MISHAWAKA — It's the latest government bailout bill, and it's being drafted this week on Capitol Hill. This time, the check would be for $25 billion, made out to the Big 3 car companies in Detroit. It could impact thousands of local workers, too.

The auto industry bailout would be an "emergency loan" that would give taxpayers partial ownership in General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Ford and Chrysler sales are slumping. GM is now losing in excess of $2 billion per month. Thousands of assembly line workers across the country have already been laid off.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm hit the airwaves Wednesday morning to appeal for help.

"The crisis is real," she told CBS's The Early Show. "This is urgent."

And not just for Detroit or, for that matter, Michigan.

If help doesn't come soon, some worry the damage will be felt across the country.

"The national economy rests on this," Granholm said.

Two hundred seventeen miles away from Detroit at Nyloncraft in Mishawaka, Betty Woody is feeling the pressure, too. She's been making parts for GM and Ford for two decades.

Detroit's worries are her worries, too.

"After 20 years here, I'm getting a little older. I wouldn't be able to go out there and find another job," she said.

Betty isn't alone.

From axles at American Axle in Three Rivers and Powertrain systems at Federal Mogul in South Bend to H2's rolling off AM General's Mishawaka assembly line, dozens of local companies have close ties to the Big 3.

Without a federal bailout for the industry, some worry their jobs will be cut next.

"We'd have a disaster," said Nyloncraft's President and CEO Jim Krzyzewski. "GM will go out of business. They can't survive. And there's probably 2 million or 2.5 million people involved in the auto industry. For every line worker at GM or Ford, there's five other indirect jobs that depend on that position."

Thirty positions have already been cut at Nyloncraft over the last six months, following the resuming of work at American Axle plants in Michigan and New York. Nyloncraft was one of a handful of suppliers who were forced to scale back or cut down during American Axle's 13 month long strike.

United Auto Workers union leaders called for the strike to protest their new contract. Since the two sides reached a deal, nearly half of American Axle's workers have been laid off.

In the months since then, Nyloncraft, and other parts suppliers have been hit by rising raw materials prices, slowdowns in sales because of higher prices at the gas pump, and America's slowing economy.

It's left those like Krzyzewski looking at bottom lines they didn't even think were possible.

"2008 has been an amazingly tough year. I've been in the business a long time, and I've never seen anything worse than this," he said.

Industry analysts say the $25 billion is just enough to ensure a small sense of stability in Detroit for at least another six months to one year. After that, the future would remain uncertain.

"But, it would keep the wheels moving, and keep two million people out of the unemployment lines. It's not a matter of what it's going to do to boost the business, or pad the pockets of executives. It's a matter of what it's going to do to save the business," Krzyzewski said.

Without at least that amount, experts agree Ford and Chrysler could cut thousands more jobs and be at risk of going bankrupt.

GM recently announced they will run out of money without help within and matter of months, and thus, would have to shut down.

Still, some taxpayers have already voiced their discontent about supporting another bailout.

It's one big reason why Congressional leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) aren't painting the plan as a "bailout" at all.

Under a plan being drafted Wednesday evening, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) is proposing that all $25 billion in "auto aid" would come directly from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan Congress already approved last month.

Lawmakers will debate the plan when they return for a brief post-election session on Tuesday.