LORDSTOWN — A trio of Democratic U.S. lawmakers from Ohio are urging congressional appropriators to keep intact a loan program considering an application from upstart electric truck company Lordstown Motors Corp.

They say cutting money from or eliminating the Advanced Technology Vehicles Loan Program in any year-end government funding legislation would harm investment in manufacturing across the U.S. and particularly in Lordstown, where Lordstown Motors is preparing a former General Motors assembly plant to produce electric pickup trucks.

The government is operating on a continuing resolution set to expire midnight Friday.

U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan of Howland and Marcia Fudge of Cleveland, and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown sent a letter Wednesday to appropriators as they continue to hash out a 2021 federal spending plan.

“We have offered our support for this program in the past, and are alarmed to hear reports that this committee is considering defunding the program,” they wrote.

The loan program, according to their letter, is “an investment in America’s manufacturing future that we must maintain it if we hope to preserve American leadership in automotive innovation.”

It states Lordstown Motors applied for help under the loan program, created in 2007 to help emerging companies in the automotive sector develop more efficient vehicles.

It’s unclear when Lordstown Motors applied for the loan or for how much. A spokesman for Ryan’s office declined to say, and an email was sent to a spokesman for Lordstown Motors.

In January, Ryan confirmed Lordstown Motors would ask for $200 million from the program, and he was among a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers urging the U.S. Department of Energy approve the application should the company apply.

Then, Ryan, who was helping the company with the application, said he believed most of the money would be spent on capital investments to repurpose the plant to build the truck, the Endurance. Also, he said the company would use the loan to leverage private sector financing.

Since, however, Lordstown Motors has merged with New York-based DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. and has become a publicly traded company. Doing so was expected to bring $675 million into the company.

The loan program’s website states it has $17.7 billion in authority to support manufacturing of eligible light-duty vehicles and qualifying components.

The program already has loaned $8 billion for projects the website touts has supported production of more than 4 million advanced technology vehicles and 35,000 direct jobs in eight states.

It loaned Ford $5.9 billion in 2009, $465 million to Tesla Motors in 2010 and $1.45 billion to Nissan North America the same year. Nissan and Tesla have repaid the loans.

The loan program has been targeted for elimination before, but congressional efforts have kept it afloat.

rselak@tribtoday.com