A bipartisan group of senators thrashed out a deal to rescue the ailing "Big Three" US automakers on Thursday after a week-long political showdown of the crisis-hit industry, Democratic aides said.
But it was unclear whether the agreement, which was reached between senators from big states with ties from the once-mighty industry would produce a vote on the US Senate floor, or had enough support in the chamber to pass.
Three Democratic aides confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity, but were unable to assess the prospects of the package quickly coming up in the Senate, amid a fierce wrangle over a bailout in Washington.
Details of the deal were also unavailable.
But the two Democratic senators of Michigan, the heart of the US auto industry, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio, were to hold a news conference later in the day, their offices announced in a joint statement.
The senators will "discuss the details of a bipartisan agreement on a bill to support the auto industry," the statement said.
Democrats have demanded that the White House and the Treasury carve out 25 billion dollars in funding from a 700 billion dollar finance industry bailout to support the automakers.
But the White House has refused and called on the Senate to allow the industry to use 25 billion dollars in Energy Department loans meant to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles as emergency funding.
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