A top House Republican cautiously welcomed news that Volkswagen and the Obama administration have agreed on a deal to buy back many of the automaker’s vehicles equipped with defeat device software that allows them to cheat emissions test.
Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he was encouraged by news of the deal but was waiting for the details. The specifics of the agreement are expected to come over the next several weeks.
“Gaming the system and breaking the law cannot, and will not, be tolerated. Today’s announcement of an agreement in principle is welcome news for the hundreds of thousands of American consumers affected by Volkswagen’s actions,” Upton said.
“VW betrayed the trust of American drivers and the U.S. government, and today’s news is an important step. Of course, the devil is in the details, and therefore it will be important to understand the details of this agreement once it is resolved.”
The agreement between VW and the Justice Department’s Environmental Division, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Regulators Board would see the company buy back hundreds of thousands of vehicles equipped with defeat device software.
The defeat device software helped about 585,000 clean diesel vehicles in the United States tell when they were undergoing emissions testing. While those tests were going on, the car’s computer would limit the amount of emissions coming from the vehicle.
However, in normal driving conditions, the vehicles would emit up to 40 times the legal amount of nitrogen into the atmosphere.
Nitrogen pollution can cause smog and release fine particulate matter into the air. Those pollutants are linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses that can cause premature death. Children, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions see increased risk for harm when they are exposed to the pollutants, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
The company admitted its engineers could not find a way to meet U.S. emissions standards with the clean diesel vehicles, so they created the rigged software to work around the testing. The company’s CEO and its top official in the United States have stepped down in the wake of the scandal.
The Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the investigations of several state attorneys general continue and are not affected by the agreement.
