Washington - Congressional leaders Saturday joined president-elect Barack Obama's call for support of the ailing auto industry, sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to tap money from the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue package.

"A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability, the overall health of our economy, and the livelihood of the automobile sector's workforce," said Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

On Friday, Obama called the auto industry the "backbone of American manufacturing," signalling his intentions under his presidency, which begins January 20, to help Detroit.

Pelosi and Reid met with chief executives of the ailing "Big Three" US automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - on Thursday to discuss a further bail-out package and the future of the loss-making industry.

United Auto Workers President Ronald Gettelfinger also attended the meeting. Congress has already passed a 25-billion-dollar incentive package for Detroit to develop low-carbon-emitting cars.

"We left the meetings convinced that our nation's automobile industry - the heart of our manufacturing sector - and the jobs of tens of thousands of American workers are at risk," Pelosi and Reid wrote Saturday.

They asked secretary Paulson to "review the feasibility" of using some of the 700 billion dollars to provide "temporary assistance" during the financial crisis.

On Friday, the two major US automakers, Ford Motor Co and General Motors Corp, reported massive third-quarter losses as the ailing industry continued to lose cash and shed jobs.

Ford, the second-largest US automaker, reported a third-quarter operating loss of 2.98 billion dollars and said it would cut jobs and spending to preserve its perilous cash reserves.

GM was facing similar challenges after warning that it was running out of the minimum cash it needs to operate until the end of the year, and posting third-quarter operating losses of 4.2 billion dollars.

The dire news from the auto industry was a reminder of the hardship faced by not only individual auto companies, but also the suppliers, small businesses and communities dependent on it, US president-elect Barack Obama said Friday.

"I have made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States," he said.

US auto sales plummeted 32 per cent in October to the lowest monthly total since 1991.

The US has officially fallen into negative growth, the government said last week. (dpa)