Lott's Lemon

As he addressed his colleagues last June, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott made one thing clear: The American auto buyer never had a better friend than he. Or at least that was the story the Mississippi Republican was selling as he introduced a bill entitled the National Motor Vehicle Safety, Anti-theft, Title Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

But, as is often the case in Congress, things weren't what they seemed.Thirty-nine state attorneys general are now urging Congress to stop the auto salvage bill, fearing that it will take away consumer protections in favor of special interests. 'Money talks. Strong lobbying talks, and sometimes overwhelms states' rights and even the good of consumers,' says Bob Brammer, spokesman for the Iowa attorney general. Iowa's consumer protections would be drastically weakened if the bill became law.

'But it's a bad national standard,' says Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety·.'I've talked to attorneys general who have really studied this and they believe it would eliminate personal legal recourse on salvage fraud.' "

– Mother Jones, June 30, 1998 (as posted on Website)