Motor Vehicle Defect Remedy Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Provides that each notification of a defect or failure to comply with any Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, as required under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, shall contain: (1) a clear description of such failure to comply with any applicable Motor Vehicle Safety Standard or such defect; (2) an evaluation of the risk to traffic safety reasonably related to such defect; (3) a statement of the measures to be taken to repair such failure to comply; (4) the commitment of such manufacturer to cause such defect or failure to comply to be remedied without charge; (5) the date when such commitment to remedy such defect or failure to comply will initially be honored; and (6) a description of the procedure that a consumer must follow to inform the Secretary of a manufacturer's failure to honor such commitment. States that whenever such notification is required: (1) the manufacturer of each such motor vehicle presented for remedy pursuant to such notice shall cause such defect or failure to comply in such motor vehicle (including any item of original motor vehicle equipment) to be remedied without charge; or (2) the manufacturer of each such item of motor vehicle equipment presented for remedy pursuant to such notice shall cause such defect or failure to comply in such item of motor vehicle equipment to be remedied without charge. Provides that the manufacturer of each such tire presented for remedy pursuant to such notice shall replace such tire without charge for a period up to sixty days following the receipt of notification or the availability of replacement tires, whichever is later. Stipulates that if a manufacturer can establish to the satisfaction of the Secretary, at a hearing structured to proceed as expeditiously as practicable, that a failure to comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard is of such inconsequential nature that the purposes of this title and the public interest would not be served by requiring the applicable manufacturer to remedy such defect the Secretary may, upon publication of his reasons for such findings, exempt such manufacturer from the requirements of this subsection with respect to such failure. (Amends 15 U.S.C. 1397, 1402)
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 31, 1973. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 31, 1973: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
TOM BEVILL (D-AL) introduced it on May 31, 1973. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 31, 1973, 19460 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19460 days ago, on May 31, 1973.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers