[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 15 (Thursday, January 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S655-S656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Heller, Mrs. 
        McCaskill, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Moran, and Mr. 
        Blumenthal):
  S. 304. A bill to improve motor vehicle safety by encouraging the 
sharing of certain information; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last year we saw an all-time record number 
of motor vehicle recalls, including those by General Motors, Toyota, 
Honda, and others.
  The commerce committee held five vehicle safety hearings, examining 
GM ignition switches, Takata airbags, and the related question of 
whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, 
is up to the task of providing effective oversight of the auto 
industry.
  What is absolutely clear, from our hearings and other media coverage, 
is that we need to ensure potential vehicle safety defects are 
identified as early as possible so we can protect consumers and 
hopefully prevent deaths and injuries. That is why earlier today 
Senator Nelson and I introduced the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower 
Act.
  I am pleased to note that Senators Heller, McCaskill, Klobuchar, 
Ayotte, Moran, and Blumenthal have cosponsored this important 
legislation. Senators Moran and Blumenthal being added as original 
cosponsors of this legislation is important because of their respective 
responsibilities as the chairman and ranking member of our subcommittee 
on consumer protection, which has played a large role over the years on 
various automobile safety efforts.
  This afternoon I am pleased that Senator Nelson has joined me on the 
floor as a lead sponsor to discuss this important piece of legislation 
and our ongoing work on vehicle issues. As the chairman and ranking 
member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation, one thing that has remained constant on our committee 
is the spirit of bipartisanship.
  With regard to S. 304, the Motor Vehicle Whistleblower Act, this 
legislation will incentivize auto employees who uncover serious 
allegations of vehicle defects or violations of motor vehicle safety 
laws that could lead to death or serious bodily injury to voluntarily 
provide that information to the Department of Transportation.
  If such information leads to the Department of Transportation or the 
Department of Justice enforcement action that totals more than $1 
million in penalties, the whistleblower would be eligible to share in a 
portion of the total penalties collected. This bill will protect the 
whistleblowers' identities and allow DOT to share information with the 
Department of Justice and other Federal agencies where appropriate.
  Other agencies have similar programs, including programs that 
incentivize individuals to report information to the Securities and 
Exchange Commission and to the Internal Revenue Service. NHTSA plays a 
key role in ensuring the safety of vehicles that consumers drive on our 
roadways. Record fines have been levied against Toyota, General Motors, 
Honda, and other manufacturers.
  In 2014, NHTSA issued more than $126 million in civil penalties, a 
record amount, exceeding the total amount collected by the agency in 
all of its 43-year history.
  Ensuring the safety of American motorists is a priority, but the 
public's trust has been shaken due to the record number of recalls this 
past year. Almost 64 million vehicles were recalled in 2014, which is 
about 3 times the number of vehicles recalled in 2013--and the concerns 
many have about problems in the industry and at NHTSA.
  After my repeated calls on the President to fill what had been a 
lengthy vacancy regarding the Administrator position at NHTSA, which 
operated without a Senate-confirmed Administrator for 389 days, I am 
glad to say the commerce committee did its job to ensure that Dr. Mark 
Rosekind was confirmed as Administrator before the end of last year. 
However, there is much more work that needs to be done.
  The defects associated with the GM ignition switch recall and the 
Takata airbag recalls were apparent failures with serious safety 
consequences that resulted in death and serious injury. As we learned 
from the GM incident, delays in reporting safety-related defects to the 
government can cost lives.
  In recent years, Congress has enacted, and NHTSA sought to implement, 
a robust early-reporting regime. I believe we can do more to ensure 
that NHTSA is informed of potential defects as early as possible. Some 
of the major automakers and other manufacturers have also instituted or 
sought to improve internal safety reporting systems that encourage 
employees to report safety problems.
  I applaud these efforts, but reports of employees whose concerns may 
have been ignored, silenced, or possibly even covered up persist. If 
there are potential whistleblowers with important information to help 
NHTSA identify more defects that are not being addressed, we want them 
to come forward so these problems can be identified much earlier in the 
process.
  I think we would all agree it is better to address a problem before 
injuries or deaths occur, if at all possible, rather than relying 
primarily on fines imposed after the fact. This is a commonsense, 
bipartisan bill that will help to prevent injuries and deaths for 
American drivers.
  NHTSA and other stakeholders have provided input on this legislation. 
I look forward to working with these groups and my colleagues, and 
particularly with Senator Nelson, as we move forward with the committee 
to process and pass this legislation.
  I yield the floor to Senator Nelson for his remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, in light of the late hour, just before our 
votes, I will submit for the Record a statement which correlates with 
the chairman of our committee, and I thank the Senator for so much of 
his cooperation over last year and all the investigations and the 
hearings that we did, as well as now.
  What I will say that is new is I will provide an update on the status 
of the committee's investigation into the defective Takata airbags. 
When we had the hearing last November which I had the privilege of 
chairing, we received testimony from several witnesses, including a 
senior executive from the Takata Corporation, which manufactures the 
airbags involved in the rupture and the explosive incidents that 
basically have lacerated people with pieces of metal. The airbag that 
is supposed to save their lives, in fact, is endangering their lives, 
and in some cases killing them. This has happened to two of my 
constituents in Florida.
  While the hearing produced some basic information about the problem, 
many questions still remain.
  Senator Rockefeller, then the chairman of the committee, other 
Senators, and I sent a letter to Takata requesting information and 
documents related to Takata's airbag defects. In their initial response 
provided to the committee in early December, Takata included a list of 
all the incidents it was aware of that had allegedly involved a death 
or injury caused by a ruptured Takata airbag.
  Takata's response reveals that the scope of injuries involved in the 
Takata airbags appears to be greater than we previously thought. In its 
initial response, Takata identified 5 deaths and 64 injuries. Although 
some of these incidents may be ultimately tied to other causes, this 
potential injury figure is far bigger than what had been reported in 
the press. Unfortunately, 1 death and 17 of these injuries occurred in 
my State of Florida--more than any other State. Among the alleged 
injuries in my State, many were serious, including lacerations and 
fractures to the face, burns to the neck, face, and torso, and 
traumatic brain injury and hearing loss.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.

[[Page S656]]

  Mr. NELSON. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute to 
conclude my statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NELSON. Sadly, I have even more bad news to report today. Through 
public information, we have learned that an exploding Takata airbag 
appears to be responsible for yet another death. Less than 2 weeks ago, 
a Texas man who was driving with his 11-year-old cousin was involved in 
a low-impact crash. When the airbag deployed, instead of protecting 
him, the airbag ruptured and sent a metal piece of shrapnel into the 
man's neck. When the police arrived, he was already dead.
  We are awaiting more information from Takata and we are determined to 
get to the bottom of this.
  I look forward to working with the chairman on this issue. We plan to 
continue the investigation until all of our questions have been 
answered. We are going to do everything possible to get to the bottom 
of this issue so that consumers are made whole.
                                 ______