[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 643 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 643

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to Sam 
  Boyden, who admirably notified transportation safety officials of a 
                 serious threat to American consumers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 19, 2000

  Mr. Luther (for himself, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Frost, Mr. 
Green of Texas, Mr. Largent, Mr. Shimkus, and Mr. Oxley) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with regard to Sam 
  Boyden, who admirably notified transportation safety officials of a 
                 serious threat to American consumers.

Whereas at least 101 deaths and several hundred injuries in the United States, 
        and unknown numbers of deaths and injuries in other countries, have been 
        attributed to tread separation in ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires 
        manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. (Firestone) and installed on 
        the Ford Motor Company's Explorer and other vehicles;
Whereas in 1998, Sam Boyden conducted highly effective research producing 
        evidence that certain Firestone tires were associated with a high rate 
        of tread separation, although his position at State Farm Insurance did 
        not require him to conduct such research;
Whereas Sam Boyden voluntarily and without solicitation notified the National 
        Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the threat posed to 
        consumers and to the public by tread separation in certain Firestone 
        tires and continued to notify NHTSA of these threats even though NHTSA 
        failed to express interest in the information that he sought to provide;
Whereas Sam Boyden's communications with NHTSA provided important information to 
        NHTSA's investigation of the danger posed to consumers by certain 
        Firestone tires, contributing to NHTSA's eventual decision to compile 
        several thousand reports of tread separation in Firestone tires in the 
        United States;
Whereas Firestone has recalled approximately 14.4 million tires due to 
        manufacturing flaws that cause the tire tread to separate from the tire 
        while the vehicle is in operation; and
Whereas Sam Boyden gave valuable testimony regarding his actions to a joint 
        subcommittee hearing of the Committee on Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes Sam Boyden for selflessly performing his job 
        far beyond what was required of him;
            (2) acknowledges that Sam Boyden's actions set in motion a 
        series of events that have educated the public about a serious 
        threat to their safety; and
            (3) commends Sam Boyden for his outstanding act of 
        citizenship and for setting an exemplary standard of conduct 
        for all Americans.
                                 <all>