question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the question is agreed to. mr. reid: i now ask, mr. president, with your permission to move to executive session to consider calendar number 1081. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: tennessee valley authority, ronald anderson walter of tennessee to be a member of the board of directors. mr. reid: cloture motion has been filed. i ask the chair to have it ordered reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of ronald andersonal walter of tennessee to be a member of the board of directors of the tennessee valley authority,

signed by 17 senators. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask that the reading of the names not be necessary. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the mandatory quorum under rule 2 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the question is agreed to. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent notwithstanding rule 22 at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, december 4, all postcloture time be considered expired and the senate proceed to vote on confirmation of calendar 555 and 660. further, that following these votes, the senate proceed to vote on cloture on the following nominations -- 1039, 1040 and 835. further, if cloture is invoked on any of these nominations that the time until 1:45 be in morning business for debate only equally divided in the usual form, and at 1:45 all postcloture time be considered expired, the senate proceed to

vote on confirmses in the order upon which cloture was invoked. further, following these votes the senate proceed to cloture on the following nominations -- calendar numbers 1082, 1083 and 552. further, if cloture is invoked on any of these nominations, on monday, december 8, following my remarks and those of senator mcconnell, the time until 5:30 be in morning business with debate only, equally divided in the usual form. at 5:30, all postcloture time be considered expired, the senate proceed to quote on confirmation of the nominations of the order in which cloture was invoked. following these votes, the senate be in a period of debate for morning business only. tuesday, december 9, the senate be in a period of morning business for debate only. at 10:30, the senate proceed to vote on cloture on 1080 and 1081. further, if cloture is invoked, the time until 6:00 p.m. be in morning business for debate only divided in the usual form.

at 6:30 p.m. all postcloture time be considered expired and the senate proceed to vote on nominations in the order listed. further that there be two minutes of debate prior to each vote and all roll call votes after the first be ten minutes in length. further, that with respect to the nominations of the disagreement, that if any nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: i ask that the quorum call be lifted, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of h.r. 5681 which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 5681, an act to provide for the approval of the amendment to the agreement between the government of the united states of america and the government of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland for corporation on the

uses of atomic energy for mutual defense purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar number 609, s. 2759. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 609, s. 2759, a bill to release the city of saint clare, missouri, from all restrictions, conditions, and limitations, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous

consent that the veterans' affairs committee be discharged and that the senate proceed to the consideration of the following items, which are v.a. facility naming bills en bloc, h.r. 3682, h.r. 3375, senate 2921 and senate 229. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measures en bloc. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed en bloc and that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of the following items which are post office naming bills en bloc -- calendar number 585, h.r. 43, calendar number 586, h.r. 451,

calendar number 587, h.r. 1391, calendar number 589, h.r. 3085, calendar number 590, h.r. 3957, calendar number 591, h.r. 4189, calendar number 592, h.r. 443, calendar number 593, h.r. 4919, calendar number 595, h.r. 5106, calendar number 584, senate 2523. and a brief correction, mr. president. under calendar number 592, the correct reading is h.r. 443. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. blumenthal: 4443. to be absolutely certain, calendar number 592, h.r. 4443. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the measures en bloc. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed en bloc and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar 576, senate resolution 540. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 576, s. res. 540, recognizing september 15, 2014, as an international day of democracy, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure.

mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of senate resolution 531 and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 531, honoring the life and accomplishments and legacy of louis zamparini, and expressing condolences on his passing. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the feinstein amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to senate resolution 585. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report the measure. the clerk: s. res. 585, designating december 3, 2014, as national p.k.u. awareness day. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 593 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 593, designating december 13, 2014,

as wreaths across america day. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on thursday, december 4, 2014. that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that following any leader remark, the senate resume executive session and consideration of th the orr nomination until 10:00 a.m. with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders and their designees. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: for the information of all senators, there will be up to five roll

call votes at 10:00 a.m. on the confirmation of the orr and hezir nominations and cloture on the leeson and grisby nominations. votes will occur at 1:45 p.m. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 9:30 a.m.

>> >> video of the incident appears to show the officer putting garner in a chokehold after he refused to be handcuffed. the medical examiner ruled the death as a homicide. attorney general holder in overnight programming on

c-span.org. in the meantime, urging congressional debates with a strategy against isis. >> next monday will mark for months since the president convinced military action in syria and iraq and as of october 2nd operation here resolve that they called though war on ice this is more than 1100 coalition air strikes the vast majority carried out by american airmen and women the president has authorized currently 1400 u.s. ground troops deployed in iraq to trade and advise regional forces. the president has authorized an additional 1500 u.s. troops to serve in that capacity and this past monday 250 paratroopers from the 82nd division from fort bragg were sent to iraq and the total cost of the

operation to the taxpayer is in excess of $1 billion. there has been three deaths of americans serving october 1st, every corporal spier's from memphis indiana lost at sea while conducting flight operations over the persian gulf. october 23, remains corporal neil died in iraq. and from newcastle colorado for or the other soldier died in iraq. go into the air force base in october to see the combined air center in action and we saw many virginians they're working with colleagues from all service branches so let's not make any mistakes america is at war.

and as steadily creeping upwards everyday the troops are dying and the fiscal cost is growing every day. but madame president this is a most unusual war. has all activities are occurring there is the strange conspiracy of silence in the halls of congress. despite suggestions that congress has not debated by to take committee action on gore voted on the ongoing war the house is contemplating adjourning for the holidays on december 11 without saying anything about the ongoing war. and because neither the president or congress has undertaken in the necessary public debate the american public has not had the chance to be fully educated with what is at stake and

why is that our national interest to risk their lives thousands of miles away. we owe it to our troops serving abroad even as we talk about recessing and leaving for the holidays to do our job and have a debate about the war their constitution demands. let me make an earnest request to our president and my colleagues in congress. to the president, i previously have taken the floor to strongly argue that the president needs new legal authority to conduct a war on isil. of the president spoke to the nation he said he would welcome a congressional authorization. :november 5th he asserted the new congressional authorization was needed and he would engage congress in passing one. but to the states three

months after the initiation the administration has not been willing to present a draft authorization but in testimony yesterday that the armed services committee no witness could recall another instance that the president told congress that failed to propose a failed authorization spelling out the dimensions of the military mission. he said the president has persisted in a name for now within the scope of the article to powers not authorized by any treaty obligation not justified by any from 2001 or 2002. it even extended beyond the requirements created by the war powers resolution and

