nhtsa is also to blame.n-adequate recall in 2007. only after the release of the terrifying 911 call the senator boxer mentioned, and that crash with the high weight control -- highway patrol officer, did it seem that that's a step up. that recall resulted in the complete recall. although the toyota safety issues have been in headlines for months, and hearings were held last week, many questions remain. by, for one, would like to know why the safety issues went unchecked for so long, what steps toyota is taking to ensure the safety of those that rely on their vehicles, and finally, what steps nhtsa is quick to take to ensure this never happens again. it is wonderful to see you here, secretary lahood and administrator of strickland. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman, thank you. everything that time i wanted to say this probably then said. çi will be brief and avoid beig repetitious. i want to reflect on something, if i could. it was not that long ago but mr. secretary, i was in your position as a member of the ca

we want nhtsa to engage with us as well.ere's an opportunity for real obstacle for conversation here and it is not confrontational at all. [buzzer] ufçit is really a question of understanding the problem and bring to bear the right size and engineering. i think there will be a solution. >> you think there should be an industry-wide solution? >> it should be. i think will be global. i think others will engage. >> there is a great episode on television where a character in cages on a low-speed chase with a prius. voluntary can be a relative thing. you talked earlier about some of the voluntary changes in the industry had made to respond to safety concerns. many of those changes were made that were things that the industry initially resisted. one of the great things about the country we live in is we have a system that allows people from all different walks of life to work together in a public setting like nhtsa and our private enforcement methods to try to hold people accountable and work to improve the technology and automobi

day-to-day basis and discuss issues with nhtsa. that's correct. and two of them came from nhtsa. and second one is six years ago. i know them personally by now. and they are of very high integrity. i really respect their expertise, and we value them. not their influence, but their experti expertise. and i think also they came from a very -- it's hard to imagine they can exercise any strong influence rather than expert. and i really value the work they are doing. >> i understand under the current rules this wasn't like a violation but they were involved in these negotiations then. >> discussions. >> mr. ditlow, i went through earlier with secretary lahood and administrator strickland some ideas on how we can fix this going forward. i want to throw them out there again because that's what i'm most interested in. fixing the relationship between the government regulators where our public and my two customers and many more in minnesota who had these acceleration events and one was so bad for six miles that it burned her hub caps, the brakes did. fortunately, both of them survived. the

nhtsa is succeeding in its mission. the second part of your question, do i feel that vehicles are generally safe or will be and not have any other issue like toyota? it is the automaker's responsibility that their vehicles comply with safety standards. that is their responsibility. we are not branding these cars state. but it is our job -- sake. -- it is not bringing these cars say. they have to comply with our standards but it is my job to make sure that they hold to the standards. this agency will hold that line. >> the chair time is up. >> thank you again for joining us this afternoon. as i said in my opening statement, i think the agency should be commended because the highways are safer today than they have ever been from a statistical standpoint. you would agree with that i am assuming. >> yes, sir. >> there have been a lot of articles written and testimony recently nhtsa has not fulfilled its responsibility. nhtsa is a lap dog for the industry, not a watchdog. there has been a lot of criticism of their about the

>> i think we should have the highest standard possible, nhtsa which, nhtsa employees -- which wouldhtsa employees from working with auto manufacturers for a limited amount of time. for this administration, it is two years for a cabinet secretary. i think it probably should be longer. >> so you are saying that they can work with the agency on a specific issue, it just not with the regulators. that sounds like a good idea. i know when you get these complaints, you scan your databases to figure out if there is a match or you have seen a number. we do not want to get in the fight about what the "new york times" said or not, but nhtsa stands its own databases. who scans corp. databases? >> we work with that, and we try to go through all of the data we can. >> toyota has a statutory requirement to report to our early-warning system. so we receive their peaceful reports, technical service bulletins. all of that -- we receive their full reports and technical service bulletins. >> the guy i mentioned, i talked to him directly, and he felt like he was being told he was not telling the truth.

