All options on table as Congress reviews autos bailout

By John Crawley and John Poirier

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - All options were on the table on Wednesday as congressional committees scrutinized auto company restructuring proposals and an urgent appeal for $34 billion (23 billion pounds) in aid ahead of make-or-break hearings.

Lawmakers, especially in the Senate, appear to have little patience for political wrangling over whether to extend taxpayer funds to an industry with a questionable future pushed further back on its heels by rapidly deteriorating sales and recession.

"What is the strategy moving forward?" Sen. Robert Menendez asked in an appearance on CNBC television.

Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which will be the first of two panels to question the chief executives of General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (F.N) and Chrysler on Thursday.

Menendez said all options remain on the table with automakers briefing staffs of the banking panel and the House Financial Services Committee, which will hear from the companies on Friday.

"Even if we give financing under a prepackaged bankruptcy, that may potentially be more costly. I'm not convinced of that and so I continue to look at that as a potential option," Menendez said.

Democratic leaders, the companies and the UAW have sought to dampen any discussion of Congress possibly facilitating a court restructuring.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that bankruptcy was out of the question.