Democratic leaders in Congress are racing against time to seal a deal with the White House that would pull Detroit's big three auto-makers from the brink of collapse.
This weekend, the White House and Congress are hammering out the details worth up to 17-billion dollars in loans to keep General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford in business through March.
That's about half what the big three say they need to survive.
"It's amazing to know that our own government, our own president, the senators, congressmen, are really out of touch with the backbone of this country," said Darren Tatum, a Ford volunteer
Congressional aides say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has softened her opposition to using 25-billion dollars from a research program to develop fuel-efficient cars in order to help the automakers.
Votes on the plan are expected in the week ahead.