claybrook who served as head of nhtsa. hope that our subcommittee and nhtsa will take advantage of all of the years of experience she has had not only as an administrator but as an advocate. i thanked mr mccurry and ms. dy andf ms. gadhia. in looking at the priorities that you laid out for legislative and administrative, there's a couple of things that are clearly legislative if you think penalties need to be enhanced i think that is legislative on our part. what are those things that you think the committee in particular has to deal with that cannot be done administratively to meet the goals that you have set out or that the problems you have identified? >> i would say it certainly in the penalty area that is a legislative issue. and in the funding that is a legislative issue. if the president's budget is what it is -- and it is totally insufficient -- it is not this committee's responsibility, although you do authorize, of course. i think that in the area of transparency, if there have been decisions made by the agency t

can support and assist nhtsa. as i look at the scenario of toyota as a framework, i wonder about a safety -- about the safety and quality of the automobiles on american highways in general. what reason can you give us that we should not think that the recent toyota recall would not replace itself -- replay itself with any other automobile dealer at manufacturers automobiles for american highways? can you assure us that this toyota recall is really something that is an aberration as it relates to automobile safety? >> i would say that the toyota retairecall is indicative of how nhtsa uses its authority to get to the bottom of something. when the secretary of transportation to office, they were observing certain issues with toyota. they felt so strongly about it that mr. medford went to japan to inform toyota that they did not feel that toyota was holding up its obligations to inform and interact with nhtsa to address safety and recall concerns. that effort began on december 15. that was the day of my confirmation h

that move narrowed the scope of nhtsa's investigation.and toyota bragged the smaller probe saved $100 million. that's lead critics to say nhtsa relies too heavily on the automakers it regulates. former nhtsa administrator joan claybrook says its easy for manufacturers to stonewall the agency. >> if they hear about a safety defect, they don't know much about it. they've got to gather a lot of information, the manufacturer knows a lot about it, so they come in and try to persuade the agency to try to narrow the scope of the investigation. >> reporter: claybrook and other safety advocates want more funding for nhtsa. while car and truck crashes account for 95% of all transportation deaths, nhtsa's budget is just 1% of the overall department of transportation budget. advocates also want automakers to provide more information about crashes, installing event safety recorders or so-called black boxes in all cars. additionally they'd like to see criminal penalties for delaying safety recalls. >> criminal penalties essentially tell the manufacture

nhtsa. this information should include individual people identification numbers of cars that are subject to a particular recall. nhtsa would be able to match up safety recalls with the manufacture provided vin in a searchable data base. we encourage states to link this while complying to the ability to meet the administration. this is help people who purchase used cars to know whether to recall the car. we recommend that congress to give it the reports of a revolving door. we are pleased to hear the administrators looking into this issue. we ask congressman to adequately fund the nhtsa. in 2007, crashes accounted for 99% of all. this is over 1% of the entire d.o.t. budget. >> thank you. >> thank you. thank you for the opportunity to appear and speak on behalf of the industry as a whole. as a major introduction, when they lifted the membership of the subcommittee, i actually served with the fathers of three of the members. it is a homecoming of sorts. it is good to be back with you. as you co

it should act like a cop. >> reporter: how asleep at the switch was nhtsa?ear 2000 nhtsa has received 2,600 complaintssudden, unintended acceleration in toyota cars along with six petitions requesting investigation. state farm insurance companies now confirming that at first alerted the agency to problem was toyota cars in 2004. that very same year, 2004, the committee says that nhtsa did its only study of electronic throttle control systems in toyota cars. a so-called preliminary evaluation. then shut the evaluation down announcing that a defect trend in the cars has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. auto safety expert they conducted the test in 2007 and determined floor mats were causing the sudden acceleration problem. in a freedom of information act request they got few answers. >> nhtsa responded by saying they don't know how they did the rest. they don't know what they measured and have no test data. in other words, they had nothing other than a conclusion. >> reporter: the next questi

we got early warning data coming in, and nhtsa opened investigations.standard we have to follow to get our case in courtxd is we have to find a vehicle defect that creates an unreasonable risk in safety. if we can not find that defect, we cannot go forward. we will lose the case in course. -- in court. those incidents are where a full investigation was done, top to bottom, and they were not able to find a defect. they took a look at the electronic throttle control system in 2004, did a larger inquiry in 2007, and were not able to find a defect. >> the last question i have for you is that some of the senators have alluded to press reports, whether it be abc, cbs, whoever. i do not remember who reported on this. there is an allegation, or at least an inference, that there is a relationship between nhtsa and manufacturers that is too cozy. i do not know if that is true or not. but you are the new administrator there, and most of the stuff happened before you got there. do you have concerns that the relationship between nhtsa and the manufacturers is too co

