[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 148 (Tuesday, December 5, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S11562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ENSURING TRAFFIC SAFETY--H.R. 5164

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, in the weeks since Congress passed H.R. 
5164, the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and 
Documentation Act, and it was signed into law by the President, 
questions have been raised by some of my colleagues about the impact of 
the bill on small business. I want to make clear my intentions toward 
small manufacturers in passing this legislation.
  Obviously, the bill is not intended to result in burdensome and 
ineffective regulations on small businesses or any size business for 
that matter. I would expect the Department of Transportation in 
establishing the regulations under the bill to go through the normal 
analysis required under existing law to ensure that regulations are not 
overly burdensome but are effective in advancing the cause of safety.
  Let me be clear, however, the primary purpose of this bill and the 
Department of Transportation is to ensure the safety of the traveling 
public. No priority can or should be higher as the agency crafts these 
new regulations. I hope this responds to any concerns my colleagues may 
have about the provisions of the bill.
  Mr. BOND. I thank the Senator and agree without reservation that the 
purpose of this legislation is to increase safety on the highways. No 
one in the small business community supports allowing defective auto 
parts or automobiles to be allowed on the road. After all, small 
businesses, their employees, and their owners are some of the drivers 
of the vehicles that would be identified under this law, and they are 
the other drivers on the road with these vehicles. They care as much as 
anyone else about highway safety. Without question, the safety of our 
roadways is one of our highest priorities.
  I would just like to add one clarification. When the Department of 
Transportation promulgates the regulations required by this act, it is 
required under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
(SBREFA) to determine whether the regulations will have ``a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.'' If the 
regulations rise to that level, the Department is required to conduct 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis and a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis as described in SBREFA so that the impacts on 
small businesses can be identified and better understood. None of the 
requirements under SBREFA are intended to, or have been shown to, 
interfere in any way with an agency's regulatory objectives. In this 
case they would not impede, in any way, the Department of 
Transportation's ability to provide the maximum safety improvement on 
the highways as mandated under the TREAD Act.
  This is the current law and is consistent with the provision in the 
TREAD Act which prohibits the Department of Transportation from issuing 
unnecessarily burdensome regulations. I just want to make it clear that 
we will be watching closely to make sure that the Department of 
Transportation adheres to the mandates of SBREFA.

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