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Washington D.C. – Legislation to improve the safety of government-owned vehicles was endorsed today by the National Treasury Employees Union.  

The SAFE CARS Act, introduced by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), requires all safety recalls on vehicles in the government fleet be repaired before they can be leased to federal agencies or sold to private buyers.  

“There is no reason for a federal employee to be in a government-owned vehicle that has outstanding manufacturer recalls,” said NTEU National President Tony Reardon. “We agree that the General Services Administration should ensure the maintenance of its vehicles is as up to date as possible.”  

The federal government, through the General Services Administration, has a fleet that exceeds 200,000 vehicles which are leased to various federal agencies and then sold to consumers. 

According to Rep. Krishnamoorthi, nearly 15 percent of the vehicles available for sale on the GSA website last summer had outstanding recalls. And in some cases, cars and trucks leased to federal agencies still had recalls that were intended to fix serious safety risks.  

"Federal employees have every right to expect that the vehicle their agency gives them to do their job is safe and reliable,” Reardon said.   

NTEU represents employees in 34 federal agencies and offices.