into do that without engaging congress has al weis pronouncement of just one year ago. i believe our democracy is stronger when the president acts with the support of congress. this is especially true after a decade to put more war making powers into the hands of the president while sidelining the people's representatives from the critical decisions about when we use force''. i request our president make good on your promise to engage congress. do what other presidents have done. demand the debate and vote on authorization now. the votes are here to support the president. i am a supporter for the need of military action against isil and that is held by a strong majority in the senate and the house there is no reason for the president not to demand that

we have that debate and that boat. to make congressional colleagues i have a similar request. let's not leave the capital without a debate and the vote was a war on isil rigo for months without any meaningful action we were told congress would get to it after the midterm elections. so we recessed for seven weeks in the middle of a war without saying one thing to shirk our constitutional duties now many say we need to delay until after new year to have any meaningful discussion. the unilateral war will extend at least five months and likely have longer before congress gets around to any meaningful discussions of the isil threat and what we should do to counter. giving any president a green

light to unilateral war five for six months without any meaningful debate or authorization would be deeply destructive of the legislative branch of a government equally disrespectful of our citizens and a special the disrespectful of the troops who risked their lives every day while we do nothing for called madame president i yield the floor. >> madame president. senator mccain has spoken eloquently of the events of today and i would like to speak for a few moments of the events of 200 years ago. on tuesday, august 17, 1787 at the constitutional convention the delegates debated the question of war.

passionately in with a sense of human nature and they enter stood the propensity of the executive throughout history to leave the country -- lead the country into war they understood this was before the of body and i would assert the framers knew what they we're doing. interestingly in the first draft of the constitution the clause says says congress shall have the power to declare war it says it shall have the power to make more and that was the first draft the debate is if congress could effectively make and execute more but wisely i believe they realized that was impractical giving the large

number of representatives so that left the power to be commander in chief to the chief executives also recognize the inherent power to repel an attack of this country but in all other cases what it says is very clear congress shall declare war and there was some discussion and people said we do want to tie the hands of the executives but others made it more clear. mr. ellsworth from connecticut and fascinating source of information these are the notes taken the day of the debate tuesday august 17, 1787. it should be more easy to get out of for the and into it. he understood the principal

and then to say they should have the power to repel a sudden attack that is common sense. but then to put it most succinctly he said i never expected to hear a republican version to declare war. that is the fundamental issue before us today. then george mason later used a wonderful phrase that captures what they were after that i am for clogging rather than facilitating war. we are to debate and discuss before the country is committed to war. now the constitution and the preamble make clear one of the fundamental purposes of this government or any

coverage is to provide for common defense. and nobody questions that senator mccain nor myself for anyone else questions if we should be debating this or that is our solemn responsibility to provide for common defense i think the fight against isil is worthy of national attention and effort and should be debated and should be circumcised -- circumscribes through authorization. there has not been a declaration since 1942. and i will conclude with the observation that power does not spring from one branch to the other overnight or in a flash of inspiration. i would argue it oozes from one branch to the al other.

not necessarily through executive years but congressional education and for us to go home to take a recess we don't want to talk about this or be responsible for this is unfair to the american people or the people put into harm's way and not responsive to the basic principles of the constitution. we owe it to our country to have this debate and it is one that i believe is important and is constitutionally based. we are very good here about not making decisions then criticizing the executive for what they do. this is an opportunity where we have the constitutional power and responsibility to discuss and debate and authorize the executive actions against this

terrible of the. i believe it is our responsibility to do so. to not do so is sliding away when we give away of the constitutional authority to the executive then i think is an detriment not only to the constitution itself clearly but also to the interest of the american people. thank-you madam president i yield the floor. . .

[inaudible conversations] >> i want to welcome everyone to our hearing today for commerce manufacturing and trade subcommittee. i think this is our last hearing of this congressional session assuming no emergency for next

week. so, next year mr. burgess as i understand it's going to take over the gavel for this committee and so even though he is not currently a member of the subcommittee he is joining us today to kind of get a feel for the importance of this subcommittee and certainly the importance of this hearing tod today. so the title of this hearing is the qaeda airbag ruptures and recalls. safety recalls are often marked by tragedy. that's what brings it to our attention that there are even more troubling when the very equipment being recalled is intended to save lives. this morning we will begin piecing together the history of a safety defect that became

known only by what appeared to us as fits and starts and seemingly has several potential causes. the first known rupture occurred in 2004 in alabama. three more ruptures in 2007 lead takata to identify it bad stamp press at a facility in washington june 2800 recalled 3940 cars in the u.s. however to more airbags ruptured in may and june of 2091 of which killed a driver. at that point it appeared to takata believe that airbag inflators were being improperly exposed to moisture during the production process. however around the same time to takata confirmed that the stamp press was to blame for the at-risk airbags in early 2011 uncertainty about the cause of

the continuing ruptures led to another recalled. previous recalls were expanded in 2012 upon the discovery that takata's production records were in disarray. nhtsa, takata and car manufacturers all indicate that the vehicles with faulty airbags tied to manufacturing issues have been recalled and get several more ruptured -- ruptures occurred as seven states. this led manufactures to believe that prolonged exposure to high absolute humidity levels was a major contributing factor. however nhtsa recently demanded that manufactures broadened the current recalls in southern states to the national level. nhtsa believes that the recent incidents in california and north carolina indicate the possibility of ruptures in and areas with lower absolute humidity. i understand takata disagrees

with that says assessment i look forward to learning more about that. while the oam that are before us today have all stated publicly that they are willing to do a national recall. now there are several questions here to address. for example are the current tesw much testing is adequate enough and what is the appropriate level of coordination between nhtsa automakers and their suppliers, what metrics should be used to determine whether recall is necessary? there are also questions about this up supply of replacement parts and whether those replacement parts are truly safer than the parts being recalled. our highway safety depends on the vigilance of manufactures as well as nhtsa. sometimes the regulators and the best position to look at the

defect and sometimes it's a manufacture. the time is come to bring the facts together and make sure the unsaved airbag inflators are off the market. consumers can get their faulty parts replaced and the future recalls are handled better. the safety of american drivers depend on our collective success so i think the witnesses for being here today and to help achieve these goals and put a stop to this deadly problem. there is one minute left. would you like to claim that? >> yes, thank you mr. chairman. thank you and i thank her witnesses also for being here and as the chairman said 2004 is the first time we knew of this issue. it it was when the first inflator exploded and then we go through the process of looking at their propellant change in finding out when the change was

made to nitrate and no one. we do hope this hearing is going to give us an opportunity to talk with you about the decision-making process. who was involved in that, when they made the decisions that they did. we will drill down on that. we are very disappointed in takata refusing to work with nhtsa on the deadline for a national recall of the driver-side airbags that expired last night. we want to address that with you. we welcome our witnesses and i am finishing right on time mr. chairman. back to you. >> well done. now the chair making -- recognizes the ranking member from illinois for five minutes. >> they mr. chairman are holding this important hearing today. before i turn to today's business i would like to thank the ranking member waxman for his decade of leadership and to serve as chairman and ranking member of this committee.

