VW, with limited DC lobbying footprint, braces for Congress

October 7, 2015 at 4:39 a.m. | Updated October 7, 2015 at 4:45 a.m.

by Associated Press

A VW employee enters the Volkswagen factory site through Gate 17 in Wolfsburg, Germany, Oct. 6, 2015. For Volkswagen, the cost of its cheating on emissions tests in the U.S. is likely to run into the tens of billions of dollars and prematurely end its long-sought status as the world's biggest carmaker. (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP)
A VW employee enters the Volkswagen factory site through Gate 17 in Wolfsburg, Germany, Oct. 6, 2015. For Volkswagen, the cost of its cheating on emissions tests in the U.S. is likely to run into the tens of billions of dollars and prematurely end its long-sought status as the world's biggest carmaker. (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) - For the first time, Volkswagen Group of America President and CEO Michael Horn will appear before a congressional committee this week. He, and the company, bring little Washington political clout to the table.

The world's No. 1 automaker has a modest political footprint in the nation's capital, compared to the lobbying and fundraising efforts of rivals Toyota, GM and Ford. That dynamic that could put Horn at a disadvantage Thursday when he appears before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

The panel's chairman, Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy, says lawmakers want answers following Volkswagen's admission that it installed "defeat-devices" in some diesel vehicles that emitted far more exhaust pollution than was legal.

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