(Adds background, material from draft bill, blog report)

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Legislation drafted by a
senior Democrat to impose stricter conditions on the Treasury
Department's $700 billion bailout program would also create a
"car czar" to oversee the U.S. auto industry restructuring,
according to a draft copy of the bill released on Friday.

Separately, an ABC News blog reported private equity
investor Steve Rattner, who founded Quadrangle Group, was in
the running to fill the car czar job. The "Political Punch"
blog described Rattner as a "leading candidate" to oversee the
restructuring of the American auto industry.

Rattner was not immediately available for comment.

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of
the House Financial Services Committee, attached the car czar
and other auto-related provisions to a draft bill that would
add stricter conditions for companies seeking funds from the
Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The car czar job was originally in an auto industry bailout
bill approved several weeks ago by the House of Representatives
but rejected by the Senate. Ultimately, the Bush administration
bailed out Detroit automakers with $17.4 billion in emergency
loans to try to avoid a collapse that would cost cost hundreds
of thousands of jobs.

Frank said he hoped to have a floor vote on the legislation
as soon as Wednesday.

It was unclear whether the wide-ranging bill had support in
the U.S. Senate, where Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to
get legislation swiftly approved.

The car czar position was described in Frank's bill as a
presidential appointee who must have "appropriate expertise" in
financial restructuring, energy efficiency, environmental
protection and environmental stabilization.

The individual would set "appropriate measures" by Feb. 1
to assess the progress of General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Cerberus
Capital Management LP's [CBS.UL] Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co
(F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in transforming the outlines they submitted to Congress
last month into a detailed restructuring plan.
(Reporting by Julie Vorman; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)