Chrysler chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli said 'the support we got was very encouraging. We kept it very focused on innovation and technology.' Nardelli, Mulally and GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner also warned in a letter to Pelosi that they face the 'most difficult business environment for our domestic auto industry in over 30 years.' The housing crisis, credit crunch, gasoline price hikes and soaring commodity prices 'have the potential to severely impact tens of thousands of employees and have a lasting impact on industrial production in the U.S.,' the CEOs wrote. Pelosi has vowed to get a vote on the funding before Congress adjourns for the year, likely by Sept. 26. It could be included in a bill to fund the ongoing operations of government. Earlier Wednesday, automakers got a boost when Republican presidential candidate John McCain made his strongest statement yet in support of loans, telling reporters at GM's Orion assembly plant: 'We're not going to leave the workers here in Michigan hung out to dry while we give billions of taxpayer dollars to Wall Street.' He and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama have supported the loan plan. 'It's time we get our auto industry back on its feet, it's time for a new generation of cars and for loans that will build the facilities to make them,' McCain said in Oakland County. Brent Colburn, Michigan spokesman for Obama's presidential campaign, said McCain was 'saying one thing and doing another' on auto issues. McCain voted against the energy bill last year, which is where the loan guarantees originated. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the loan program requires taxpayers to set aside $7.5 billion to protect against the risk of default, twice the amount of an earlier estimate. The governors of 10 states, including Michigan and Ohio, also urged Congress to fund the loans in a letter Wednesday. McCain's top economic advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said in a Detroit News interview that McCain wanted to see speedy passage. 'They are not bailout loans,' Holtz-Eakin, said noting that the 2007 energy bill requires that companies seeking loans must prove they are viable without the loans. Holtz-Eakin said that drivers are indirectly financing terrorists by driving vehicles that use large amount of gasoline -- a reason for automakers to get support to move to advanced vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt. 'In some cases, the way we drive is through the complicated global economy financing (terrorists)' efforts and that's got to stop,' Holtz-Eakin said. He noted that McCain has said moving away from oil is critical to national security. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, said they were facing some 'pushback' from some Republican members who argue automakers 'are driving up to the bailout window.... I keep saying this is a loan, not a bailout.' You can reach David Shepardson at [email protected].