All of the money authorized by Congress for the Cash for Clunkers program may already have been spent.

Late Tuesday, the National Automobile Dealers Association in Washington, D.C., released a survey of its members that estimated they have submitted claims for nearly $3.3 billion. The Cash for Clunkers program is only authorized to spend $3 billion.

Originally, Congress authorized $1 billion to jump-start the stalled auto industry by offering rebates between $3,500 and $4,500 to owners of low-gas-mileage clunkers if they trade them in for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Under the program, dealers offer buyers the rebates up front and then apply to the government for reimbursement.

The rebate money was gone in a week, and the additional $2 billion approved Aug. 6 now appears to be claimed as well, according to Billings dealer Bill Underriner, co-owner of Underriner Motors and a NADA board member.

"I think within days this program will be suspended. And I don't think this thing will get funded again," he said.

Congress is in recess until Sept. 7, and even if members were inclined to add more money, nothing would be decided until they return to Capitol Hill in three weeks.

NADA, which claims that 92 percent of U.S. automobile dealers are members, polled them in a survey that ended Monday. The survey found that 17 percent of the clunker applications totaling $544 million have not been submitted yet to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is in charge of this program.

More than 70 percent, or nearly $2.2 billion, in reimbursement claims have been submitted but not processed.

Slightly more than 6 percent of the applications have been rejected for various reasons, including missing or incorrect data. These can be resubmitted.

The NADA survey found that 5 percent of applications have been approved and await payment totaling $196 million. And less than 3 percent of the claims, totaling $108,000, have been paid as of Monday.

The NADA surveyed 2,866 members.

Dealers are supposed to be reimbursed within 10 days of the application being accepted, but that hasn't happened because of high demand. The NHTSA is trying to triple the number of workers handling the claims.

Some critics have said the rebate program is just stealing sales that would have occurred anyway later this year. But Steve Zabawa, co-owner of Rimrock Auto Group in Billings, doesn't buy that argument.

U.S. dealers usually sell 16 million new vehicles per year, but only 10 million have sold in the last 12 months, and the rebates are encouraging people to buy, he said.

"There are 6 million news cars sales that should have happened over the past 12 months. People are on the sidelines, and they're being conservative. They don't know if they've got a job," Zabawa said. "This is really cool."