WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden touted the Obama administration’s bailouts of U.S. auto makers in the White House radio address Saturday, saying they succeeded in turning around the auto industry and helped the economic recovery.

“Because of what we did, the auto industry is rising again. Manufacturing is coming back,” Mr. Biden said. “And our economy is recovering and it’s gaining traction.”

Mr. Biden noted the announcement this week by Chrysler that the company will begin repaying loans from the U.S. government years ahead of schedule, reported The Wall Street Journal. He also said General Motors Corp., another recipient of government bailout money, had announced that its Detroit Hamtramck plant was ramping up production.

“Many people thought the president should just let G.M. and Chrysler go under,” Mr. Biden said. “They didn’t think the automobile industry was essential to America’s future. The president disagreed.”

Mr. Biden acknowledged near the end of the address that, despite signs the U.S. economy is improving, there are still problems with the economy. He said people’s paychecks weren’t keeping pace with rising gas prices and the cost of health care and college tuition. He said the Obama administration is focused on “making sure that if you work hard, play by the rules, you’ll be able to get ahead, put your kids through college, retire with dignity and security.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor painted a different picture of the economy in the Republican response to the White House address.

“As the summer of 2011 approaches, far too many our family members, neighbors and friends are still out of work,” Mr. Cantor said.

He accused the administration’s regulators of conducting “an ideological offensive against businesses that is costing our country billions of dollars and countless jobs.”

Mr. Cantor said Republicans had a better plan to repair the economy that involved simplifying the tax code, repealing onerous regulations and expanding domestic energy production. “All of these elements will help encourage growth and long-term economic stability,” he said.

WASHINGTON – Ally Financial Inc. will pay the Treasury Department $257 million in dividends next month, its latest payment as part of its government bailout, reported The Detroit News.

The Detroit-based auto and mortgage finance company — formerly known as GMAC — said its board of directors had declared the dividend. The government acquired a 56.3 percent stake in the company as part of its $17.2 billion bailout.

“Following payment of this dividend in August, Ally will have paid $1.5 billion of total dividends on the taxpayers’ investment,” Ally spokeswoman Gina Proia said Monday. “We continue to work toward strengthening the company with the intention of repaying the government’s investment in full over time.”

The Treasury Department has said it plans to slowly sell off its majority stake in Ally, but likely not until next year.

Ally’s CEO Michael Carpenter told a congressional oversight panel earlier this year that an initial public offering “could be possible over the next two years.”

Carpenter said Ally is not likely to receive more taxpayer money and there is a “high likelihood” the government will be repaid in full. The Office of Management and Budget, however, has predicted the government will lose $6.3 billion on its Ally bailout.

Ally last week said it would rebrand its GMAC consumer and dealer-related auto finance operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico and use the Ally name. This follows the transition of the corporate entity to Ally Financial in May.

Ally extended more than $16 billion of credit to retail customers in the first half of this year in the United States, Canada and Mexico, an increase in loan originations of more than 120 percent from the same period last year. For the first six months, Ally extended an average of approximately $2 billion of credit per month to U.S. consumers.