The U.S. government has made an additional $5.5 billion US available to struggling American automakers, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a quarterly report to Congress on Tuesday.

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Holding LLC were granted extensions to complete their restructuring plans on March 30, after President Barack Obama's auto adviser said the plans the companies had presented failed to ensure their long-term viability.

"As a modification to the existing loans, GM will receive up to $5 billion and Chrysler up to $500 million in additional working capital during the extension period," the inspector general's report said.

GM had said it needed $4.6 billion to get through the quarter ending June 30, and has a June 1 restructuring deadline. Chrysler has an April 30 deadline to make a deal with Italian automaker Fiat.

The report is intended to monitor almost $3 trillion in public and private money committed to fix banks, finance companies, automakers, mortgages and other stress points in the U.S. economy.

It said about $24.8 billion of the original $25 billion committed under the Automotive Industry Financing Program (AIFP) has been spent. AIFP is intended to “prevent a significant disruption of the American automotive industry, which would pose a systemic risk to financial market stability and have a negative effect on the economy of the United States.”

GM and Chrysler and their respective finance arms got the money.

After the initial allocation of $25 billion, the U.S. government announced two new programs for the auto industry.

• The Auto Supplier Support Program will provide up to $5 billion of government-backed financing to help parts suppliers.
• The Auto Warranty Commitment Program is intended to boost consumer confidence in the warranties on GM and Chrysler vehicles.

In Canada, the federal and Ontario governments have made $3 billion Cdn in loans available to GM Canada and $1 billion to Chrysler Canada.