In interviews with 10 U.S. lawmakers yesterday, one of the few to support a bailout for Detroit was Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“There might be something we can do to help,” Harkin said. “Helping with infrastructure development, rebuilding the inner cities, helping them modernize their city, making it a livable place once again, that creates jobs.”

Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, also expressed support for providing some type of federal aid to Detroit.

Representative Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the federal government should hold off on providing any help, even from existing programs.

“It’s premature to think about any federal aid at this point,” Camp said. “We first have to get through the preliminaries of the bankruptcy process.”