May 1, 2015—New legislation that would require car rental companies to "ground" (take out of rental service) vehicles involved in recalls was introduced recently in Congress.

The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act recently, a bi-partisan bill introduced in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, would ground vehicles subject to a federal safety recall until repairs are made and would prohibit car rental companies from selling vehicles from their fleets with open safety recalls.

Identical bills—S. 1173 and H.R. 2198—were introduced by Senators Schumer (D-NY), Boxer (D-CA), and McCaskill (D-MO) in the Senate and by Reps. Capps (D-CA), Jones (R-NC), Butterfield (D-NC) and Schakowsky (D-IL) in the House.

In a display of unity between consumer auto safety advocates and the car rental industry, a diverse ad-hoc coalition of stakeholders joined today in expressing strong support for these bills. The House and Senate legislation is backed by Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), the American Car Rental Association (ACRA), and AAA, as well as Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety; Center for Auto Safety; Consumers Union; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Action; National Association of Consumer Advocates and Trauma Foundation; and, Truck Renting and Leasing Association.