Budget Boost Proposed for Vehicle Defect Office

The U.S. government's vehicle defect office would receive nearly three times the funding in 2016 under a budget proposed by the White House.

The Obama administration proposes a $31 million budget, up from the current $11 million, for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office for Defect Investigation.

The office currently has only 16 investigators and four analysts tasked with sifting through early warning reports from carmakers and looking for possible safety defect issues. The proposed budget would double the office's overall staff, adding more investigators and 22 engineers, including those with expertise in electronic systems.