White House pushing to speed up loans for automakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has been in talks with Congress about finding a way to accelerate loans to automakers under a $25 billion program already appropriated for the troubled industry, spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Friday.

Asked at a briefing why automakers were not being considered for aid under the $700 billion bailout program for the financial industry, Perino said the White House was working to accelerate funding via a program approved specifically for the auto industry.

"What we have been wondering from Congress is ... could they figure out a way to accelerate loans for viable companies under the program that they already designed for the auto industry," she said. "We're waiting to hear back from them. we just don't know yet."

"What we've been waiting for is to hear from Congress as to whether they're going to move forward in utilizing the program that they had designed specifically for the auto industry," Perino added.

(Editing by James Dalgleish)