“We are seeing a potential meltdown in the auto industry, with consequences that could directly impact millions of American workers and cause further devastation to our economy,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor.

But The White House says making the financial-rescue package available to automakers isn’t politically possible. “There aren’t the votes in the Senate” to pass the Democratic plan, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are seeking aid as industry-wide sales have plummeted to a 17-year low. GM this month said it lost $4.2 billion in the third quarter and almost $73 billion since the end of 2004. The largest U.S. automaker said it may not have enough cash to get through the year. Ford lost $2.98 billion in the third quarter as sales fell 22 percent.

An estimated 2.5 million jobs could be loss if the auto industry collapses, including 1.4 million people in industries not directly tied to manufacturing, according to a Nov. 4 study by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A collapse of General Motors would cost the government $200 billion in aid to states and extended unemployment benefits, said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

So what should we do?

Slay, who in recent weeks has been raising tens of thousands of dollars from firms, unions and individuals that do business with the city, has now announced that the Laborers’ District Council have endorsed his campaign before anyone has announced they would be running against him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 09, 2008

The primary election for St. Louis mayor is not until March 2009, but the campaign of Mayor Francis Slay has already announced endorsements.

The Eastern Missouri Laborers’ District Council and its three St. Louis based Laborers’ Locals, #42, #53 and #110, have voted to endorse Mayor Slay’s reelection.

Slay remains hugely unpopular in the city’s black community and he’s have little-to-no success in getting African-American elected officials to endorse him so far. The two-term mayor has also drawn the ire of the city’s public education supporters, urban preservationists, fiscal conservatives, and many city employees, making it all but certain that someone will challenge him in March.

The only questions is who.

The automotive loans are separate from the proposed $700bn bail-out for the banking sector, which is still being debated in Congress. The House approved the measure 370-58, setting the stage for Senate approval within days.

The industry’s case has been helped by the fact that Michigan and Ohio, the two states most dependent on the car industry, are key swing states in the November 4 presidential election.

Click here to read the full story.

From Monday’s CQPolitics.com:

“I’m leaning hard against it,” said William Lacy Clay, D-Mo. “All the calls to my office seem to be opposed. People don’t think we should be bailing out Wall Street. They think we should help families that are being foreclosed.”

Read the full article here.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic death of my friend, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

She will be remembered as a great legislator and a true fighter for the interests of her constituents.

The people of Cleveland have lost a champion, and I have lost a dear friend.

Mrs. Clay and I send our thoughts and prayers to her family and we pray that God will grant them strength and comfort to bear this heavy burden.”

Democrat Kay Barnes’ response:

Clay joined Republican Congressman and Presidential candidate Ron Paul as the only other co-sponsor of the obviously controversial measure.

Here’s the text of the bill language:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no penalty may be imposed under an Act of Congress for the possession of marijuana for personal use, or for the not-for-profit transfer between adults of marijuana for personal use. For the purposes of this section, possession of 100 grams or less of marijuana shall be presumed to be for personal use, as shall the not-for-profit transfer of one ounce or less of marijuana, except that the civil penalty provided in section 405 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844a) may be imposed for the public use of marijuana if the amount of the penalty does not exceed $100.

The honors were reported in the St. Louis Business Journal Wednesday.

Steward helms St. Louis-Based company that specializes in systems integration, working within the commercial, government and telecom sectors. In 2007, the privately held company reported $2.5 billion in revenue.

Rep. Clay chairs the House subcommittee on information policy, census and national archives, which maintains information and privacy standards and oversees the census bureau.

This is the 45th anniversary of Ebony’s “Power 150″ list. It will appear in the May issue of the magazine which will be on newsstands nationwide Monday.

Recently the Secretary of Commerce called for a major change in the design of new hand-held, electronic census gathering technology partly because of failures in the equipment. Because of these flaws, the cost of the 2010 census may increase by $2.2 to $3 billion.

Clay has pushed the department on its failures in the Field Data Collection Automation Program, created for the devices. The hearing will take place Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Washington, D.C.