VW, with limited lobbying footprint, braces for Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) – When Volkswagen’s top American executive heads to Capitol Hill this week, he probably won’t be able to count on longtime allies among the lawmakers probing the company’s emissions cheating scandal.
The world’s No. 1 automaker has a modest political footprint in Washington through lobbying and fundraising, compared to its rivals Toyota, GM and Ford. That puts Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn at a disadvantage Thursday, when he appears before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. It will be Horn’s first time testifying before Congress.
Says the panel’s chairman, Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania: “The American people want to know why these devices were in place, how the decision was made to install them and how they went undetected for so long. We will get them those answers.”
