WASHINGTON (AP) -- A plan to tap fuel-efficiency loans to bail out U.S. auto makers doesn't come close to covering the $34 billion the Big Three say they need to survive, officials say.
Budget analysts have told top Democrats privately that diverting funding for the $25 billion innovation program would yield only $10 billion to $15 billion in short-term operating loans, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the analysis.
A group of auto state Republicans and Democrats is pushing a bill, backed by the White House, that would tap the program -- designed to help automakers produce greener vehicles -- to instead finance an emergency bridge loan.
The White House reiterated its support for using the Energy Department program to finance an auto bailout on Thursday. Press Secretary Dana Perino called it "a pot of money that is there for the taking."
Environmentalists, though, are strongly opposed to using funds earmarked for cleaner vehicles to help the carmakers cover short-term financial needs.
The new estimates indicate the environmental money isn't sufficient to rescue the auto makers anyway.
Democratic leaders have instead proposed tapping the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund to help the Big Three.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., acknowledged on Wednesday that plan doesn't have the votes to pass.
Congress provided $7.5 billion for the fuel-efficiency program in September as part of a giant catchall spending measure. It guarantees $25 billion in loans for auto makers and suppliers to retool their plants to make cars that are 25 percent more efficient.
But since an operating loan to a teetering company is far riskier than an innovation loan that pays for production equipment, the same $7.5 billion would guarantee far less in loans if used for emergency aid, budget analysts say.
The Big Three have already applied for more than $17 billion from the Energy Department program, a figure that's expected to increase to nearly $22 billion by the end of the week. Suppliers and smaller companies have also requested some of the loans.