The US Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a US$2 billion extension of the “cash for clunkers” auto sales incentive program.
The measure, approved by 60 to 37, extends the successful program that has raised sales in the US auto industry.
US President Barack Obama was expected to sign it quickly.
PHOTO: AP
The initial US$1 billion of funding approved in June for “clunker” business has generated more than US$920 million in rebates and sold more than 220,000 cars.
Supported by the incentive program, US auto sales overall were down about 12 percent last month from a year earlier, but it was their best performance this year.
The program offers consumers a federally backed rebate of up to US$4,500 if they trade in old vehicles for new, more fuel efficient ones. Supporters of the extension defeated several Republican amendments aimed at derailing the plan in the Senate.
‘SQUEEZED’
Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said the program “has squeezed months of normal activity” into a short period of time.
“When the backlog is met, interest in the program will fade, and the facade of economic benefit will disappear,” Shelby said.
Obama said in a statement after the Senate vote, however, that the economy “will continue to get a much-needed boost” from the program.
Major automakers said in a letter to senators that the current US$1 billion program had helped their companies, suppliers, scrap yards, steel producers and other small businesses.
“There is no question that ‘cash for clunkers’ has succeeded,” said Dave McCurdy, chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the chief trade group for General Motors Co, Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp and other big carmakers.
Domestic and overseas manufacturers have so far split the “clunker” market. More fuel efficient passenger cars have outsold sport utilities, pickups and vans.
The administration, stunned by the swift success of the initiative and stung by a series of administrative glitches in trying to process rebates, had warned that the “clunker” measure would be suspended if more money was not approved by week’s end.
The House of Representatives passed the US$2 billion extension on July 31. The Senate took a week to affirm that action.
The outcome reflected the national reach of the auto industry and related businesses, and the persuasiveness of dealers who employ thousands and contribute generously to political campaigns.
OPEN QUESTION
Bailey Wood, director of legislative affairs for the National Automobile Dealers Association, said future demand was an open question, but added that showroom traffic remained strong and non “clunker” sales were up as well.
Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson expects the “clunker”-related lift in the industry’s annual sales rate and production in the second-half of the year to continue. Detroit and overseas automakers that make some of their vehicles in the US have been quiet on production increases.
Economists see the “clunker” program boosting third-quarter growth and several firms including Goldman Sachs have recently raised their GDP forecasts.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)