[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5340-H5341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CORRECTING AUTHORIZATIONS FOR NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY 
                        ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS

  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2035) to correct errors in the authorizations of certain 
programs administered by the National Highway Traffic Administration.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2035

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

       (a) Motor Vehicle Safety.--Section 30104 of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``$81,200,000'' 
     and inserting ``$98,313,500''.
       (b) Motor Vehicle Information.--Section 32102 of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``$6,200,000'' and 
     inserting ``$9,562,500''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Bliley) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 2035 and to insert extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2035, a bill to correct the authorizations of 
certain programs at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
is a simple but important measure. When NHTSA was reauthorized last 
year as part of the TEA-21 highway bill, the administration mistakenly 
provided the committee with authorization figures that were 
insufficient to color the agency's needs. As a result, NHTSA found 
itself without funds to meet its mission to ensure the safety of the 
traveling public.
  The bill simply increases the authorization levels for motor vehicle 
safety and information programs to a total of $107.9 million annually, 
approximately a $40 million increase over current law. It is the 
committee's belief that this increase will put the agency in the 
position it would have been absent the administration's error. While 
this is a substantial increase over the enacted authorization levels, 
it is $8 million less than the administration's latest request, which 
included funding for items that were not part of last year's 
authorization bill.
  Without increased funding, the agency will not be able to crash test 
many of the new car models released in 1999 and 2000, depriving our 
constituents of important safety information. The agency will also have 
difficulty finding the necessary funds to work with car manufacturers 
and suppliers in the development of the next generation of air bags and 
other safety devices. They might even have to curtail their efforts to 
alert the public to potential safety defects in automobiles.
  This bill strikes the appropriate balance between ensuring that the 
agency is able to meet the obligations we set forth in the highway bill 
and making sure that wasteful spending remains in check. As Chairman of 
the Committee on Commerce, I can assure my colleagues that we will 
continue our vigorous oversight of this agency to make certain that the 
agency is meeting its ultimate measure of success, reducing fatalities 
on the Nation's highways.
  All of us know just how important issues of auto safety are to our 
constituents. This bill does not relieve the Committee on 
Appropriations of the need to pass transportation spending legislation 
that remains within the budget caps. However, as the transportation 
appropriation bill moves to conference, it gives the appropriators 
added flexibility to fund automobile safety programs that are important 
to our constituents.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2035 raises the annual budget 
authorization for the National Highway Traffic Administration for 
fiscal years 1999 through 2001 to provide for an annual maximum 
authorization of $98.3 million for motor vehicle safety programs and 
$9.6 million for motor vehicle information programs for a total annual 
authorization of $107.9 million. An increase in NHTSA's authorization 
is necessary because last year, when the committee acted on the 
reauthorization bill, NHTSA failed to provide the committee with the 
correct funding request for both its safety and information activities.

                              {time}  1415

  With the increase in funding provided by H.R. 2035, the National 
Highway Traffic Administration will be able to undertake important 
motor vehicle safety and information activities that

[[Page H5341]]

it otherwise could not. This bill was ordered reported by the full 
committee by voice vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLILEY. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Bliley) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2035.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof), the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to correct 
errors in the authorizations of certain programs administered by the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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