WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said the government will provide ailing U.S. automakers financial aid while they implement plans to restructure because otherwise their collapse could send the economy into a deeper and longer recession.
"The American people want the auto companies to succeed and so do I," he told reporters in announcing some $17.4 billion in loans to the automakers. An administration official said he expected Chrysler and General Motors to access the money immediately. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Tabassum Zakaria, editing by Eric Beech)