Auto-Safety Bureaucrats Could Proft from the GM Recall Tragedy
Both GM's besieged new CEO Mary Barra and NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Agency) chief David
Friedman testified before Congress this week about the company's unfolding recall scandal.
But while Barra struck a contrite pose for knowingly releasing defective Cobalts and other cars on the roads, Friedman, whose agency also ignored some pretty big red flags, blamed his agency's tiny $800 million budget for its failure to do its job.
But far from telling him to go take a hike, lawmakers are contemplating bills, I note in my Washington Examiner column this morning, which will directly transfer cash from the pockets of car buyers to those of Friedman and his ilk. They want to assess a fee on every new vehicle sold in the country and hand the money to NHTSA.
Washington let a good tragedy go to waste? Never.
Go here to read the whole thing.