White House: good progress made on auto talks

The Ford logo is seen on the back of a car in Detroit, Michigan December 7, 2008. White House and congressional negotiators sought on Sunday to remove remaining differences over an emergency rescue for the U.S. auto industry, a wounded giant of the struggling American economy.

WEST POINT, New York (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday progress was being made in negotiations with Congress on a bailout plan for automakers, but a number of issues remained unresolved.

"Good progress is being made, we're still working through a number of issues, some of them just small and technical and other ones a little bit more meaty in scope," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters traveling with Bush to West Point for a speech.

"There will not be long-term financing if they cannot prove long-term viability," she said.

"I don't know if we'll have something finalized today. I think it's possible, but again, while we're working fast, we want to get it right," Perino said.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, Editing by David Alexander)