he will leave an indelible legacy of achievement when he retires at the end of this year and i am so proud to have learned from and worked with him on so many issues of great importance to the american people. mr. chairman i would also like to recognize you for your eight terms in the house representing the people of nebraska and i've enjoyed working with you during your chairmanship on the subcommittee over the past few years. i wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. i am deeply saddened that we are here again today to discuss this but i'm determined to understand what exactly happened to respond in a time that improves driver and passenger safety. in 2004 driver in alabama was killed by shrapnel and jacket from at the qaeda airbag. they recall that expanded over the next five years and was

originate to find the root cause of similar and asked takata to order a national recall and yesterday the company rejected the request. media reports suggest the takata honda knew about the seriousness risks its airbags imposed on drivers and passengers as early as 10 years ago. actions have been taken to address the cause we wouldn't be here today. because takata refused to nhtsa's request for recall atta manufactures his customers are driving vehicles equipped with airbags that could be deadly now have to determine whether they will be -- airbags are thereon. i have received letters from constituents are literally afraid to drive their cars and this is unacceptable. i want to know why takata has been so slow in responding to this deadly defect and why he

believes a national recall is not warranted. i want to know what takata and auto companies plan to do an immediate future to protect their customers. i want to know what more nhtsa needs to do in order to prevent problems like this from continuing in the future and i want to know since the cause of the airbag rusher still not certain whether replacement of these potentially dangerous airbags with similar products actually eliminates the risk of airbag explosions in the future. i look forward to her witnesses answers to these questions and more. incredibly slow response to the problem is just the latest reminder that we need stronger laws to protect drivers and passengers had to hold manufactures accountable for the cars they sell. earlier this year i introduced h.r. 5654 the vehicle safety information act. legislation to improve auto safety and efficacy and

efficiency of recalls. that bill would expand and clarify the information manufacturers must provide about defects in fatal incidents, increase information about auto defects that nets him a share with the public, increase financial penalties and remove the statutory maximum penalty for manufactures that violate nhtsa reporting requirements, provide an imminent hazard authority so nhtsa can expedite recalls a potentially deadly cars, limit the resale of cars with a serious defect unless the problem has been fixed or the buyer has been notified and regional recalls. i urge the chairman to bring this bill up for consideration in the subcommittee were to ask house leadership to put it on the suspension calendar without delay. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. >> the chair now recognizes full committee chair mr. upton.

>> thank you mr. chairman and i appreciate your leadership over the last number of years and also mr. waxman and at one point we will have a recognition of both ears of your service. i am sorry to say it's been a bad year for auto safety. the latest danger for drivers now -- malfunctioning air bags that can shoot shrapnel who dared make a bad accident even worse. drivers are being told that their vehicle is subject to recall that there are not enough parts to fi fix it and if they o get a replacement that airbag may be subject to the same safety failure in the future because we still don't know if the root problem has been addressed. there are still lots of questions surrounding these airbag defects and recalls and today we all want some answers. the american people deserve to have confidence that the cars they drive are safe and the industry and the government are

doing everything they can do to improve safety. the first question that has to be determined is whether or not the design flaw for an airbag or manufacturing issue. until that question is answered you are not going to be able to resolve the issue. unfortunately deadly auto defects and massive recalls are not new subjects. i've listened to embed multiple recall hearings drinking from the ford firestone crisis to the two toyota format problem to the gm ignition switch debacle earlier this year. over a decade ago i offered bipartisan tread act to help catch and then fix defects in her and avoid the kind of disaster we are facing today yet here we are again. the tread act was very simple. requiring manufacturers to report the information needed to help nhtsa quickly identify vehicle defects and remove

flawed cars from the road right away. our goal is to prevent injuries and save lives but we need industry and nhtsa to do their part. cars are safer today but not because the company hires lawyers and consultants to avoid reporting safety incidents. i'm going to ask the tough questions regarding what we have read and heard about honda manipulating the system to report as little as possible. companies need to know that there isn't anything safe about shorting safety. we need more automakers to make safety a priority in institute safety incentives. in the case of gm they acknowledge their safety failure. their ceo volunteered to testify and they hired a new safety officer to implement companywide culture changes. would like to see that same level of urgency, that same admission of mistakes and that same commitment to do better today. complex safety technology can lead to complex problems and the takata airbag issues are in the

complex. there were manufacturing issues and they were handling issues and as soon as one problem is identified it seemed like another spring up, sort of like whack-a-mole. now are we are waiting to find out if humanity is the sure there are other manufacturing concerns. in the meantime testing is slow and we are short on replacement parts. what is worth knowing can say for sure that the replacement parts are any safer than the originals. they may be right back after the replacement parts have reached their humanity half-life. complexity is not an excuse for incompetence failing to make sure the companies and regulators can keep pace with innovation. we need a regulatory agency that breeds confidence and offer solutions, not one that is part of the problem. further witnesses i pose this question. what should i say to the mom in michigan who asked me if she and her family are safe behind the

wheel? families across the country expect the safety devices in their vehicles to work. they expect them to provide lifesaving protection that they can count on in the event of an accident and they expect the problems from earlier models be reported and fixed and they expect to be able to get a defect repaired when i find out about it. sadly i don't think i can give that assurance right now. one thing is for sure we have a lot of issues to resolve and i want to thank chairman teri for starting the process i want to thank them from the bottom of my hard for his services as a leader of the subcommittee and wish them well in the future and i yield back my time. >> thank you mr. chairman. that's much appreciated and now it's time to introduce our panel. i'm sorry. i'm getting ahead of myself. you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. neither you nor i have -- which we will do the end of this year and i think my colleague

ms. schakowsky for kind words. here is what we know so far about the takata airbag recalls. we know that there is then a series of airbag recalls affecting millions of vehicles dating back to 2008 and we know that at least five people are dead and dozens have been injured by these defective airbags. there are questions about the takata airbag that we -- remain unanswered. we do not know exactly what takata and auto manufacturers knew about these defective airbags and when they knew it. we do not know and it appears the national highway safety traffic administration, takata in the auto manufactures do not know either the root cause of all these exploding airbags. we have questioned whether the replacement airplay -- airbag with letters or say. documents reveal new questions?

