Washington, D.C. — Taking a look at the big picture, there are few, if any products on the U.S. market that have a greater impact on the public health of American’s than the automobile. In addition, their economic impact is also extraordinary, with new and used cars representing over 1 trillion consumer dollars in sales and a remarkable 14 billion in advertising alone. Yet with so many lives, injuries and consumer dollars at stake, Congress is choosing to underfund the one agency that has the potential to reduce the tragic toll vehicles take on America’s public health. Taking money away from an 850 million dollar agency trying to regulate a trillion dollar industry is simply unconscionable.
The good news is that the administration responded to congressional concerns that NHTSA was asleep at the wheel, when it installed a dedicated and responsible leader at this critically important agency. The bad news is that same Congress is failing to provide this new leadership with the resources it needs to protect consumers.
Congress is crashing at every turn on the road to improving auto safety. Republican leadership has failed to hold auto industry executives accountable for their decisions, failed to give NHTSA the essential legal and financial tools needed to fulfill its mission, and failed by putting trucking profits ahead of truck safety.
What is particularly tragic is that in the face of record numbers of recalls, serious safety defects that have been uncovered and acknowledged, Congress is choosing to ignore the plight of the vast number of the car buyers who can only afford to buy used cars and not require that recalled problems be fixed before the cars are sold.
The Consumer Federation of America stands behind and appreciates the work of Senators Markey and Blumenthal in standing up for millions and millions of Americans who own, buy and operate automobiles. What is particularly tragic is that these Senators have identified problems that can be solved, while the majority in Congress drags their feet.
Jack Gillis is Director of Public Affairs at the Consumer Federation of America and author of The Car Book.
Contact: Jack Gillis, 202-737-0766
CFA is an association of more than 250 nonprofit consumer groups that was founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy and education.