U.S. Legislative Issues

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On November 19, President Obama nominated Mark Rosekind to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Rosekind is currently a member of the National Transportation Safety Board where he has served since 2010. Rosekind brings an expertise in human fatigue research and has published more than 150 scientific, technical, and industry papers.

NHTSA has been without a permanent leader since former Administrator David Strickland resigned at the beginning of the year. Since that time, David Friedman has filled in as Acting Administrator. Rosekind’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, but a hearing on his nomination has yet to be set. If confirmed, Rosekind will take the reins of an agency that is currently under fire for its sluggish response to the GM recall. NHTSA will also be developing several important rules in the next two years, including guidelines for vehicle-to-vehicle communications and Phase II fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.



The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reversed course on November 18, demanding automakers and Takata Corp. issue nationwide recalls for millions of additional vehicles with potentially defective driver’s side air bags. Previously, the recall was mostly limited to two states and two territories associated with high humidity. NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman said the agency could no longer support that position after learning of a new incident in North Carolina, a state outside the previously covered recall area. The announcement reflects a growing urgency within the agency to address the mushrooming problem of the Takata-made airbags, which purportedly explode when deployed, spraying metal debris into the car’s cabin. The defective air bags are linked to four deaths in the U.S. and one fatal incident in Malaysia. Friedman has stated that NHTSA will use the full extent of its legal authority to compel automakers to comply if necessary.
 
Safety advocates and members of Congress have blamed NHTSA for not doing enough in its investigation of Takata and its decision to issue piecemeal recalls, arguing that the approach would fail to protect motorists traveling or moving to humid areas. Further, over the objections of Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA), NHTSA has not asked that passenger-side air bags in regional recalls be expanded nationally, since no reports of ruptures in those air bags outside of high-humidity areas have been reported.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on November 20 to examine the dangers posed by Takata air bags, as well as the response of automakers and NHTSA to address the problem. Among those that testified before the Committee were representatives of Takata, Chrysler, Honda, and NHTSA, as well as a victim of the Takata air bag defect.



Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced a bill that would encourage individuals working for auto makers with information on faulty products to voluntarily provide that information to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The legislation, S. 2949, would allow employees or contractors of motor vehicle manufacturers, part suppliers, and dealerships to receive up to 30 percent of the monetary penalties resulting from a DOT or Justice Department enforcement action that totals more than $1 million if they share original information not previously known to the DOT relating to any motor vehicle defect, noncompliance, or any violation of any reporting requirement that is likely to cause risk of death or serious injury. The legislation is modeled after existing statutory whistleblower protections that encourage individuals to share information with the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Senator Thune is in line to take over as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in the next Congress, with Senator Nelson slated to serve as Ranking Member. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Dean Heller (R-NV), leaders of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, have signed on as cosponsors of the bill.
 

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