A top House Democrat said Tuesday he supports a measure requiring General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC to negotiate a fairer settlement with the dealerships with which they cut ties as part of their bankruptcy proceedings.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he expects the measure to remain in a bill providing funding for the Treasury and other government departments in fiscal 2010.

That legislation is slated to come to the House floor for debate and vote this week.

The measure doesn't dictate terms the auto makers must meet with the dealerships with which they have ended their franchise agreements, but simply requires them to come back to the negotiating table.

Another version of legislation introduced in the House by Democratic lawmakers would state the auto companies must restore the franchise agreements to the dealers.

Hoyer said that lawmakers are continuing talks with the two carmakers to try and persuade them to do more to help the dealerships.

The language directed at the auto makers was added to the legislation at a lengthy committee hearing last week. It was introduced by a Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio.

Without the support of House leadership, it was unlikely to be included in the version of the bill that came to the House floor, as such non-pertinent additions are often stripped out of spending bills at the late stages of the legislative process.

-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com