With Congress returning Monday to deal with an auto industry in dire financial straits, the Bush White House stressed that it supports help, but not at the expense of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue program.

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In a statement to reporters on Monday morning, press secretary Dana Perino sought to further explain the White House policy on assistance to the industry. She said that while the administration takes the position the rescue plan does not apply in this instance, it does share the concerns of many that the industry not be allowed to collapse.

She complained that reporting on the White House's statements on this issue has involved "attempts to shorthand the administration's position."

Perino said in her statement that the administration wants Congress "to take appropriate action this week to provide assistance" to Detroit.

Majority Democrats want to use part of the $700 billion bailout bill for this purpose. Lawmakers are returning Monday for a lame-duck session to work on the auto industry issue and reorganize committees for the next session of Congress.

She said the $25 billion that Democrats favor taking from the rescue plan should come, instead, from a Department of Energy program previously approved and funded to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. The White House opposes the idea of automakers getting an additional $25 billion, on top of the DOE loan.

"We want these companies to succeed. We have figured out a way to provide them funds so that they are able to do that. And we think that there is a bipartisan path that we could get this done very quickly this week and avoid that," Perino said. "These are great, historical companies in the United States and they have a way to get back on a path to be better companies, more successful companies in the future."

Meanwhile, hardline opponents of a bailout are calling the industry a "dinosaur" whose "day of reckoning" is near. And supporters of the aid have offered to reduce the size of the rescue to win backing in Congress.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the top Republican on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said it would be a mistake to use any of the $700 billion in the Wall Street rescue to help the automakers survive the current crisis.

"Companies fail every day and others take their place. I think this is a road we should not go down," Shelby said. "They're not building the right products," he said. "They've got good workers but I don't believe they've got good management. They don't innovate. They're a dinosaur in a sense."

Added Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the Senate's second-ranking Republican: "Just giving them $25 billion doesn't change anything. It just puts off for six months or so the day of reckoning."

Also, some Senate Democrats are proposing to deny bonuses to U.S. auto executives making more than $250,000 a year in exchange for help. In addition, the companies would first have to give the government a plan for "long-term financial viability," according to a copy of the legislation obtained by The Associated Press.

The measure also would extend jobless aid to unemployed workers whose benefits have run out.