this safety administration known as nhtsa recently requested a national recall of all defective airbags on the driver side of the car but has limited its action to regional recalls of passenger side airbags. the data we have received is raising new questions about the safety of passenger safety airbag in the scope of recalls. takata has tested over 2500 driver and passenger side airbags for ruptures. none of the driver side airbags ruptured in these tests. but takata has observed over 60 passenger side airbag ruptures. given these testing results we need to understand what nhtsa has requested a broader recall for driver side airbags but has not made the same request for

passenger side airbags. mr. chairman i have some documents that i have referred to showing these test results and i would ask unanimous consent to put them into the hearing record. >> without objection. >> we need to find answers to these questions about and i hope the committee will continue its investigation even after the time you and i mr. chairman will be gone but we know enough now to begin our legislative work. mr. chairman last april i joined representatives schakowsky to introduce h.r. 4360 for the motor vehicle safety act of 20 2014. there are many important provisions in this legislation that would address problems that the committee found in our investigations of takata's exploding airbags in the gma commissioned switch failure. in both cases auto manufactures and auto parts manufacturers fail to provide key information to the federal agency in a

timely fashion. we learned last week of another major auto safety failure. for over a decade honda failed to report to nhtsa more than 1700 claims of injuries or deaths caused by accidents in its vehicles. our legislation improves early warning reporting system by baking more reporting information public and ensuring that nhtsa receives significantly more information from manufactures on any fatal incident involving a safety defect. additional data and greater transparency will help nhtsa identify deadly safety defects sooner. in both the gm and takata cases nhtsa has been criticized for failing to recognize and act quickly about the evidence mounting a deadly auto defects. our bill provides more resources to give them the additional enforcement authority and

creases the fines from manufactures that violate safe safety, vehicle safety laws. mr. chairman today we will learn other needed fixes to the current system. i think our legislation is a good place to start the live a short time left i would like to yield to the gentleman. >> thank you very much. the two concerns i have an eye-opener addressing this. one is public safety. obviously automobiles are extremely important but can be dangerous with the defect. number two public confidence. when a serious incident happens that threatens at life it creates public insecurity among the driving public and obviously my use of burden have to be on the manufacturer and a governmental agencies to take the appropriate steps to revive public confidence. thank you. >> thank you.

now is the appropriate time to deduce the panel. i will introduce the panel as a whole and then we will start with takata is the for speeding witness. today our first panel representing takata is hiroshi shimizu from honda, rick schostek from bmw, chris westbrook from toyota, albaugh saadat. i appreciate all of you being here. we will go from right, my left to your right and start with mr. shimizu but before i ask you to start i want to recognize that you are at. with a translator because english is not mr. shimizu's

first language and while the committee will allow mr. shimizu to confer for the -- with a translator for the purpose of clarification you will be required to answer the committee's question in his own voice and enablers. we have already discuss that and i appreciate your acceptance of that. so mr. shimizu you are now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. chairman and ranking member schakowsky and distinguished members of the subcommittee i am honored to be here on behalf of takata corporation. mr. chairman takata is dedicated to making products that save lives. millions of takata airbags have inflated properly preventing thousands of death and avoiding serious injury in hundreds of thousands of accidents around the world. but any failure of even one

airbag in an automobile accident is incompatible with takata's mission. all of us at takata now that they airbag failure ruptures have been the subject of recent recalls and issues of public safety. we are deeply sorry about each case. takata's airbag is not performed as designed and drivers have suffered auto injuries or deaths. takata is working closely with automakers and nhtsa to support the ongoing recalls and to address the problems. we are increasing our production to fulfill the automaker's orders.

we are also devoting extensive efforts and attention to answering the request for information about nhtsa. we are committed to being fully transparent with the government. our one important function is to test and analyze. in the past several months we have tested thousands in our michigan facilities and we are increasing our testing capacity. we share all of these testing results with the automakers and nhtsa. based on our best judgment takata continues to believe that the public safety is an area of

high absolute humidity remains a problem. but, make no mistake we will take all actions necessary to address the role of safety for the driving public including working to produce additional replacement to support any further recalls that may be announced by the automakers. takata is also prepared to -- with other auto producers. we are confident that the inflators we are producing today are safe because we have confidence in our integrity in our manufacturing facilities in our states and around the world. we believe that properly

manufactured and installed the inflators we are producing today will work as designed to save lives for the expected life of the automobiles. to provide added assurance to the public and the automakers takata is forming an independent panel to prepare an independent report regarding our current manufacturing policies for the production of safe inflators including -- the report will be made public. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you. now, the gentleman from honda mr. schostek you are recognized for your five minutes. >> mr. chairman ranking member schakowsky and members of the subcommittee thank you for this

opportunity to testify. my name is rick schostek. i'm executive vice president upon the north america. i want to begin by expressing our deepest sympathies to those individuals and families who have been affected by these tragic incidents. we offer our sincere apologies to the families of those who have died, who have been injured or who have been in any way inconvenienced due to the defects in the takata airbags in our vehicles. airbags save thousands of lives each year but we recognize that even one customer who is injured or loses their life when an airbag does not perform as intended is one too many and it is completely unacceptable. on november 17, nhtsa called for a nationwide recall of the driver airbag inflators that

have been included in the regional safety improvement campaign undertaken in four states and territories with consistently high absolute humidity. we understand that takata has not identified or knowledge to any defect of the driver airbag inflators. thus far takata has not announced plans to follow nhtsa's request for a national recall. we want to inform you that honda is going to expand our existing regional safety improvement campaign on affected driver airbag inflators to a national campaign. why are we doing this? because our customers have concerns and we want to address them. we believe this expansion and acceleration of current action. we believe there will be a part shortage that may occur despite

takata's desire to increase inflators. to further increase the part supply we have been in discussions with takata and two other suppliers about expanding the production of replacement or inflators. these talks have been encouraging and we believe will ultimately reduce the duration of any shortage. however until those parts are available we will continue to discuss with nhtsa and takata how to best manage the supply issue. based on information from them we believe it is best to prioritize the replacement driver airbag inflators and what are considered to be the highest risk areas in the country. in addition honda believes all stakeholders would benefit from expert third-party testing of takata airbag inflators that was

