WASHINGTON -- General Motors (IW 500/5) is set to begin processing compensation claims from victims of poorly designed ignitions linked to 13 deaths, GM chief executive Mary Barra said Tuesday.
Barra, who returns to Congress on Wednesday for another grilling on the faulty ignition recall scandal, said in prepared testimony that the U.S. automaker is making swift progress in setting up the compensation fund.
Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, the disaster response expert in charge of establishing the fund, was expected to provide the criteria for victims and compensations levels by the end of June, she said.
"We also expect to begin processing claims by August 1," Barra said in testimony to be delivered to the House of Representatives oversight panel.
Barra, a GM veteran, took the company's top job just weeks before the first ignition-switch recall in early February.
She insisted to lawmakers that the company is making progress in implementing the recommendations of the Valukas report to improve vehicle safety.
"I know some of you are wondering about my commitment to solve the deep underlying cultural problems uncovered in this report," she said. "The answer is I will not rest until these problems are resolved."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
