Sen. Chris Dodd welcomed the Big Three CEOs back to the Senate Banking Committee today by declaring his support for an auto bailout, the AP reports. Chariman Dodd said inaction would be akin to playing “Russian Roulette with the economy.” He praised the automakers for making a better case for assistance than the financial industry, which won a $700 billion rescue plan.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid enlisted Dodd to craft a consensus rescue bill last night, the Wall Street Journal reports, hoping to break a stalemate with the White House. Dodd’s compromise bill would divert funds from an existing loan program, and include much tougher conditions than a bipartisan bill devised last month, the Journal adds. Reid believes he could move that through the Senate next week, while the House remains divided on the issue. (More Harry Reid stories.)