announced yesterday is an industrywide program. by coming together is as an industry and sharing information and testin testing and with taks continued cooperation we believe we can achieve greater results more quickly. let me briefly summarize how we got to this point. between 2008 and 12,014 honda has conducted seven national recalls related to specific takata manufacturing defects. since june of 2014 honda along with other automakers has been supporting nhtsa's request to conduct regional safety improvement campaigns in states and territories with high absolute humidity. we understand the urgency of the current situation and we have been taking proactive steps to address the needs of our customers. in addition to the required

first-class mail notification we have made hundreds of thousands of phonecalls, use overnight mail delivery and routinely sent letters in english and spanish. we have also hired a search firm to help us locate hard-to-find customers in some circumstances. and importantly for customers whose vehicles cannot be immediately repaired honda has instructed our dealers to provide loaner or rental cars at no cost to the customer. to summarize, we are going to expand the safety improvement campaign on effective driver airbag inflators nationwide prioritizing the high-risk areas. we are working with ball to pull suppliers to increase parts availability and we are participating in the joint industry research effort. our entire company is operating with the greatest energy and focus to quickly address our

customers needs and concerns. in the days ahead with every action of our company we are dedicating ourselves to honor their relationships we have with our customers. thank you. >> thank you and now mr. westbrook you are now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you ranking member schakowsky members of the subcommittee. thank you chairman terry ranking member schakowsky and members of the subcommittee for your invitation to participate in today's hearing. my name is craig westbrook vice president bmw north america. i'm her on behalf of our company representing the 70,000 people who have jobs provided and supported by the bmw group in the united states. in total the bmw group's presence is represented in 48 states. this includes our north american headquarters in new jersey, financial services in ohio under manufacturing facility in

spartan south carolina just to name a few locations. in fact b&w groups in south carolina's production site is the largest single exporter of vehicles by value in united states of america. the bmw group has been in the united states for nearly four decades. we have worked hard to become part of the fabric of the community in which we are present. central to our investment and in command to united states has been a focus on earning a reputation for delivering on our word and building trust with customers and communities alike. vehicle safety is fundamental to the bmw group. because of this i highly appreciate the opportunity to appear today before the subcommittee. i will share brief timeline of the activities related to takata airbag recalls that in may of 2013 after takata informed bmw north america production autos with certain inflators we initiated a voluntary national safety recall.

this involved a passenger for an airbag on approximately 42,000 model year 2000 to 2003 bmw vehicles. in may of 2014 this event -- we met with takata to discuss issues on airbag inflators. in mid-june it's opened a preliminary evaluation in an unprecedented approach to determine the root cause to the potential safety risk. nhtsa held a conference call with all affected automakers. during this call our makers were asked for their support to conduct a voluntary part collection campaign in specific high humidity regions. bmw north america probably agree to participate in this campaign. in july of 2014 out of an abundance of caution bmw north america expanded its voluntary campaign in previous 2013 recall a passenger front airbag. on july 15, 2014 bmw north america notified nhtsa of a voluntary nationwide recall of

governor so 574,000 vehicles. the next day july 16, 2014 bmw dealers were notified. standard practice for notifying customers about the company preparing the draft customer notification letter for nhtsa's or bp enlace to august that separate their letter. bmw of north america mailed modification letters to our customers in mid-september by first-class mail as required by nhtsa regulation. another way customers are informed of recalls his other dealerships. when a customer visits a dealership for service adviser every bmw dealer conducts an inquiry for outstanding recalls. what's an invite if applicable customers are informed that their vehicle is subject to recall. for repairs are taking care from the spot or an implant is scheduled as soon as possible.

we have made a recall information available in a consumer site bmw sa.com. additionally the information is also available on the nhtsa site www.safer kahr.gov. on either side customers have the ability jackson's recall information by entering their vin. we issued a press release regarding the recalls by bmw. this nationwide recall affects approximately 660,000 model year 2,002,0063 series vehicles. nhtsa estimates over 7.8 million vehicles industrywide are affected by the takata recall in the united states. bmw of north america is also currently conducting a voluntary regional part collection campaign in certain states. this campaign affects drivers front airbag on approximately 11,600 model year 2042 bottelier 2006 bmw series vehicles.

we have significantly increased their loaner fleet to provide any bmw customer needs a loaner, rental vehicle or altered into transportation of the customers wish that i can assure the subcommittee that bmw of north america will continue working with nhtsa and takata on these issues. we will remain vigilant in identifying safety issues and proactive in addressing them. thank you for your time and attention. >> thank you mr. westbrook and now mr. saadat are recognized for your five minutes. >> chairman terry and ranking member schakowsky thank you for inviting me today. my name is a boss saadat and unoriginal product safety executive under vice president of north america graham senior executive united states responsible for toyota interaction with nhtsa and oversight responsibility for field action in the u.s.

regarding takata airbag recalls that an engineer by training and function. first, toyota shares her goals of helping build effects by these recalls and keeping them safe. we are committed to resolve this issue for customers as quickly, conveniently and safely as possible. we believe the actions we have taken reflect this commitment. from the beginning toilet has responded to defect information from takata coordinator with nhtsa and supported takata and that's an ongoing investigation. in april 2013 toyota launched a nationwide recall for front passenger airbag inflators. this recall is still in effect today. in june of this year the remedy for the recall was to replace all affected takata inflators. the industry was among the first

models to recover testing by takata. in october's takata provided ted nhtsa to suggest the safety risk was highest in the areas of high as areas of highest absolute unity. in response we intensified her for two content customers nationwide. throughout these recalls we have worked with customers to get them information they need. beyond our national national -- we had mailed more than 3000 notification letters to know no owners and the disc made humid region. we also have it easier for customers to find recall information on toyota's web site. in addition we have started the second day customer outreach program in humid areas that include telephone calls, e-mails and direct mail and we are staffing or call centers to handle any increase in takata inquiries.

at the same time we are working to replace the parts of toyota dealers in this effort is going well in humid regions. if parts are unavailable we have empowered dealers to meet our customers needs and minimize their inconvenience. for example dealers are able to front passenger airbags and fix the prominent label but once again seizing the seat until a replacement inflators installed. dealers are also making loaner vehicles available and telling affected vehicles for customers if necessary. to this point the faster we get replacement parts for faster we can fix our customers vehicles. takata estimates of supply will increase significantly starting this month. like you who you want show the assurances of the type that -- quality. particularly in the light of previous experiences. for instance in 2010 toyota

recalled the takata plater in japan to address a different manufacturing problem not involving u.s. vehicles. in terms of testing we have conducted and continue continued to conduct testing on takata inflators and we have inspected takata production facilities. additionally we have retained an independent engineering firm to evaluate affected takata inflators and replacement parts. separately toyota is inviting all affected automakers to participate in joint industrywide initiative to conduct an independent testing of takata air inflators. toyota addressed the recent general order and ongoing dedications with the agency. again are nationwide recall remains in effect and we plan to replace all involves inflators as parts become available.

