Congressional Democrats and the White House have reached agreement on emergency aid for US car manufacturers of between $15 billion and $17 billion.
The outline of the package was reached after auto executives pleaded with lawmakers for help and US data showed employers axed more than 533,000 jobs in November, the highest monthly job loss in 34 years.
"Congressional Democrats and the White House have reached an agreement," a senior congressional aide said.
Another source said negotiators had "agreed in principle to moving ahead but details have to be worked out." More talks were expected on today with Congressional votes on a bill next week.
The temporary funding amount is far less than the $34 billion in loans requested this week by General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler, but it would keep them going into next year.
The car makers say they need help to survive a sharp downturn in sales fueled first by the credit crisis and now recession.
At hearings this week, many lawmakers were skeptical of the automakers' viability, arguing they had failed in the past to cut sufficient costs, ween themselves from making gas guzzlers and produce innovative cars consumers want to buy.
Earlier yesterday, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi dropped her insistence that aid come from the $700 billion financial services bailout fund the Bush administration had refused to use for automakers.
In a statement, Pelosi had suggested she could agree with that source of funds under certain conditions.
"We will not permit any funds to be borrowed from the advanced technology program unless there is a guarantee that those funds will be replenished in a matter of weeks so as not to delay that crucial initiative," she said.
Compromising on the source of funds would likely build bipartisan support in Congress for a bill that could be signed into law by President George W Bush.