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 Democratic and Republican senators, including some former
prosecutors and state attorneys general, challenged Barra's
assertion that GM had vastly improved its safety and management
practices since emerging from bankruptcy.
Repeatedly, she was pressed to explain why GM redesigned faulty
ignition switches in 2006 but did not change the identifying part
number. That has raised questions about whether the company was
trying to conceal the problem, after years of consumer complaints
and at least 13 deaths linked to the faulty part.
"I believe this is criminal," said Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte
of New Hampshire. The Senate grilling was decidedly more emotional
than the previous day's panel in a House of Representatives
subcommittee, while Barra was calm and measured both days.
Seated behind Barra as the CEO responded to senators' questions, the
parents of 21-year-old Kelly Erin Ruddy, who died in a 2010 accident
in Pennsylvania while driving a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, held up
photos of their daughter and the wrecked car.
Barra, who was promoted to CEO in January, said in her prepared
testimony: "While I can't turn back the clock, as soon as I learned
about the problem, we acted without hesitation."
Barra testified that issuing a new part without new model or serial
numbers was "completely unacceptable" and violates fundamental
practices. "It's engineering principle 101 to change the part number
when you make a change," she said.
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill chairs the Senate subcommittee
on consumer protection and product safety that is investigating GM.
The automaker is often thought of as two companies: the "Old GM"
which bust and the "New GM" which emerged after its 2009 bankruptcy.
"It might have been the 'Old GM' that started sweeping this defect
under the rug 10 years ago. Even under the 'New GM' banner, the
company waited nine months to take action after being confronted
with specific evidence of this egregious violation of public trust,"
the Missouri senator said.
'YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING'
In testimony that lasted slightly less than two hours, Barra
frustrated senators with her lack of answers to detailed questions
about the failed switches. Barra repeatedly said she would wait for
results of the company's ongoing internal probe.
"You don't know anything about anything," California Democratic
Senator Barbara Boxer quipped.
Barra kept calm, declining to say whether the death toll might rise
and whether GM will create a compensation fund for victims and their
families.
She also rebuffed demands that GM urge car owners to stop driving
cars until they are repaired, saying the vehicles are safe if
operated only with the ignition key and no other items hanging from
key rings.
But she did tell the Wall Street Journal in an interview that going
forward, company executives will be informed of vehicle safety
problems when they first surface. Top executives say they did not
learn of the ignition-switch problem until January, 13 years after
it was first noted.
Committees in the House and Senate are investigating why it took GM
more than a decade to recall 2.6 million cars. The largest U.S.
automaker also faces a criminal probe by the Department of Justice.
Those switches, without warning, can make vehicle engines stall
during operation and stop air bags from deploying and power steering
and power brakes from operating.
When Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal asked Barra about her
personal driving experience, the chief executive said she once
suffered a loss of power steering and power braking. "Pretty frightening?" he asked. "It's — it can be startling," she
responded.
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 GM officials declined to provide details on the incident Barra
described. She did not say what model she drove.
McCaskill said the "a culture of cover-up" caused a GM engineer to
deliver untruthful testimony about his knowledge of the defective
ignition switch, as part of a lawsuit related to a fatal 2010 crash
in Georgia.
In a 2013 deposition related to a suit against GM, Ray DeGiorgio, a
senior switch engineer, said he was unaware of a change in the part.
Documents submitted by GM to Congress show the engineer signed off
in April 2006 on the redesign of the ignition switch.
"He lied" about his knowledge of the defective part, McCaskill said.
Barra said that what she had seen indicated that, as well, but she
said she wanted to let the company probe first run its course.
Repeated attempts by Reuters to contact DeGiorgio were unsuccessful.
DeGiorgio is still employed by GM, which has not made him available
to comment.
Barra told senators the internal probe is "well along," adding that
GM hopes to wrap it up in 45-60 days. She told senators she will
share with Congress all information related to safety that turns up
in the probe.
GM was not alone in the hot seat during the Senate hearing.
McCaskill, a former prosecutor, complained of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "failure to spot a trend"
with GM's ignition switches. That failure came despite a 2000 law
aimed at giving the agency improved resources for spotting automaker
safety troubles, she said.
Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts pressed for further
toughening up federal laws to prevent such safety problems.
 NHTSA acting Administrator David Friedman said he supported Congress
raising the agency's maximum $35 million fine on companies to $300
million for not complying with safety reporting requirements.
Friedman also said NHTSA has contacted other automakers and
suppliers to find out if airbags in other cars are disabled when the
key is in the "accessory" position.
Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel told the
Senate panel that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx had asked
his office to initiate a new audit of NHTSA's performance.
In his prepared testimony, Scovel noted "major weaknesses" in some
of the agency's processes for tracking consumer complaints and
documenting investigative decisions. Those findings were part of a
2011 inspector general's report that Foxx ordered to be revisited.
(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and David Lawder; writing by
Richard Cowan; editing by Karey Van Hall and Peter Henderson)
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