in closing toyota is taking this issue very seriously. we will continue to respond promptly and do what's best for our customers. thank you and i'm happy to answer your questions. >> thank you mr. saadat. at this time we are in the question-and-answer period and i have the opportunity to ask the first question. mr. shimizu, following nhtsa's june i think it was 19th, 2014 request by takata and 10 vehicle manufacturers to participate in a regional field action how many passengers, side and driver side airbag inflators have been tested to this date so june 142 today? >> to my knowledge up to today we have spent around 4000

pieces. >> the 4000 tests, are they evenly divided between passenger and driver's side? >> i think for the driver side i believe they are are around 400. >> 400. so 3600 of the tests were on the passenger side. out of the 3600 on the passenger side airbags how many ruptures have occurred? >> i don't have an accurate number but i believe that it's less than 60. >> less than 60. okay. how about on the driver side of

the 400 vehicles tested? >> zero at this moment. >> zero. how many tests are you doing currently per day? >> currently we are testing about -- 100 apiece per day. >> 100-watt? >> 100 apiece per day. >> is that about passenger? >> is sometimes passenger-side and sometimes the driver side. it depends on the inflator that we collected from the vehicle. >> very good. with your continued stands on opposing a national recall, what about takata's test results will

lead to believe the national recall of all driver side air bags is not needed or appropriate? >> based on the data we are collecting from the region and other regions the vendor supports that we should remain focused on the region with heights temperature and high humidity. >> okay. the crashes and california and north carolina led nhtsa to believe the takata inflators were at risk outside of the state with absolute high humidity so why do you disagree with this conclusion here? >> let me state from my opening statement we are not opposing nhtsa's direction. we are committed to take any action leading to auto safety for the public. that also includes producing

additional replacement kits to supplement their recall effort by automakers. once automakers decided to expand recall of vehicles we supported. i want to explain that we did investigations but they are not completed yet. and regarding the event in north carolina at this time we have had no chance to check the vehicles. we only have the production serial number information in the pictures so we will inspect the

vehicles later and sent to the automakers and takata. >> i only have 28 and slept so i yield back my temin recognize break and member from illinois for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. shimizu, am i saying it correctly? >> yes. >> and they let her takata said to nhtsa yesterday the company rejected a national recall. your director of public safety wrote that "back under the nhtsa statute only manufactures of motor vehicles of replacement vehicles are required to decide in good whether their products contained a safety related defect and if so to conduct a recalled unquote. mr. chairman i would like to submit this letter for the record. >> without objection, so ordered. >> mr. shimizu let me ask you, do you agree with the conclusion in a letter sent by a company yesterday?

>> yes. >> mr. shimizu do you agree that takata is not required to deciding good faith whether your products contain a safety related defect? >> congresswoman i agree with that statement based on the data we have and that would support their recall at the moment. >> so are you telling us that your company has no legal responsibility to determine if airbags are defective into recall them? >> our products are defective supported by scientific data, we are responsible for it. >> so you believe that you are responsible for that if they are found to be defective but it's up to you to decide that? >> yes. our products involved -- so once

we decided its detective, yes. >> moving forward takata will be producing millions of replacement airbags. are the replacement airbags that you are having installed as a result of the recall safe? >> yes. it's true we have issued this in the past and i did find the root cause -- cause an address this. our product including the replacement kits we are replacing in the manufacturing processes. >> you have in fact discover the root cause of the ruptures? >> excuse me? >> are you sure that an certain

that you have discovered, takata has discovered the root cause of the airbag ruptures? >> yes. we found the root cause of the issues in the products we did the recall in the past however we continue investigations for the issues that happened in the area with a high humidity and high temperatures. we need to continue to investigate from these regions. >> are you saying it's only in high humidity areas that this is a problem, that is the root cause? >> we consider it a main contribution to the problem, the high temperature and high humidity and absolute humidity together with the age of the products and that is why we

support nhtsa and continue to analyze the inflators. >> who is the highest-ranking takata official that is signed off on production of airbags that are now being recall the? the ones that are being recalled, who is the highest-ranking official that is actually signed off on that? >> the statement from the company i signed. >> you sign. who is the highest-ranking official with oversight of this production approval process? >> the head of operations and also -- [inaudible] >> let me just ask each of the manufactures and one more question for you mr. shimizu.

have any of these individuals including yourself been held accountable for these decisions? >> can i ask my interpreter? >> yes. have there have been consequences? >> where more focused on correcting the problem and we are not addressing that area yet. >> quickly can i ask, yes or no. our toyota, honda and bmw cars on the road right now, both passenger and driver airbags save? would you tell your children and spouses there is no danger of this type of rupture to keep on driving? mr. schostek. >> congresswoman we want our customers to be safe and feel safe in our cars. as you have for their national

recalls in effect. what we want our customers to do is to first understand whether their car is subject to recall. they can do that either by checking a web site or calling us were visiting their local dealer and finding out if they are subject to recall that if they are what want that car and we want to replace that part. they there are also good to recall we believe they are safe in those cars. >> mr. westbrook. >> yes. >> mr. saadat? >> please keep in mind food recalls inflators are all passenger side, not driver side. it is want to make that clear for two to recalls. >> how do you know back? all the deaths were on the driver-side? all the deaths, not necessarily toyota. >> the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair now recognizes the full committee chair mr. upton. >> thank you mr. chairman and i want to go back to my opening statement.

