NEW YORK (CNN) -- Top executives from GM, Ford and Chrysler will finally meet with President Bush on Tuesday, and their meeting couldn't be better timed.

The executives head to Washington with more leverage since Democrats won control of Congress in last week's mid-term elections, industry experts and officials said.

The executives from Detroit's Big Three -- Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors; Alan Mulally, the new CEO of Ford; and Tom LaSorda, head of DaimlerChrysler's North American unit, Chrysler Group -- have a long list of issues on which they want government help. But they won't be asking for bailouts or loan guarantees, even as they struggle with huge losses that have led GM and Ford to slash 55,000 hourly workers in North America.

Instead, the meeting, which was postponed by the White House twice over the last 14 months, is to deal with issues such as health care, international trade, alternative fuel cars and light trucks.

The executives are due to meet with the president Tuesday afternoon at the White House.