Bush To Throw $17 Billion At the Automakers

I don't see any mention of the "ordered" bankruptcy:

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will get $13.4 billion in government loans to keep operating in exchange for a restructuring under a rescue plan that President George W. Bush will announce this morning.

The money will be drawn from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the automakers will get an additional $4 billion from the fund in February, according to a statement from the Bush administration. The money would allow GM and Chrysler to keep operating until March.

Under the terms of the plan, if the companies can’t demonstrate financial viability by March 31 the loans will be called and the money must be returned, the statement said.

If the automakers aren't financially viable on March 31 they won't have the money to return to the federal government. My guess is that money is gone...period. Unless the agreement forces changes in the union contracts, all this money will do is postpone the inevitable failure.