Two U.S. auto manufacturers are expected to return to Washington to request more than $20 billion in additional taxpayer-backed loans in hopes of restructuring their companies into profitable and sustainable enterprises.

Chrysler and General Motors presented their plans after yesterday's deadline for compiling a restructuring report—a contingency in accepting government loans approved by the Bush administration last December. GM, who is requesting an additional $16.6 billion in loans, says it may run out of cash as early as next month if it does not receive the loans.

Under the arrangement made with automakers by the Bush administration, the federal government has until March 31 to review GM and Chrysler's plans for restructuring to determine if they have come up with sustainable plans for future viability. Should the feds decide the automakers' plans are insufficient, it could recall the loans already made to the companies, likely sending them into bankruptcy.

Restructuring plans include cuts to jobs and product-lines. GM announced that it would cut 47,000 jobs by the end of the year, as well as shut down five U.S. factories and reduce its main brands to only four divisions: Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac. GM's other brands—including Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac—will either be sold off or cut completely, though Pontiac may remain in production at drastically reduced levels.

Chrysler said it planned to cut 3,000 jobs on top of those that have already been eliminated, as well as reducing production by 100,000 units and cutting three of its models.

Despite the plans for restructuring, GM CEO Rick Wagoner indicated more government assistance may be needed in 2013 or 2014—a possibility that drew criticism during the initial talks of bailing-out the auto giants.

"Why are taxpayers being made responsible for propping up American auto manufacturers, who, by their own hand, put themselves in this situation of unprofitability?" asks Richard Viguerie, chairman of the grassroots Web site ConservativeHQ.com.

"The Bush administration made a mistake in bailing-out these companies in December, and it is a mistake that should not be repeated by the Obama administration. The best thing for Americans, and the future of American automakers, is for these companies to restructure after filing bankruptcy," says Viguerie.

"Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself," former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wrote in a November 2008 article published in the New York Times. "With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check."

Proponents of the bankruptcy plans, which include Americans unhappy about further taxpayer obligations in another auto bailout, say it provides the best path for long-term sustainability for automakers. In bankruptcy restructuring, automakers would be able to rework burdensome labor contracts and fire incompetent corporate leaders.