this committee has been very involved in auto safety and rightly so for a lot of years. as i can remember rolling a flawed tire down this dais 10 years ago really seeking action and we did it. we worked at the end of the session. we significantly raise the fines and we added criminal sanctions for violations. jail. it was tough to go through but we got it done. i want to say it was certainly bipartisan and it was pretty close to unanimous in terms of what we did. and what that tried acts did was really force the manufactures to share details with a regulator to make sure that consumers, us, got the information and felt

safe behind the wheel. there is a report that came out this morning. i have not read it, just literally within the last half-hour or so, but it says reuters, reuters is reporting today that takata ran an investigation into an airbag inflated that ruptured in a bmw as early as 2003 and additionald defects was done in 2004, 10 years ago. that was the time when we were passing the tread act. both of these revelations would indicate that takata was investigating this hazard well before has been previously disclosed. can you comment mr. shimizu on the 2003 in 2004 investigations? are they related to the current

recall? >> congressman might answer is no. >> you may use the mic. >> excuse me can you hear me now. my answer is no. regarding the bmw in 2003 to my knowledge it happened in europe and the cause of the problem is not an inflator issue we are talking about right now. that was a manufacturing issue so it's not the same as the problems we are discussing right now. >> so they are not related as what you are saying? >> they are not related to the current issues. >> so do you know whether the issue today is manufacturing related or is a design flaw in

the inflator itself? do you know the answer that question? >> yes or no? >> to my knowledge the current issue is most likely manufacturing. >> it is not manufacturing related. >> it is. >> it is manufacturing related. thank you. mr. schostek in 2011 a honda associate recognize an issue related to the recording of a verbal code in the legal file management system that could have affected the accuracy of the early warning report and additionally in 2012 nhtsa made honda over that it was under reporting. why didn't honda follow up with the issue in 2011 and why didn't honda take inclusive action in 2012?

>> chairman upton thank you very much for that question and i understand your involvement in the establishment of the tread act and i can understand the discipline me feel by the shortcomings affected by her company and want to explain you what happened. the problem we had was under reporting in the tread act as a systematic problem that began at the outset of the tread act. as you know went into effect in 2003. our staff at the time did not properly programmed computers and set up systems that would agri- let data flow and feed into tread reports. it is difficult for me to say sir but that setup continued unchecked until 2011, 2012. you are right that an internal honda associate did mention a concern as well as a discussion

with nhtsa. they asked about the omission of certain incidents in our tread reporting. we did look into that sir in early 2012. we did not look into it effectively. we found one of what we ate eventually would be known to become three problems. they took substantial action to address that one problem but sir did not complete our compliance requirements. >> can i ask for additional minute? >> without objection. >> we are going to be asking nhtsa what was nhtsa's response? do you did correct it with nhtsa, is that right? do you did fess up in essence to just -- nhtsa, red? >> in 2012 we had a problem converting oral claims into written claims. we made a counter measure internally to report those written claims. mr. chairman we did not close the loop with nhtsa and we did

not act with the urgency we needed to. >> admits a come back and say what happened and was there any dialogue? what was nhtsa's response? .. >>

it. >> him and that is our feeling. >> i yield back. >> the chair recognizes the full committee braincase member mr. waxman. >> thinks mr. chairman on november 18 to extend into regional recall driver's side air bags from nhtsa to a nationwide and on november november 26, to formally request that takata expand to a national recall that yesterday takata responded that the currently available reliable information does not support a nationwide determination of a safety defect. why does takata believe

there is not enough evidence of a driver's side airbag recall? >> the event for the data that we have from the driver's side so based on this data so we should stay focused on this area. and with the scientific evidence. that is the background. >> is the same thing to for the regional recall for passenger side air bags?

>> as i said it comes from p.r. beyond florida. >> to understand from the perspective a recall only covers cars in florida? >> for p.r. and hawaii. >> but if i have a car with the takata air bag and you live florida with the georgia line it is imperative to bring bad in but if i schedule that 50 minutes north in georgia that my car is perfectly safe? is that my assumption?

>> based on the data em recollected with temperature and humidity in the 2.-- the 2.seven at is what we focus on. that is a quite wide area. >> mr. schostek does that make sense to you? fifteen minutes north you are okay but if you are in florida you have to get a replacement? >> eidenshink it is important to distinguish looking at the mower recent regional recall i want to be sure the committee

understands the recalls the reconstructed 2008 through 2014 were related to specific takata defects were national. so for those recalls we believe we understand the cause of the problem, that is the manufacturing defects of takata their recall the matter where they are. but we're talking about now is 2014 through the present which is the last five months and all of us in the industry have been asked by nhtsa to gather through safety and improving campaign to gather information to bring back the insulators in the high committed these states. we included continuous counties and expanded beyond what they ask us. >> but if you are in certain areas the npt and humidity would require you to comply with a regional recall but i

will ask a different question. if i lived in houston texas it is slightly less humid and jacksonville so can we be certain my car would not develop the same defect tour three years later? mcfadyen is the good question we ask that ourselves of that is why we expanded the regional recall to include texas. >> deal is still not know the root cause of the air bag failures? >> congressman asking about their recalls. >> and you know, the root cause of the problem? >> get this moment we do not. we know what contributes to the problems.

>> the confusing contrary purely nonsensical intimation but drivers don't know if they are saved. but until this morning honda had chosen to expand its regional access to misstates and territories. then we learned it is a national recall of driver's side air bags. why did honda decided to expand in the recall to the 13 states and territories? >> we heard this morning about nhtsa request for the we have been seriously considering with the safety

improvement campaign to gather more data nationally but once we understood we decided to take action to take all customers on a nationwide basis but as i said we still believe that the highest risk in the highest areas that those should be prioritized with replacement parts. but we believe our customers have concerns and our job is to satisfy our customers. we want to expand a the recall through the improving campaign to conclude all areas of the country keeping a priority of the regional areas. >> the vice chair of the committee from tennessee. >> thank you, mr. chairman and for your good work on this. i think the witnesses for being willing to answer

these questions because we are trying to get to the root cause. mr. waxman just mentioned that term and mr. shimizu i want to go that direction with you. specifically to the november 19th, "new york times" article that tries to get a time line or chronology. but what we're doing about this and how we have got into this mess in the first place. and why. and that is covered in some parts of "the new york times" article and i would like to submit this for the record is speaks to both of our questions. >> without objection. >> thank you.

