Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania wants Cash-for-Clunkers reform:
It’s not that Congressman Joe Sestak doesn’t like the Cash for Clunkers program, which gives new car buyers big rebates to turn in their old, fuel-eating beaters for new gas-scrimping rides. He says he’s actually a strong supporter of the concept.
The Democratic Senate hopeful would just like to see car dealers — which have been fronting consumers the $3,500 to $4,500 rebates they’ve been promised by the federal government for their old gas guzzling jalopies–get paid.
Sestak sent letters this weekend to the White House and the National Transportation Safety Administration, which runs the program, asking them to speed up distribution of dealers’ checks.
Dealers in the region have said completing the online documentation for the rebates has been a pain in the bumper, and that reimbursement has been extremely slow. In a statement, Sestak said only “2 percent of dealers’ claims have been paid and four out of five applications have been rejected” on technicalities.
“Failure to address delays with the Cash for Clunkers program will adversely harm auto dealers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Sestak said.