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GM Ignition Case Raises Questions About Ties Between Regulator And Auto Firms

March 31, 2014, 7:33 AM

Jacqueline S. Glassman, once chief counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is among many former top N.H.T.S.A. officials who now represent companies they were once responsible for regulating, part of a well-established migration from regulator to the regulated in Washington.

Matthew Wald reports in the New York Times that despite Glassman's assurances that she is simply bringing her expertise where it is needed, the revolving door between the agency and the automotive industry is once again coming under scrutiny as lawmakers investigate the decade-long failure by General Motors and safety regulators to act more aggressively on a defective ignition switch that G.M. has linked to 13 deaths.

When David J. Friedman, acting administrator of the highway safety agency, testifies before House and Senate panels on Tuesday and Wednesday, a central question will be why the agency failed to push for a recall.

To critics, the agency’s failure to act is another example of how it is not as effective as it could be. One reason often cited is a shortage of investigators. Another is that former agency employees join law firms and help defend automakers and other companies being regulated.


Read more:  New York Times


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