nhtsa sent us figures that back that up. of 59 fatalities due to unintended acceleration in vehicles over the past ten years. ford with 19, chrysler with 12, they still pale in comparison to toyota that had over 50 deaths. nhtsa has spent decades trying to get a handle on this problem. >> what do the automakers say? >> ford says it hasn't identified any major defects in its vehicles. chrysler told us that the problem was identified as driver error. safety advocates say that's the major problem. nhtsa has been too willing to close the book on this and blame driver error. 141 investigations into unintended acceleration and closed 112 of them without any action. i spoke to joan claybrook who is now professor emeritus of the safety watchdog, public citizen. >> they found an easy out in my view on this by just blaming the driver. but any driver who puts their foot on the accelerator by mistake will take their foot off the accelerator rather than jamming it on the floor and keeping it there till they have a crash. that's just not

nhtsa is accomplishing their mission. will they be safe without toyota? it is their responsibility to want to comply with the federal order of vehicle safety act. the job that we have is to enforce and police the market. the auto makers have to comply with these standards, and it is my job to make certain that they continue to hold those standards and we will continue to hold this line. >> the chair recognizes mr. winfield for five minutes. >> thank you for joining us this afternoon. as i have said in my opening statement, the agency should be commended, because the highways are safety today, that may have been in a statistical standpoint. we have heard a lot of articles written, and there was one of them recently that said that nhtsa had not been accomplishing their mission and they were a lapdog for the industry. there has been a lot of criticism about the agency. and as the administrator, how would you respond to that, in a general way? is this criticism true? >> we have been a very active agency. the agency has been very active since the new secretary

to both toyota and to nhtsa and to my tremendous sorrow i have to say neither nhtsa or toyota has ever given a response to mr. shepherd. so symbolically, and really, i asked you today we had talked to both him and to his master mechanic at length. i ask you today, will you be in touch with this man? we will give you his address. because you -- we didn't have a chance to get into how you handled complaints. that's so key to what level do they rise. what does the board know about them? does the board meet as all the people i suggested? is there an executive committee which -- hinted at in the organizational table? how do these things come to the attention? that was my frustration, my first round of questions when i tried to find out when were these decisions changed if they were changed. which they were because your president admitted to that. safety, took a second seat to profits. in japanese culture, in japanese corporations, things do not happen by chance. they happen by decision. and i failed to get an answer about that. i regret that. but you made the statement -- in a sense, the re

the national highway traffic safety administration, or nhtsa, is considering the move. it's in response to consumer complaints about unintended sudden acceleration in toyotas. nhtsa administrator david strickland today is still investigating problems with toyotas. he says a toyota document that brags of saving $100 million by rolling back a nhtsa safety investigation has no foundation. >> the claims that toyota made about their negotiations or influences is false. the things they claim in that document are like me claiming i was responsible for the sun rising this morning-- absolutely false. size toyota says it will have a brake override system by the end of this year and will also retrofit some current models to have the safety feature. >> tom: still ahead, get your portfolio passport ready. tonight's of mutual interest looks at international mutual funds and whether they provide you with the devirs fi indication they promise. >> susie: the dow seems to be taking baby steps to breaking its record. >> tom: ever so slight gains today to pull into positive territory. let'

an entry program analyst, a gs-7 in chicago, illinois, at nhtsa would normally net $1,200 per paycheck two weeks. because of the furlough would be paid only $900. that's a $300 cut. if you're taking $900 home over two weeks, $300 out of that paycheck is serious money. serious effect on your life. and it's a serious devaluation of appreciation for your service to the public. these are career personnel. at anytime that's painful, but at this time with this severe meltdown, economic recession, it's devastating. miss a car payment, miss a tuition payment, miss part of your mortgage payment, miss your fuel bill, miss combrur electric bill, all -- miss your electric bill. some piece of this bill had nothing to do with these personnel, these careerists. through the great credit of our secretary transportation, ray lahood, former colleague of ours in this body, he called and said, i am really concerned about these career personnel. we have to make them whole. they didn't do anything wrong. the department didn't do anything wrong. they were just stand-by victims of this action, and we will be a

