Obama: U.S. Government Must Fund Auto Research

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Washington DC June 27, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that Presidential hopeful Barack Obama told General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner and other economic leaders yesterday that in order to fix the nation's economy there must be a greater federal investment in new technology.

Obama, an Illinois senator and the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, made the declaration at the close of an economic roundtable at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Obama has proposed a $150 billion green energy fund that he says will create 5 million new jobs and help "the great assembly-line manufacturers" build vehicles that run on alternatives to fuel from imported petroleum.

Obama also quipped to Wagoner and others that, as president, he "looks forward to working with you over the next eight years."

Automotive News reports that Wagoner offered Obama some now-familiar ideas about what the federal government can do to help the automobile industry: spend money on research and provide incentives for consumers to buy advanced technology vehicles.