GSA to buy thousands of new cars for government fleet
President Obama touts the effort as an energy saver and economic stimulus for American auto companies.
The General Services Administration will buy 17,600 new fuel-efficient American cars for the government fleet in the next two months using economic stimulus funds, President Obama announced on Thursday.
Obama directed GSA on March 30 to expedite the previously planned purchase of the vehicles to help struggling U.S. auto companies. The administration said on Thursday that GSA has "moved faster than any time in history" to ensure that $285 million in stimulus funds is spent to buy the vehicles by June 1 from General Motors, Chrysler and Ford through existing contracts.
"This is only a first step, but I will continue to ensure that we are working to support the American auto industry during this difficult period of restructuring," Obama said.
The spending spree will include the purchase of 2,500 hybrid sedans, to be ordered by April 15. The order will be the largest one-time purchase of hybrid vehicles for the federal government in history.
The administration says the new fleet of government vehicles also will save taxpayers money and benefit the environment. Each vehicle purchased by GSA under this effort must have a higher miles-per-gallon rating than the vehicle it replaces, with an overall goal of at least a 10 percent increase in fuel efficiency for the entire procurement.
According to the administration, swapping out less fuel efficient federal vehicles with new greener ones will reduce gasoline consumption by 1.3 million gallons annually and prevent 26 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
GSA also will direct $15 million toward a pilot program involving advanced technology vehicles, such as compressed natural gas and hybrid buses. The orders for that procurement will be placed by Sept. 30.