[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S5092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE HIGHWAY BILL
Mr. REID. Mr. President, more than 62 million vehicles were recalled
last year in our country--twice the previous record. The number of
safety complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
doubled. Over the past year, for example, faulty ignition switches led
to the recall of 2.6 million cars. At least 124 people died and almost
300 were injured by this ignition switch problem, which did many
different things, one of which was to stall a car in traffic and during
the process disable the airbags. The manufacturer was aware of the
defect for more than a decade and did nothing about it. Exploding
airbags--another problem--claimed the lives of at least 8 people and
led to the recall of 34 million vehicles--the largest recall of any
consumer product in the United States ever. Once again, it appears the
manufacturer knew of the defect years before notifying Federal
regulators.
Given the number of recalls, Congress should be investing the
resources to improve public safety and give regulators the tools to
keep us safe. But it appears Senate Republicans have learned nothing
from the many recalls just this year. The Republican highway safety
bill, which is being considered in the committee on commerce today,
does not increase funding for Federal traffic programs. In fact, it
cuts them back. Why? The bill does not provide any new resources to
address the record level of safety recalls and consumer complaints.
Under the Republican bill that is being considered, automakers that
cover up defects will continue to face the same very limited penalties.
Their executives will be able to continue to escape accountability.
But that isn't all of it. The highway bill the Republicans are
pushing forward is loaded with harmful provisions that roll back
efforts to strengthen public safety. The bill would allow 18-year-old
young men and women--18 years old--to drive commercial 18-wheelers
across State lines. Think about that. Despite studies which show that
these young drivers have a fatal crash rate almost 70 percent higher
than older drivers, the Republican safety plan would allow these
inexperienced teenagers to drive the largest trucks that appear on the
road.
If this odyssey of the Republicans in the commerce committee is
signed into law, it will lead to more crashes and, sadly, more injuries
and more deaths.
Every day, 30 people in our great country are killed by drunk
drivers--30 people killed by drunk drivers. I just learned a couple of
days ago of a person who worked for me, who was a tremendously great
employee of the Senate--their brother-in-law was killed by a drunk
driver. It is so sad that we are not doing more to not only stop drunk
driving but to punish drunk drivers. The policy Republicans propose
today hurts our efforts to combat drunk driving.
Listen to this one. The Republicans' bill would lessen incentives for
States that develop programs to prevent people who have been convicted
of drunk driving from starting their cars if they have been drinking--
for example, just a simple, inexpensive device on a car. If someone has
been drinking too much, the car won't start. But Republicans are going
to take care of this and get rid of it. No longer will States have the
ability to do that. The Federal Government should not be involved in
programs like that.
The Republicans' plan also undermines safety measures that protect
passengers and trains and, of course, the safety of all of us because
of the problems we have with freight trains. There is a program that
was designed by science--it has been available for a long time--called
positive train control which overrides operator error. A perfect
example of this is what happened in Philadelphia. If that had been in
effect, that accident would not have occurred. But the Republicans
fixed this--they are going to stop the program for 3 years.
Under the present law, these programs had to be implemented by the
end of this year--not with the Republicans in the commerce committee,
which will be part of any highway bill we have. They will just stop it
for 3 years, and that will lead to more deaths, more injuries, and more
terror.
I can't understand why the Republicans would propose doing that--
delaying the deadline for positive train control by more than 3 years.
I said 3 years, but it is actually more than that. There is no reason
to roll back deadlines for important safety measures for our passenger
trains. Is this the best Republicans can do? I ask that.
For Americans who live near rail lines, trains are increasingly
carrying more and more flammable materials--oil, ethanol, and other
explosive products. In February of this year, a train carrying oil
derailed in West Virginia, sending exploding fireballs into the air and
causing large necessary evacuations.
This and other crashes led the Department of Transportation to
require the installation of new electronic brakes for any train moving
flammable materials. Requiring better brakes when carrying these
materials seems like a commonsense safety measure.
What do the Republicans do? Their bill repeals an important freight
rail provision, jeopardizing communities across the country with tragic
spills. We don't need more accidents. We need fewer accidents. We need
to move forward and to continue the minimal programs we have, not roll
them back. It is clear the Republicans have not learned anything from
the auto recalls or the train crashes. The Senate can do better than
adopting the Republican's attack on public safety. If the Republicans
choose to put those measures in the highway bill that I am told is
coming forward, it will not survive the Senate. We can't have stuff
like that. It would be just untoward and wrong.
Mr. President, there is no one on the floor, and I ask that the Chair
announce the business of the day.
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