General Motors submitted a revised business plan to Congress in the hopes of getting Congressional approval for a large federal bailout. G.M. noted in its filing that without at least $4 billion before the end of the calendar year it would likely default on its debt obligations and trigger a bankruptcy filing. From MSNBC:

GM said it wouldn’t last till New Year’s without an immediate $4 billion and could drag the entire industry down if it fails.

General Motors Corp., asking for as much as $18 billion to keep afloat and survive even worse economic storms, painted the direst portrait to date of what could happen if Congress doesn’t quickly step in.

“There isn’t a Plan B,” said Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson. “Absent support, frankly, the company just can’t fund its operations.” Without help, he warned, “the company will default in the near term, very likely precipitating a total collapse of the domestic industry and its extensive supply chain, with a ripple effect that will have severe, long-term consequences to the U.S. economy.”

As the CEO’s prepare to return to Washington to testify the public relations nightmare they suffered because of their last visit seems to be on their mind.

Excoriated for traveling by corporate jets to testify in Washington, all said they would make the 500-mile return trip by car this week for the new round of hearings. Ford and GM even said they would part with the aircraft permanently.

Ford chief executive Alan R. Mulally and GM chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. also offered to cut their salaries to $1 a year if the government provides aid. Chrysler already pays chief executive Robert L. Nardelli that sum in salary. GM said it would also roll back other executives’ pay.

Speaker Pelosi has said that “bankruptcy is not an option” for G.M., but without sixty votes in the Senate or a change of heart by the Bush Administration I am not sure what she means. Congress will be called back into session next week to discuss the new business plans submitted by the big three and to vote on an aid package.

The restructuring plan submitted by G.M. contains many of the features much discussed as critical to the automaker being able to go forward as a viable entity. The plan includes a shedding of many lines, with G.M. looking to retain Cadillac, GMAC, Chevrolet, and Buick. It would look to sell Saab and fold or sell Saturn. The plan calls for multiple plant closings with the loss of over twenty thousand jobs, as well as a shedding of thousands of dealerships. It also calls for additional labor concessions from the U.A.W. A critical part of any plan would be the restructuring of the massive bonded debt G.M. carries on its balance sheet, currently about $44 billion. Converting some portion to equity would be a major savings to G.M. The bondholders and banks holding the debt cannot have anything forced on them, unless through the bankruptcy process (and even then they have a major say.) So G.M. teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, and Congress is faced with an immediate dilemna. Will Congress bail out G.M.?