Chrysler bailout could be okayed Wednesday

Action on financial aid for Chrysler and General Motors could come as early as tomorrow. According to several sources, the Administration will most likely give its okay to use money from the financial industry rescue funds and will probably impose conditions similar to those contained in legislation that passed the House but failed in the Senate.

A Treasury Department official said the White House is actively involved in the matter but said no final decision had been made.

The package would probably consist of $10 billion from the funds remaining in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Currently, about $15 billion is left from the $350 billion already approved to bail out the financial industry. The money would be adequate to keep Chrysler and GM afloat until President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office and the new Democratic Party-controlled Congress is convened.