By Steve Contorno on Thursday, January 22nd, at 5: In December, the Treasury Department announced it sold the remainder of its With the deal, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the United States was "winding down the Auto Industry Financing Program," the federal program that saved the auto industry— or bailed it out, depending on your view.

So we decided to take a look at this issue again. There are several circumstances that make this confusing and complicated. For starters, the bailout of the auto industry started in the waning weeks of President George W. It continued during the early months of the Obama administration. In November of that year, Obama was elected and soon after met with Bush to discuss the transition. It was during those early meetings that Obama began to lobby Bush to provide some financial assistance for the auto industry, according to reports.

He handed off to the incoming Obama administration the decision on how the companies would have to restructure themselves.

The New York Times reported that Obama "embraced the plan," though he did not comment on the details. This is somewhat problematic. Obama is essentially saying ignore the money Bush invested and only look at what my administration spent on the bailout when calculating the "expenses" side of the ledger.

You might ask, "Why not just look to see which loans were repaid? Both GM and Chrysler went through structured bankruptcies in to remain viable. The process resulted in both automakers essentially killing off their old companies and creating New GM and New Chrysler. During that process, most of their debt was converted into preferred and common stock owned largely by the government that would gradually be sold off in the case of Chrysler, it was acquired by Italian carmaker Fiat , while the GM stock was publicly offered and later partially bought back by New GM.

Some of the dealings resulted in profit, some did not. Additionally, Old GM and Old Chrysler were saddled with some debt that has not been recovered.

U.S. Declares Bank and Auto Bailouts Over, and Profitable - The New York Times

Obama created a taskforce upon taking office to determine how to proceed with the auto companies. They had three options: In both cases, the third option was chosen. The administration had a heavy hand in the restructuring, forcing the sale of Chrysler to Fiat and requiring GM to fire its CEO, close plants, shrink staff and eliminate lines like Pontiac and Saturn.

The general consensus from both a legislative panel and experts is that the intervention by the administration kept both companies out of long, drawn out bankruptcies that could have resulted in the liquidation of GM and Chrysler.

Obama said, "The auto companies have now repaid taxpayers every dime and more of what my administration invested in. But to say they've paid back "every dime and more," requires considerable cherry-picking. And to get into the black, he counts money the automakers paid back for Bush administration loans.

The statement contains an element of truth but ignores facts that would give a different impression. Economy , Federal Budget , Transportation. Department of the Treasury, " TARP Investment Program Transaction Reports ," accessed Jan.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, " Detroit back from the brink? Auto industry crisis and restructuring, —11 ," May 23, Email interview with James Rubenstein, Miami OH University Professor of Geography, Jan. Department of the Treasury, " TARP Tracker from October to date ," accessed Jan. Congressional Budget Office, " Report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program ," April ProPublica, Bailout Recipients , Jan.

New York Times, " U. Declares Bank and Auto Bailouts Over, and Profitable ," Dec.

Canadian taxpayers lose $billion on bailout of auto firms - The Globe and Mail

New York Times, " Bush Aids Detroit, but Hard Choices Wait for Obama ," Dec. New York Times, " Obama Asks Bush to Provide Help for Automakers ," Nov. PolitiFact, " President Barack Obama campaign video says auto companies 'repaid their loans' ," March 21, PolitiFact, " CEO says GM has repaid government loans in full ," April 27, PolitiFact, " Did President Obama save the auto industry? Government Publishing Office, " An Update on TARP Support for the Domestic Automotive Industry ," Jan.

Email comments and suggestions for fact-checks to truthometer politifact. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise. Our ruling Obama said, "The auto companies have now repaid taxpayers every dime and more of what my administration invested in.

Thursday, January 22nd, at 5: Steve Contorno Edited by: Angie Drobnic Holan Subjects: Economy , Federal Budget , Transportation Sources: Email interview with Brandi Hoffine, spokeswoman for the White House, Jan 19, Email interview with Adam Hodge, spokesman for the Treasury Department, Jan. Auto industry crisis and restructuring, —11 ," May 23, Email interview with James Rubenstein, Miami OH University Professor of Geography, Jan.

How to contact us Email comments and suggestions for fact-checks to truthometer politifact. Browse The Truth-O-Meter TM Donald Trump fact-checks Pants-On-Fire rulings By our rulings By subject By person View recent articles Support independent fact-checking In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Special Editions National Global News Project PunditFact.

As Seen On Staff Process Funding. National Global News Project PunditFact.