White House not proposing relaxing fuel efficiency

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Saturday said it was not proposing relaxing fuel efficiency requirements as part of efforts to speed up government loans to the ailing auto industry.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said media reports saying that was a White House proposal were "false."

"The president proposed these efficiency standards, Congress enacted them, and we're in the process of implementing them. We are not proposing relaxing them," she said in a statement.

Democrats are proposing a bailout of distressed automakers through $25 billion (16.83 billion pounds) in loans from the Treasury Department's $700 billion corporate rescue program.

The White House opposes that move and says that $25 billion already appropriated for loans to make automobiles more fuel-efficient should be accelerated.

"We are urging Congress to choose a path that would help automakers that are willing to take measures to prove viability with a program that's already approved, and not pursue a path that won't make it out of the Senate," Perino said.

"We want to see legislation passed at this week's lame duck session that uses existing funds intended for the automakers that will help them become viable for the long run," she said.

The aid for the auto industry is to be debated next week when the Democratic-led Congress meets for a post-election session focussed largely on the ailing U.S. economy.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, editing by Jackie Frank)