Letter to Senator John McCain

Letter

Representative Gary Peters, whose district is home to Chrysler World Headquarters, several General Motors plants and more auto suppliers than any Congressional district in the country, has extended a new invitation to Senator John McCain to come to Michigan and see the automotive industry's recovery for himself.

In late 2009, while serving as Grand Marshal of a NASCAR race in Arizona, McCain said "anybody believes that Chrysler is going to survive, I'd like to meet them." Peters immediately took up McCain's challenge and wrote to the Senator, inviting him to come to Michigan to meet with Chrysler workers.

McCain responded in a letter that Peters was not an "objective observer." Peters then provided McCain with the names of three independent automotive industry experts who believed Chrysler would succeed. McCain never responded.

With the repayment of Chrysler's government loans, Peters again sent a letter to Senator McCain, inviting him to travel to Auburn Hills "to meet with Chrysler workers so that you can hear from them firsthand how they were able to prove you wrong."

"Chrysler has not just survived, but they are in a stronger position today than they have been in years, and the pace of their recovery has exceeded the expectations of even non-objective observers like me," Peters wrote in the letter, which was hand-delivered to Senator McCain's office on Tuesday evening.

Since Peters and McCain first exchanged letters in November 2009, Chrysler has experienced double-digit sales increases, introduced new models, hired thousands of new employees, and this past Tuesday, repaid the $5.8 billion in loan debt it owed to the Treasury.

"This is an illustration of how important it was for Michigan, for our automakers and for families in my district that we had President Obama, and not Senator McCain, in the White House over the past two and a half years," said Representative Peters today.

The text of Rep. Peters new letter to Senator McCain, as well as links to the previous letters between the lawmakers, are attached below.

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May 24, 2011

Senator John McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator McCain,

You may remember that in November 2009, while serving as the grand marshal at the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at the Phoenix International Raceway you expressed doubt about Chrysler's future, stating "anybody believes that Chrysler is going to survive, I'd like to meet them."

I have always believed that Chrysler would overcome the challenges it faced and reemerge stronger. As the representative of Michigan's 9th Congressional District, home to the Chrysler Group LLC corporate headquarters in Auburn Hills, I extended an invitation to you to travel to Michigan to meet with thousands of Americans who are working hard every day to design new and exciting vehicles and ensure the continued future of the American automobile industry.

As you may also recall, you declined my offer and you again asserted that no "objective observers" believed Chrysler would make it. I then offered to set up meetings for you with three separate independent automotive experts but received no reply.

The numbers are now clear. Since the fall of 2009, Chrysler has experienced double digit increases in sales, introduced numerous new or redesigned models, launched the nationally acclaimed "Imported from Detroit" advertising campaign, hired thousands of new employees, and obtained private sector financing that allowed it to repay the $5.8 billion debt it owed to U.S. taxpayers. In other words, Chrysler has not just survived, but they are in a stronger position today than they have been in years, and the pace of their recovery has exceeded the expectations of even non-objective observers like me.

Given the wealth of good news about Chrysler, I wanted to once again invite you to Auburn Hills to meet with Chrysler workers so that you can hear from them firsthand how they were able to prove you wrong.

Sincerely,

Gary Peters
Member of Congress

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