mr. shimizu, a jury from the article is said by 1989 researchers in michigan from takata were pressured by executives developed a propellant on that nitrates but the engineering team raised objections to base a propellant on such a risky compound. let's talk about that for a minute. i also found a takata chemical engineer said it was a question that came up ammonium nitrate propellant will that blow up? and a former senior engineer with takata, it is the basic design flaw that predispose is this propellant to break apart therefore risk catastrophic failure with the inflator. this is all before you made that decision. you made that decision

anyway. to move forward with this and that is a problem for us in the american consumer. and the individuals that have lost their lives or eyesight or have been hurt by this so what was the response to the concerns raised by those previously? >> congresswoman with the volume nitrate reusing in the material itself is safe. >> mr. shimizu i am sorry to interrupt. that is not the response i'm asking i know what a minute -- among nitrate is. i know what it is. i am asking you, you had to people a senior engineer and a chemical engineer that brought it to your attention

that this was not a wise choice. i am asking you, sir, when they brought this to your attention, what do you a and your team at takata say in response to these engineers? did you blow led off to say it doesn't matter? it cost less? to a gsa we think we can get by with this because it is an aggressive proponent? i want to know what your response was to them. >> congresswoman was not involved at that time but i do know the discussion for a new type of inflator. we questioned the chemical properties and that combustions of the materials

and we decided we could control. >> mr. shimizu, let's move on you are avoiding the question. when did you start to work with takata? >> 1978 civics so you were around. so you were established with his decision was made. did any other takata employees warned takata about using ammonium nitrate propellant in the year -- the air bags? yes or no? anybody else? teeeight day warn them? >> i am not aware of that. >> so you don't know if anybody else other than the two engineers warned them this was a really bad idea?

you don't know that? there are concerns about using ammonium nitrate propellant yes or no? >>. >> translator: you know, who or when? >> answer the question. >> were the concerns about using ammonium nitrate as a propellant related to the execs that takata did it make it up the food chain? >> i don't know about that. >> you have a good team with you we will allow you to respond. my time is expired for i have five other questions and i will submit in writing and i would like to answer before the end of the year. i yield back.

>> the gentleman from maryland your recognize five minutes. >> mr. shimizu takata has agreed to the recall at its expense with respect to the driver's side and passenger side air bags within the regions where there are high absolute humidity. is that correct? >> yes. and you said a moment ago that you do not yet know the root causes of the defect for the of problem with the deployment of those air bags with respect to that regional recall? >> congressmen we have not identified the root cause yet.

so what is contributing is the temperature and high committee. >> i am willing to take more time so this is fine. that was a courtesy. i will give that back later some time. if you don't know the root causes then how do you know, the replacement part they were providing solves the problem? is it different enough in its design that you have confidence that the replacement does not continue to have the same problem? deal understand my question? >> yes. the current product is

produced from the most recent line that was built into that. so i have a quiet confidence >> so the production line the issue is you cannot identify the root cause that was part of their prior production line that created this problem you have confidence but as a result was never that problem might have then is now solved going forward? with the replacement vehicles. >> you implied that notwithstanding of the

takata decision to resist a national recall that to the extent the auto manufacturers on their own initiative decide to expand a recall nationally at as a practical matter we could have a national recall. even though there is some differences of opinions to the scope of that. but i take it if you on your own initiative decide to expand the recall beyond what takata agrees to you make the decision to incur the expense to get their replacement airbag and plays then down the road try to recover that? is that how works for us is

how they agreed to use the recall and absorb on the front and by takata? >> for us we start and end with our customers. that is the action research trying to take. it is true as industry that have been regional campaigns up to this time we will make a national safety improvement campaign but it is true we have serious but we don't know the cause. the interest is this is also why the trudeau leadership as we factures need to engage in expert third party as takata does the test. as an industry we say that

it will be better for all of us to gather information more quickly it is and all of our interest to find the cause of safety on the road. >> i. anderson and that honda supports the national recall on the driver's side air bag. and on the passenger side, which by the way takata does not support that on the driver's side on the passenger side but bmw does on the passenger side. although not on the driver's side? that may be because bmw is concluding there could be

another problem specific to the passenger side air bags that goes beyond separate so could you briefly explain played this? >> we have a unique design is unique in its design with the manufacturer from takata in 2013 the first indicator the parts were out of specification they gave us another indication to hyde committed the areas we could have a risk with the third indicator it could create the risk of additional air bag related industries not related to the rupture deflator but we have not seen one single ruptured inflator we just try to look after our, excuse me a the

local campaign event we will begin independent contrasting that specializes them propulsion and airbag safety we will share those results and collaborate to do the right thing. >> the gentleman's time is expired we now look at the chairman emeritus in derecognize for five minutes >> here we go live again. was not here for the opening statements but it seems like we have a of a hearing with the automobile manufacturer

that they had a defective part and they would treat it as more and of day manufacturing quality control but not a serious safety issue. it is ironic in this case the part that should protect the driver or the passenger was defective. we have those other technically trained on the committee but we're not safety experts we ask questions of view and leader of the teeeighteen then we cross our fingers. i am just puzzled and

disappointed here we go again. so the most serious questions will be reserved for the of nhtsa questions in the second panel but i would ask mr. shimizu, in the short term the saying is don't make a hole deeper. ion told by my friend said general motors there is a shortage of repair kits to do their replacements and there are a couple of gm replacements how soon do you have kits available to do the recalls for the cars we have already recalled? >> with that capacity in the b350000 pieces per month and

an increase of 450,000 per month by adding two more lines. into discuss with the automakers to approve the capacity and also of taking options it is physical. so we will take any action necessary to support lower speed up the replacement. >> i am just an old engineer but there are 7 million cars all in all have been recalled that 450,000 kits per month that is a year and a half for logger. is that acceptable? >> we understand issues.

that is why we are discussing the capacity of the production but it takes the month to be ready for that. we do everything we can do at this moment. >> what does the driver do with the vehicle in the recall that will not be repaired for another year in a half? >> i'm not trying to be rude but. >> but in the case and then at this moment to focus with the prior day.

and then to catch up to the demand. >> are there other manufacturers that manufacture the equivalent airbag product that you could substitute to repair the cars that have already been recalled? >> requires an additional test. >> i suggest you look at that. i assume those that have the more that have been repaired the better off you will be. i yield back. >> hi thanks though witnesses for the testimony today per gram with

checketts said i felt better about the situation and when i walked into the room but i am more uncertain i have a personal history because i was young senate staffer with urging the editorial legislation. i like to hear how long have you been putting airbags in your vehicles? >> since the 90's i am sure. >> i think it is the late '80s. >> is a thing. >> talk about spontaneous up the planet but the issue of

today with the inflator raptures did not happen before this era within the last 10 years? with the turn of the century? >> i assume there was no relevance of humidity with the malfunction of air bags prior to the turn of the century. the issue over the root cause, mr. shimizu, what possibly changed from the floor of this time period is there anything else that changed in the technology that you could reasonably attentive eye as said -- as

a cause prior to this period? >> we'll understand how the characteristics of ammonium nitrate. and the moisture needs to be controlled with moisture control but is no way to manage that operation. >> but we have excluded any other root cause other they and the propellant. nothing changes with technology. but regardless of this is humidity or temperature related the propellant is the only variable