W.House sees "chance" of Senate auto deal today

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House insisted on Thursday there was still a chance the Senate would pass auto industry bailout legislation on Thursday, despite stiff opposition from some lawmakers in President George W. Bush's own Republican party.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush was "reaching out" to skeptical senators to seek their support for a $14 billion auto aid package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

"We do think that there is a chance that we can get this done today," Perino told reporters.

But she acknowledged that obstacles remained to passage of legislation aimed at rescuing troubled U.S. automakers.

"There are going to be members of Congress who disagree with us even at the end of the day, no matter how forceful and persuasive our arguments are," Perino added.

While the Democratic leadership of the House succeeded in pushing a bill through, uncertainty surrounded its fate in the Senate where a razor-thin Democratic majority cannot ensure passage.

Senate Democrats will have difficulty reaching the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural hurdles, which some Republicans -- demanding a tougher approach to the automakers -- have vowed to erect to slow or even block the legislation.

Perino said the job losses from the failure of one or more automakers would be too much for an already-weakened U.S. economy to absorb.

"That is something that our economy cannot withstand right now," she said.

"If we don't act and these companies go away, we could wake up and not have any domestic auto industry, which is certainly not the outcome that this president wants," Perino said.

The auto industry crisis has added to Bush's economic woes in his final weeks in the White House before President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20.

"We're just asking for a little bit of help from money already appropriated to help the automakers in order for them to be able to either make their companies profitable or go into orderly bankruptcy," Perino said.

Asked whether the White House had an alternative plan for auto relief if the current effort failed, Perino said, "Our plan today is to make this one work."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Kristin Roberts)