Congressman Carter, Moore Introduce Auto Bailout Accident Victims Recovery Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL) introduced Auto Bailout Accident Victims Recovery Act (AVRA) of 2024 which corrects the injustice brought upon hundreds of accident victims in nearly every state dealt by the federal government from the 2009 Auto Bailout.

“The AVRA corrects a longstanding injustice inflicted upon hundreds of accident victims across the nation during the 2009 Auto Bailout,” said Rep. Carter. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation which is a vital step to restore faith in our system by rectifying the decision that denied accident victims their rightful claims during a time of national crisis, reinforcing the principles of fairness and justice for everyone.”

This bill would amend the statute of limitations for a Fifth Amendment class action takings case brought on behalf of the auto accident victims in a case filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims. The federal government unfairly singled out accident victims’ claims for elimination in the 2009 Auto Bailout, while other impacted parties (vendors, auto dealers, suppliers, unions, executives, etc.) were all made whole.

"The victims of General Motors' manufacturing defects should not have to go without compensation just because the government decided to pick winners and losers," said Rep. Moore. "This legislation makes sure that families who have been waiting for the better part of a decade finally receive the compensation they deserve."

Background

Recent congressional action to amend the statute of limitations for constitutional and other claims by Americans has advanced for victims of contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune. Congress also amended the statute of limitations in a previous appropriations act in 1998 (captioned Pigford v. Glickman) in which Black farmers filed against the government alleging discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in connection with various loan and economic support programs. Recognizing the injustice of barring these farmers from asserting older claims, Congress resolved the problem by waiving the applicable two-year statute of limitations for these cases.

Read the full bill text here.

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