persuaded enough lawmakers to move quickly on a bailout.
Senate Democratic leaders said they had not been able to muster the support for legislation that would provide $25 billion to the troubled auto industry from the Treasury Department’s $700 billion economic rescue fund.
There is still a possibility that money may be freed up for Detroit from a previously approved loan program to help automakers retool their plants for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
But the industry hardly received a warm reception in Washington, despite its mounting troubles. The frantic bid from Detroit for help was laid bare at a packed hearing of the Senate banking committee, in which two of the three automakers said they might run out of money by the end of the year.
The cause of their misfortunes was not management mistakes, they said, but the weak economy and the inability of consumers to obtain credit to buy cars.
The executives from General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler seemed stunned by the general lack of confidence that lawmakers showed in their companies.
“We have little evidence that $25 billion will do anything to promote long-term success,” said Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming.
The discussions were tense, with the automotive executives on the defensive from the start. At times, it appeared the lawmakers had little familiarity with the deep reorganization steps already taken at the companies. On the other side, the Detroit executives painted a bleak picture of an industry under siege. The chief executives of G.M. and Chrysler said their companies were using up their cash at a rate that could leave them close to insolvency without federal aid.
“Without immediate bridge financing support, Chrysler’s liquidity could fall below the level necessary to sustain operations,” said Robert L. Nardelli, the chairman of Chrysler.
His comments were echoed by G.M.’s chairman, Rick Wagoner, who warned that the rippling impact of the auto industry’s cash woes could put three million American jobs at risk.
He said that a failure by G.M., Ford or Chrysler would rapidly bring the entire domestic industry down. “The societal costs would be catastrophic — three million jobs lost within the first year, U.S. personal income reduced by $150 billion and a government tax loss of more than $156 billion over three years,” Mr. Wagoner said.
Alan R. Mulally, Ford’s chief executive, added, “If any one of the domestic companies should fail, we believe there is a strong chance that the entire industry would face severe disruption.”
Despite the urgent tone of the executives, lawmakers in both parties saw little chance that a bailout could be put together and passed during the current lame-duck session. The Bush administration has steadfastly refused requests by Democratic leaders to tap into the financial rescue program to aid the automakers.
The Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., at a House hearing on Tuesday morning and again at a lunch with Republican senators, implored lawmakers to oppose using any of the $700 billion financial bailout for the auto companies, which he said would set a dangerous precedent.
The White House instead has pushed for the auto companies to get immediate access to $25 billion in previously approved loans to retool production plants to make fuel-efficient vehicles.
For television watchers back home there were dueling news conferences and hearings with carefully sharpened questions and even more carefully rehearsed answers. Behind the scenes, auto executives and their lobbyists scrambled from office to office pressing influential lawmakers to take up their cause.
Outside the banking committee hearing, liberal demonstrators preached anti-corporate sermons. And a small corps of Japanese journalists tracked the fate of the American companies, rivals of Toyota and Nissan.
Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan and one of the auto industry’s chief allies on Capitol Hill, said he still hoped a deal to provide quick access to the $25 billion in loans could be worked out. Mr. Levin conceded no progress on hammering out the details had been made, but said that efforts were being undertaken.
Mr. Levin said that lawmakers were considering several approaches, including rewriting the provision that mandates that any subsidized loans go toward retooling plants to produce advanced fuel-efficient cars.
The suddenness of the cash crisis at G.M. has caught Washington by surprise.
Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the banking committee, said he was skeptical that the Detroit companies could sufficiently reorganize their operations and improve their competitiveness.
“How is this money going to be used?” he said. “Will it be used to improve their business model and product lines, or is this just life support?”
The hearing underscored how deeply complicated the problems are at the Big Three, which have been losing billions of dollars even as they close factories and cut tens of thousands of jobs.
It also stirred new criticisms of Detroit’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. Several senators called into question the carmakers’ vehicle quality, high labor costs and the capability of their senior management.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, who is chairman of the banking committee and has been generally supportive of aid to the auto companies, gave little solace to the Detroit executives.
“Their discomfort in coming to the Congress with hat in hand is only exceeded by the fact that they are seeking treatment for wounds that are to a large extent self-inflicted,” he said. “No one can say they didn’t see this coming.”
But the auto executives argued that their turnaround strategies were taking hold just as the economy faltered and available credit dried up for consumers.
The overall United States vehicle market has fallen 14.8 percent through the first 10 months of the year. However, sales in October plummeted 31.9 percent, mostly because of the lack of available credit for potential car buyers.
“There is no great mystery as to why this enormous decline in sales has occurred,” said Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Automobile Workers union. “Because of the overall credit crunch, most families cannot get credit on reasonable terms to finance the purchase of a vehicle.”
While Democratic lawmakers have vowed to get some type of aid for Detroit this week, the process of producing a coherent and effective package has proved elusive.
After the hearing, Mr. Dodd was greeted in the hallway by reporters asking him if he “had the votes” to fix Detroit. “Votes for what?” he said, indicating that a vote on any legislation was questionable this week.
Detroit’s huge financial problems have caused some legislators to question the haste to rush a bailout through Congress.
“I am prepared to consider economic aid to the automakers, but providing regular order is followed,” said Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania. “And by that I mean, we have a bill we know the specifics of, to have a chance to study it, to have hearings, to have a floor debate, to have amendments.”
