House leader: GM aid may be useless

WASHINGTON - House Republican leader John Boehner yesterday said he doesn't support handing over more federal money to keep General Motors Corp. afloat unless it develops a long-term business model and can pay back government loans.

"Anything short of that is just throwing good money after bad," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

As part of the deal that provided $17.4 billion to General Motors and Chrysler LLC, the companies must seek changes in their contracts with the United Auto Workers by March 31. The car companies, which have asked for an additional $21.6 billion in federal money, must bring their labor costs in line with those of foreign competitors' US plants.

Republican senators John McCain of Arizona and Richard Shelby of Alabama said they want GM to seek bankruptcy protection, which would allow for reorganization.