Detroit -- Thomas Donahue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said Detroit's Big Three automakers should consider bankruptcy as one option for moving forward.

"If it were me, I would play that card," Donahue said, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.

"I say it because maybe they can't say it," he said. "If all else fails, they are not going to have a choice."

Donahue, in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, said the national group supported the U.S. stimulus plan under discussion in Washington. He also advocated for more help for housing and automotive industries and a rejection of policies that restrict trade, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.