Bush pushing for quicker automaker help

The Bush administration is talking to members of Congress to allow U.S. automakers quicker access to a $25 billion loan program.

"What we have asked Congress to do is to look at the money that has already been provided … and to simply amend that bill so they can get the money sooner, rather than wait for an application process to go forward with the retooling," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday.

Perino reiterated the pronouncement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. that the $700 billion bailout package wasn't intended for the automobile industry.

"The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funding is there for financial institutions. Congress never intended for individual industries to be able to come forward," Perino said. "Once your start down that road, it's a slippery slope."

Perino said automakers have "tough choices" to make.

"They're going to have to be able to show how they can survive. If you look at their ability to compete worldwide, we think that our -- our companies can compete, but they're not going to be able to do so unless they make some of these really tough decisions," she said.