wcbstv.com
The rebates aimed at getting gas guzzlers off the road have proven so successful, the $1 billion set aside to pay for them is drying up. But Congress is set to earmark more money for the program.
Senator Charles Schumer, one of the original sponsors of the bill, said the program ran out of money because skinflints in the Senate wouldn't give him the $4 billion he wanted for the program, which gives people up to $4,500 toward buying fuel efficient cars to replace their old gas guzzlers. "This week's evidence shows that people who said the program wouldn't work, who said that the program was the wrong thing to do, are very wrong themselves," Schumer said.
And even the $2 billion extra voted by the House isn't enough said Schumer, who wants at least $4 billion. "'Cash for Clunkers' is helping jump start our weak economy," Schumer said.
This Breaking from CNN Money:
NADA Warns Dealers "No more clunker deals until the program is clearer"
money.cnn.com
Despite the Obama administration's promises that any Clunker deals written this weekend would be honored, the National Automobile Dealers Association is advising its members to play it safe and not close any more deals until the program's fate is clearer.
"Regarding auto sales this weekend, one possible alternative is for dealers to take deposits in lieu of consummated sales with an eye toward legislative success next week," NADA spokesman Charles Cyrill wrote in an e-mail.
