WASHINGTON — On Dec. 31, General Motors Corp. received the $4 billion in federal funds the company said it needed to continue operations, while Chrysler LLC continued to work with the U.S. Treasury to secure a lifeline of its own, according to a report from CNNMoney.com.

"Treasury today finalized the loan transaction for GM and funded the first tranche of $4 billion," said Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin. "We're working expeditiously with Chrysler to finalize that transaction and we remain committed to closing it on a timeline that will meet near-term funding needs."

Sources said the Chrysler deal is nearly complete, and statements from Chrysler chief Bob Nardelli and spokeswoman Lori McTavish indicated that meetings with the Treasury Department were "positive and productive."

President Bush ordered that the funds be drawn from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program after Congress failed to pass a bailout bill for the automakers. GM will receive a second loan of $5.4 billion on Jan. 16 and an additional $4 billion loan on Feb. 17, pending Congressional approval. Ford Motor Co., which participated in hearings to secure bailout loans for its competitors, plans to forego federal aid in the near term.

The full text of the CNNMoney.com article can be found here.

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