Treasury's Paulson: Congress should aid automakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday encouraged Congress to come up with the funds to help ailing Detroit automakers, but stuck to his position that a $700 billion bailout fund is for financial institutions only.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Paulson said there were "other paths" to help automakers than the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

"The intent of the TARP was to deal with financial institutions and major systemic issues," Paulson said.

"Congress, I believe, should address the question of the auto industry. I encourage Congress to come up with a pot, to get money to deal with this issue. And again, I don't think that bankruptcy (for U.S. automakers) is a good thing," he said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Gary Crosse)