Letter to Emily Murphy, Administrator of the General Services Administration - Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Calls On General Services Administration To Halt Sale And Lease Of Vehicles Under Recall And To Provide Information On Its Related Safeguards

Letter

Dear Administrator Murphy:
The Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy seeks information
regarding General Services Administration (GSA) policies for the sale and lease of
automobiles subject to recall. On behalf of other federal agencies, GSA buys tens of
thousands of vehicles every year and leases them for the use of federal government
employees. GSA also auctions thousands of vehicles every year for sale to the public.
GSA does not appear to require that recalls be repaired prior to leasing or selling
vehicles. Despite previous attention to the issue, reports indicate that GSA continues to
lease and auction vehicles with open recalls. As of July 7, 2020, nearly 15% of vehicles available for sale to the public on the GSA website were under recall (124 out of 852). Vehicle recalls are undertaken only due to safety defects or violations of federal motor vehicle safety standards. The urgency of safety recall repairs is underscored by the fact that these repairs are required to be
performed for free by manufacturers for vehicle owners.
The defects that lead to recalls can lead to fatalities. Selling and leasing vehicles
with unrepaired safety recalls puts the drivers, passengers, and others on the road at
needless risk, and ignores the public health It is unclear how GSA can continue to sell unrepaired vehicles to the public since federal regulations require the agency to "Ensure the safe and economical operating condition of the motor vehicle throughout its life" and "Ensure that inspections and servicing occur as recommended by the manufacturer or more often if local operating conditions require." Checking for and addressing recalls should be a feasible practice for GSA to implement. GSA keeps records of Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) for vehicles
in the GSA Fleet. Those VINs can be easily cross-referenced with existing databases to
check for recalls.
The Subcommittee requests that GSA refrain from leasing or selling any vehicles
subject to recall until the Subcommittee's review of this matter is complete. Please provide
written confirmation that you will comply with this request by September 18, 2020.
To assist the Subcommittee in its review of this matter, please answer the following
questions by September 23, 2020:
1. How many vehicles are currently in the GSA Fleet?
2. When a manufacturer notifies GSA of a recall as the owner of a vehicle,
what is GSA's process for notifying the agencies in possession of the
recalled vehicle?
3. What is GSA's process for ensuring the agencies in possession of the
recalled vehicle have the recall remedied?
4. How many GSA fleet vehicles are currently subject to a recall, or multiple
recalls, but have not been repaired? Provide a list of all GSA fleet vehicles
currently subject to recall, including the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
for each recalled vehicle and identification number for the corresponding
recall(s) in a format such as Excel.
5. How may vehicles on average does GSA auction or sell to the public each
year? Of these vehicles, approximately how many are under recall at the
time of sale? Provide a list of all vehicles slated to be auctioned or sold that
are currently subject to recall, including the Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN) for each recalled vehicle and identification number for the corresponding
recall(s) in a format such as Excel or similar.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the
House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under
House Rule X. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Subcommittee
staff at (202) 225-5051.

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