Congress ought to find the scaled-down request for federal loans to help Detroit's Big Three automakers more palatable, and it ought to approve the funding. The Big Three are seeking help in meeting government mandates for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Big Three had wanted $50 billion in loans over three years to help the automakers and their suppliers make the transition to a new industry based on smaller, more efficient models. The retooling is designed to help America meets its energy independence goals.

But with just a little more than two weeks left in the session and with Congress feeling the backlash from the $200 billion federal takeover of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgage entities, the automakers decided to shoot for something more doable.

Now, they're asking for $25 billion in loans available for one year.

The request is reasonable. After all, that is what Congress promised to do last fall when it passed an energy bill requiring automakers to hit fuel economy standards that will cost an estimated $114 billion during the next 15 years. As part of the agreement with automakers, Congress included $25 billion in low-cost loans in the energy bill, but never provided the funding.

It should deliver on its promise before the session adjourns. The Big Three are struggling through one of the worst downturns ever to hit the auto industry. Sales are down, and profits are nonexistent. There is no revenue to undertake the massive transition Congress has mandated without borrowing.

But because of the perilous condition of their businesses, the Big Three, when they can find private credit, face interest rates that often approach 20 percent. The low-cost federal loans would reduce their borrowing costs by as much as $2.5 billion and assure a steady line of credit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has been one of the domestic auto industry's biggest foes, indicated this week she could accept the automakers' $25 billion program, saying "now they are talking about what the real need is."

She has no clue what the real need is.

The $25 billion, if approved, will help the industry bridge what is expected to be another horrendous sales year in 2009, allowing it to get to 2010, when new models and savings from union contracts and restructuring kick in.

But it isn't nearly enough to enable the industry to retool its business and meet the stringent federal mandates at the same time. It is almost certain that the automakers will have to return to Congress in the future to ask for more credit help.

Congress should not look at this as a gift to the automakers, and it certainly is not a bailout.

The Big Three and Congress struck an honest bargain nearly a year ago to work together to reduce gasoline consumption. No other industry has been subjected to a more expensive government mandate for developing new technology.

The automakers are holding up their end of the bargain, remaking plants to produce smaller cars and drastically downsizing its model lineup. Congress now must back up its claim to a more energy efficient agenda with some hard cash.

The Big Three can meet the challenge the federal government has imposed on them, but not without money. Congress must meet its obligation to help fund its mandates on the auto industry.

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