Republican opposition to a proposal to add $2 billion in funding to the federal government's wildly popular Cash for Clunkers trade-in program seems to be softening. Many analysts now expect the additional funding to pass before the Senate leaves Washington for its annual summer recess this Friday.
The Los Angeles Times reports, "Responding to overwhelming consumer demand and arm-twisting by President Obama, senators won't drive out of town for vacation this week before approving more money for the ‘cash for clunkers' program, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promised Tuesday." The additional funding, the Times reports, "Seems to assure that the vehicle rebate program will continue at least through Labor Day. A vote could come as soon as today."
Reuters adds, "Reid made his remarks to reporters after he and other Senate Democrats met with President Barack Obama to discuss expanding this program and unrelated healthcare legislation."
Some critics of the program remain. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told the New York Daily News, "Here we are incentivizing the purchase of cars, [and] we're taking money from our grandkids by adding to the national debt...Why not incentivize demand for boats? Or how about RVs?"
But organized opposition appears to be dwindling. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the third-ranking Senate Republican, told CNN, "In the end, we know where the numbers are." Thune "said now he expects all Democrats and several Republicans to vote for additional funding." Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who had hoped to organize a filibuster against the measure with the help of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, "said Tuesday he didn't have the votes."
Home-state politics may have played a role in the dwindling opposition. Jalopnik this morning has published a map highlighting where most of the Cash for Clunkers funds have been spent. Jalopnik notes, "The natural assumption would be states with the largest populations would be requesting the most money from the CARS Act pool of just-under-a-billion-bucks. Actually, domestic car-producing states who have a large stake in the industry, are where most of the transactions are occurring."
Michigan, home of the Big Three, has processed more Cash for Clunkers transactions than any other state. But heavily Republican Texas is not far behind, with even Senator Coburn's Oklahoma processing more than the national average. Curiously absent, Jalopnik notes, is the nation's capital itself. "That's right, not a single person in Washington, DC took advantage of the program."
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