'The companies may not be perfect, but the guys who are running them now are the only ones with the experience and the in-depth knowledge and understanding of how the car business really works. They're by far the best shot we have for success. I say give them their marching orders and then let them march. They're the right people to get the job done,' he said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hasn't backed a call for firing the CEOs, but she told NBC's 'Today' show they need to perform. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee, has been a leading advocate of the CEOs stepping down. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have sought $34 billion in loans and lines of credit. Dodd and others in Congress have called for the CEOs, especially GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, to resign in exchange for aid. GM's board of directors said it strongly backs Wagoner. Congress is expected to vote this week on a $15 billion emergency rescue package for automakers, which will include strict oversight and a 'car czar.' Iacocca, a former top executive at Ford as well, convinced Congress to issue $1.5 billion in loan guarantees for Chrysler in 1979. The loans were repaid with $350 million in interest in 1983. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who called for the CEOs to resign last month, said he could support the bill -- even if it doesn't require the top executives to step down. 'What I feel personally has got nothing to do with what's best for the (Democratic) caucus,' Clyburn said. 'You can't have all those excess bonuses when a company is going down the tubes. How do you square that?' The CEOs also picked up support from top auto suppliers, including Dura Automotive Systems CEO Tim Leuliette. 'It's like a huge airliner with six million passengers that is running out of fuel. The refueling plane is poised to link up midair and give them needed jet fuel, but the guys on the ground are calling for a change in pilots before the planes link up,' Leuliette said. Dealers also supported the chief executives. 'The management of these companies didn't wake up yesterday and say we've got a problem,' said Carl Galeana, a Chrysler, Jeep and Saturn dealer in Michigan, Florida and South Carolina who employs 402 people. 'The companies were hit with a tsunami called the mortgage, insurance and banking industry meltdown -- not of their making -- and suddenly, they are persona non grata. Show them the money and let's save millions of jobs across this country.'