A bid by struggling automakers to win $25 billion in low interest government loans on Thursday received a boost in the House of Representatives and a hopeful sign from regulators who have begun drafting criteria for how such a program would work, officials said.



House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democratic leaders would like to see a funding provision for covering risk -- necessary to issue the loans -- approved before the end of the month, when lawmakers plan to leave town for election campaigning.



Pelosi said the exact legislative path for the loan program has not been determined, but she told reporters the House plans to consider a handful of must-pass measures before the fiscal year ends on September 30.



'Certainly we'll have it in something,' Pelosi said.



GM (GM.N: Quote, , Research, ) and Ford (F.N: Quote, , Research, ) shares moved higher after the Pelosi comments.



Pelosi, a California Democrat, repeated the possibility of attaching auto industry assistance to a second economic stimulus package. However, it is unclear if such legislation will materialize.



The more likely scenario, industry and congressional officials say, is pinning an auto provision to a catch-all bill funding operations of the federal government, called a continuing resolution.



Senate leaders have not said what they would go along with but members of that chamber have been discussing the option of placing an auto provision in a spending package, lawmakers have said.