John Upton/Bay Citizen

A prototype Tesla Model S electric sedan

House Republicans failed in their effort to strip $1.5 billion from an automotive loan program that helped Tesla Motors reopen a shuttered car factory in Fremont.

The House voted Tuesday to approve a temporary spending bill, called a continuing resolution, that leaves the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program intact. A previous version of the bill would have cut $1.5 billion to help pay for responses to Hurricane Irene and other disasters, leaving $2.5 billion remaining, but lawmakers rejected that proposal last month.

The bill will now go to President Barack Obama for his signature. The measure, which approves $1.043 trillion of federal spending until Nov. 18, is needed because Congress has not approved a budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. 

The proposal to cut the loan program's funds met with a sharp backlash from Democrats and environmental, business and labor groups.

"Passage of today’s continuing resolution represents a real victory," said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), who organized Democratic opposition to the proposed cuts. "This is a highly successful program that has produced jobs."

Palo Alto-based electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors borrowed $465 million under the loan program to reopen the NUMMI plant in Fremont. CEO Elon Musk recently told the Detroit News that the company would not apply for any additional funding under the program.

Tesla isn't the only car manufacturer to benefit from the loan program. It helped Nissan build its first electric car, the Leaf, and it is helping Ford develop technology that will reduce the number of cylinders in its pickup trucks. Steel maker Severstal also used funds from the program to upgrade a factory in Dearborn, Mich., where 260 workers will manufacture lightweight metal designed to reduce vehicle weight.

The advanced vehicle program was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007 and funded with $7 billion of federal stimulus funds in 2009.