Mich. lawmakers push to extend 'CARS'

The White House said Thursday it was reviewing what has turned out to be a wildly popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new auto purchases may have been exhausted in only a week.

The Michigan congressional delegation will fight to extend the federal program.

Fresh from a conference call with the rest of the delegation Thursday evening, U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, told 24 Hour News 8 the effort is "bipartisan."

"Calling the White House, talking to the leadership in both the House and Senate to get a little bit more money put into this program," he said.

The program provides $3,500 or $4,500 incentives to new-vehicle buyers with old cars or trucks that meet certain criteria, because dealer surveys showed tens of thousands of deals yet to be approved, raising the possibility that the roughly $1 billion in incentives may be exhausted already.

While admitting he was skeptical of the program initially, Hoekstra said it appeared to be working. He and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, proposed using federal stimulus dollars to extend the life of the program, formally called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS.

"It appears to be driving automobile [sales] volume, so it may be a more effective stimulus than other parts of the stimulus package," Hoekstra said.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow called the program an effective short-term stimulus in a statement released Thursday night.

"With over 200,000 cars sold, hundreds of employees on the job serving customers, millions of dollars in advertisement spending and sales tax income flowing into struggling states, CARS has injected money into communities across America," she said.

In a statement, Upton said that "in just four days, we have done more to stimulate the economy with 'Cash for Clunkers' than any government program since the downturn began last fall."

The delegation is set to meet again at 9 a.m. Friday, Hoekstra said.