US Senate Democrats Revive Talks On Auto-Safety Bill
November 23 2010 - 12:23PM
Dow Jones News
U.S. Senate Democrats have revived talks on an auto-safety bill
to respond to the Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) recalls,
indicating they may attempt to push the measure through Congress
before the end of the year.
The Senate Commerce Committee passed the bill in June and a
House panel passed a similar measure in May. But the bills stalled
due to industry concerns the proposals could increase costs and
lead to more civil lawsuits.
Senate Commerce Committee staffers have been consulting with
auto-industry lobbyists in recent weeks to resolve those concerns,
and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), the panel's chairman, has
indicated he may attempt to get the measure passed during the
lame-duck session, industry lobbyists said. The industry has
indicated it would support a scaled-back version of the proposed
legislation.
"There is a push to get it done" this year, said Michael
Stanton, president of the Association of International Automobile
Manufacturers, a trade group representing Toyota, Honda Motor Co.
(HMC, 7267.TO), Nissan Motors Co. (NSANY, 7201.TO) and other major
foreign car makers. "We're in negotiations with the committee."
The proposed legislation is designed to respond to issues raised
by Toyota's recall of more than 8.5 million cars globally, starting
in late 2009, for gas-pedal problems and other problems believed to
have caused vehicles to suddenly accelerate.
The Rockefeller and Waxman bills would substantially boost fines
for auto makers found to have misled safety regulators; require new
technology in cars, such as "black boxes," which record crash data;
and make public more vehicle-design information. The measures would
also prohibit auto-safety regulators from immediately going to work
as lobbyists after leaving the government.
Safety advocates have said those measures would force auto
makers to be more forthright in reporting potential vehicle defects
and would prevent crashes.
Auto makers have said the technology mandates are overly
prescriptive and they have argued for the Transportation Department
to have more flexibility in setting vehicle standards than the
proposals now permit. They have also voiced concerns that proposed
public-disclosure requirements could lead to the release of
sensitive design information and prompt a flurry of consumer
lawsuits.
A spokeswoman for Rockefeller didn't respond to requests for
comment.
-By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637;
joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com
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