House Panel: Safety Agency Mishandled GM Recall

A House committee has determined that the government's auto safety agency should have discovered General Motors' faulty ignition switches seven years before the company recalled 2.6 million cars to fix the deadly problem.

The report issued Tuesday by Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee raises serious questions about the agency's ability to keep the public safe as cars become more complex.

The report says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration misunderstood how vehicles worked, lacked accountability and failed to share information.

A Senate panel is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on the issue.

At least 19 people died in crashes caused by the switches in GM small cars. The company acknowledged knowing about the problem for at least a decade, but it didn't recall the cars until February.