GM's Barra says she'll likely testify before Congress

GM's Barra says she'll likely testify before Congress; internal inquiry could last months

DETROIT -- General Motors CEO Mary Barra said today that she's likely to testify personally before congressional committees looking into GM's handling of an ignition-switch problem that has been linked to 12 deaths, and said the company's own investigation could take a few months.

In a meeting with journalists today, Barra again apologized for GM's handling of the problem, which triggered a recall last month, and vowed better vigilance on safety to prevent future defects from going unfixed. GM has acknowledged that some engineers knew about the ignition problem for more than a decade before the recall, which has grown to include 1.37 million U.S. cars, spanning model years 2003 to 2007.

"Our goal is to make sure that something like this never happens again," Barra said in her first public comments since the recall was announced Feb. 13.