| But what is actionable? A footnote at the bottom of the agency’s statement provides a limited definition: “Actionable recalls represent those recalls for which parts are available to address the designated issue. In many cases, parts are not available for some time after a recall is announced. When this occurs, recalls are considered to be non-actionable.” The sale of cars under recall by GSA apparently conflicts with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) policy – a situation the letter called “completely jarring.” In an August letter to Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a matter unrelated to GSA, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind made his agency’s position clear: “All vehicles with an open safety recall pose a safety risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believes that every vehicle — new or used — with an open recall should be repaired prior to rent, lease, or sale.” NHTSA has requested authority to prohibit the sale of vehicles under recall, but Congress has not yet approved that power. NHTSA would not comment on GSA’s sale of unsafe vehicles, but the Center for Auto Safety, founded by Consumers Union and Ralph Nader, did. “I am amazed that the GSA has not immediately pledged to fix this problem,” said Michael Brooks, a staff attorney for the Center. “It is incredibly easy to look up open recalls using NHTSA’s VIN lookup system. And not only is it easy to find open recalls, the repairs are free. The GSA could fix this problem at an extremely minimal cost to taxpayers while protecting those same taxpayers in the process.” The members criticized GSA for operating within the law, but not doing what it should. “Currently, GSA procedures do not require fixing safety defects prior to auction, notifying buyers if there are open recalls, or even checking for potential recalls,” the members wrote. “This may be technically legal, but it is not right.” They presented a scenario that allows GSA to take back a car under recall from another agency, then sell it to a private citizen without providing information about any defect. “What makes the sale of unsafe vehicles even more troubling is that the GSA already has a system to check its vehicles for recalls,” the letter said. “Under current procedures, the GSA could find out through its automated recall alert system that a vehicle it has leased to another federal agency has an open safety recall. That agency could then return the vehicle back to GSA, and the GSA could sell that vehicle to a private buyer through auction knowing that a recall was in effect. The GSA would not even notify the buyer of the recall. It would provide only a general disclaimer that a vehicle may be subject to recall, putting all the responsibility on the buyer to check for a recall and then address it.” The bottom line for Schakowsky, Pallone, Butterfield and Capps: “No federal agency should use or sell cars that are unsafe.” | 