Lawmakers on the state and federal levels continued to line up Thursday in opposition to Chrysler’s plan to close its Kenosha Engine Plant.

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., used a seven-minute floor speech to state Kenosha’s case to his colleagues.

Meanwhile, a cast of 34 state lawmakers co-signed a letter to President Obama, urging his administration to work with Chrysler and its new partner, Fiat, to amend the automaker’s bankruptcy plan and strike the provision to close the Kenosha plant by December 2010.

Continuing to spark outrage was Chrysler’s intent to close the Kenosha plant as it plans to open a new engine plant in Saltillo, Mexico, and as it is poised to receive $12 billion in federal recovery aid.

Feingold urged the Obama administration to reexamine Chrysler’s and General Motors’ restructuring plans to make preservation of U.S. jobs a top priority. “Frankly, I am appalled that the automakers that received taxpayer assistance are not prioritizing the retention of American jobs, including jobs in Wisconsin,” Feingold said, according to a transcript of his remarks.

He later added: “There may still be some hope for the Chrysler Engine Plant in Kenosha and the GM Assembly Plant in Janesville, and other American plants — if the administration steps up.”

Feingold said the administration must think seriously about whether it is in the interest of the American taxpayers to provide continued financial assistance to Chrysler, if it is going to close Kenosha and other domestic plants while keeping overseas facilities open.

Also Thursday, Feingold joined Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., in urging a Treasury Department official to work with Chrysler to make retooling funding available to the automaker to help keep the Kenosha plant open.

The letter to Steven Rattner, chairman of the department’s Automotive Task Force, notes that Congress last fall appropriated $25 billion for a Department of Energy program to provide grants and low-interest loans to U.S. automakers to retool factories to produce fuel-efficient vehicles and components.

These loans could allow Chrysler to retool Kenosha to produce the fuel-efficient line of Phoenix program V-6 engines, the letter states. Kenosha was to have been one of three Phoenix manufacturing sites; those plans have since been scaled back.

On the state level Thursday, Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, led an effort to advise the Obama administration to act quickly to remove the closing of the Kenosha plant from Chrysler’s bankruptcy plan.

“This is a company that has received a substantial amount of financial assistance from the United States government, and now it seems that Chrysler is turning its back on the workers and families of Kenosha and southeastern Wisconsin,” states a letter signed by 34 lawmakers.

The co-signers include the Racine and Kenosha legislative delegations, plus a host of lawmakers — all Democrats — from across Wisconsin. Reps. Samantha Kerkman of Randall, Robin Vos of Caledonia, and Al Ott of Brillion were the only Republicans who signed the letter.

Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said he met Thursday with Gov. Jim Doyle to discuss the range of different steps that may be taken to help prevent a plant closure.

Barca said Doyle is trying to pull together meetings with the White House.