she was the nhtsa -- she was the former nhtsa administrator. democrats line is next.ler: i was in a car accident and when i was hit at a red light and i was the passenger, i was surgically operated on. the lady ran a red light and chea -- she caused spinal fusio. i have tried and tried to to report this. i have a serious fracture spinal fusion and i need a repeat spinal fusion and my blue cross does not pay 100%. that leaves me 25% of a very expensive repaid spinal fusion. it is in the neighborhood of half a million dollars. host: i will jump in because this sounds like a personal issue with your health. caller: i cannot get any help from washington. i have tried calling. i have called every judicial organization. i have called department of transportation. i don't know who to call. i cannot get another neurosurgeon because of this insurance situation. it is such a corrupt thing. how can this happen when we have a constitution and a bill of rights? guest: first of all, there are cameras at many red light intersections. that helps to the turk red blood running which is

service bulletin, those sent to every toyota dealer and nhtsa was never made public. >> the governments really hiding this. they are in a conspiracy with the auto industry to keep these out of the public sight. >> reporter: nhtsa declined comment. the lawyers now suing toyota claim that this toyota service bulletin is proof that the company knowingly lied to the public, blaming sudden acceleration problems on floor mats or stuck gas pedals. tim howard is a law professor who also heads the legal group. that is saying that toyota hid the real problem, for one reason. recalling all affected vehicles could cost billions. >> they could fix these problems easily. it would cost them about $500 a car nationwide. if you have 6 million to 7 million cars, you have the numbers close to 4 or $5 million. it is hard to tell the truth when the numbers art the bottom of the truth. >> reporter: toyota's response was to discredit the claims being made by the attorneys suing the car company. toyota strongly disputes these completely baseless allegations being driven by plaintiff's attorneys like mr. howar

. >> for more than two days, engineers, side by side between nhtsa and toyota went through this automobilembling, reassembelling it, putting brakes on it and spending more than two hours trying to duplicate what was claimed happen without success. >> reporter: according to toyota, the data they were able to pull out of sikes' car revealed that he used the brake in excess of 250 times during his 23-mile ordeal. basically, they're saying, that data recovery doesn't back up his story. sikes, however, is maintaining that his story is absolutely correct. last week when we interviewed him i asked him pointblank if he was lying. here's what he said. someone who is a bit skeptical is saying oh that guy in stoits trying to sue toyota or is just looking for attention. what's the reality? >> no, there's no attention. in fact, i can't believe the number of calls we've gotten and we're just trying not to answer the phone. you know i've only talked to a couple of people. not asking for money from anybody. i'm just telling the story. you know we don't need the fame from this. >> reporter: jim sikes does

another in a series on toyota's massive recall. 60 groups accuse the nhtsa of being too cozy with toyota. democratic leaders plan to begin reading the healthcare bill. hoyer says the congressional budget office has scored it as some provisions. an estimate will be released today. >> obama and his socialistic ideas, this is a life lesson in progress right now for conservatives. >> sunday, the founder and president of the clare booth policy institute. >> "washington journal quality continues. host: last up is james goldgeier. is a political science and international affairs professor. our topic is nato. why does nato still matter? bob guest: good question, because here is an organization organized in 1949 to protect against a soviet attack. that threat disappeared 20 years ago. what nato has become since then is an organization doing a variety of things. first, working to establish stability across central and eastern europe, and tried to repair damage done during the cold war. now increasingly dealing with threats that emanate from, far from the trans atlantic area. but there is afghanist

>> i think we should have the highest standard possible, nhtsa which, nhtsa employees -- which wouldibit nhtsa employees from working with auto manufacturers for a limited amount of time. for this administration, it is two years for a cabinet secretary. i think it probably should be longer. >> so you are saying that they can work with the agency on a specific issue, it just not with the regulators. that sounds like a good idea. i know when you get these complaints, you scan your databases to figure out if there is a match or you have seen a number. we do not want to get in the fight about what the "new york times" said or not, but nhtsa stands its own databases. who scans corp. databases? >> we work with that, and we try to go through all of the data we can. >> toyota has a statutory requirement to report to our early-warning system. so we receive their peaceful reports, technical service bulletins. all of that -- we receive their full reports and technical service bulletins. >> the guy i mentioned, i talked to him directly, and he felt like he was being told he was not telling the t