White House says too early for response to autos plans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday that officials were starting to look over the restructuring plans by the ailing automakers, but it is too early to say what the administration's response will be to them.

"It's a little too early to say," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters. "We just got the summaries of those plans yesterday, and officials here are poring over them, as they are at the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department."

She said it was unclear what support there is in Congress for government aid for Ford Motor, General Motors and Chrysler and called it a bit of a "mystery."

The administration has backed legislation to redirect $25 billion (16.9 billion pounds) in aid to help Detroit make more fuel-efficient vehicles. However, that bill is opposed by many Democrats who say the $700 billion bank bailout fund could be used to help the auto industry.

Perino said the White House backs supporting the auto industry but only if companies show viability.

Asked if the White House believed bankruptcy was a good idea for the car companies, she avoided a direct response.

"We don't want companies to go insolvent. That has been our position. But we do know that some companies do fail," she said. "We have said that we'd be willing to help the automakers."

Asked if the administration would consider providing more than $25 billion in assistance to the automakers, Perino said: "I'm not ruling anything in or out. It's too early."

The Detroit automakers on Tuesday urged Congress to authorise $34 billion in loans and credit lines, far more than the $25 billion they failed to secure in November when lawmakers demanded the companies offer plans showing they could be made "viable."

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, Tabassum Zakaria and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)