Souder gets involved with Big 3 bailout

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Local Congressman Mark Souder is getting involved in the auto crisis.

He met with local union and GM plant officials Thursday, along with dealers and suppliers.

Their goal is clear: secure federal money to keep GM running smoothly in Fort Wayne and elsewhere.

Production is ongoing at the local truck assembly plant, but it's clouded with a great deal of uncertainty.

"I represent one of the hardest hit areas, if in fact, we wouldn't do the funding. If we don't do this, not only would we potentially lose all the businesses, we'll lose banks along with it and continue a deeper recession. So I'm predisposed to vote for it, but I want to make sure this isn't going to happen again in March, again in July, again in October. And I'm still a little doubtful, but I want to hear a little more about what they're doing with the different models," said Souder.

Company officials say they could run out of money by the end of the month, meaning that $34 billion loan is even more crucial for them, compared to Ford and Chrysler.

GM has nearly 3,000 workers locally, and some say their fate lies in the hands of Congress.

NewsChannel 15 caught up with Congressman Souder after Thursday's meeting.

He says a lot of questions will need to be answered, before he casts his vote.

"We're talking through some of the questions everybody's asking me. Why should you get bailed out and not someone else? Do you consider yourself too big to fail? Should you get better pensions than someone else? Should you get better health benefits than everybody else gets? What's a compelling reason? And yet at the same time trying to put a human face on this and get a realistic impact on the community," said Souder.

Congressman Souder will meet with local officials again Friday morning.