Rep. Fattah Says GM Stock Offering Shows That Manufacturing Investment Is Saving the Auto Industry

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), chairman of the Congressional Urban Caucus and Pennsylvania's senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, issues the following statement about the latest step toward economic recovery in the auto industry:

"Today's announcement that General Motors will offer more than $10 billion in stock to the public is dramatic proof of the wisdom of the Obama Administration and the Democratic Congress when they stepped up to save the American auto industry and American manufacturing. I called for such a policy less than three weeks after President Obama's election, and the so-called 'bailout' soon followed.

"Now we are seeing new hiring - more than 50,000 jobs created in the past year, a number that is expected to more than triple by 2012. Everyone who turns on a TV is treated to a robust ad-war among American auto makers.

"GM's stock offering to return as a public company is major. The manufacturer that nay-sayers were willing to see go belly up is now eager to ante up - to pay back the taxpayers for their good-faith investment. This is about more than just cars. We are experiencing a huge rolling step toward economic recovery in our manufacturing sector that is truly 'Made in America.'"