Senate bill stalls; foreign recall provision added to DOT bill

WASHINGTON (Oct. 4)—The Senate bill to enhance the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration´s powers to gather tire and auto defect information and punish recall wrongdoers has stalled on the Senate floor, because two senators have placed holds on the legislation. A spokeswoman for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sponsor of the bill, couldn´t say which senators placed the hold on the bill or why they did so; such information is confidential under Senate rules. Congress has only until its Oct. 13 adjournment to pass NHTSA reform legislation. As insurance, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has added to the Department of Transportation appropriations bill a provision requiring auto makers to inform NHTSA of foreign recalls. The provision is in the final version of the bill agreed on in House-Senate conference. "This information must be made available so that lives are not needlessly jeopardized," Shelby said about the provision in a news release. "The American public deserves it."