During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in July, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) spoke about the reduction in the number of enforcement cases by NISTA and FIMSA.
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As you stated, we are here to consider these three nominees, Mr. Bars to be the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Mr. Roberti to lead the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration, Mr. Morrison to lead the National Highway Safety Administration.
00:17Each of these agencies has an important responsibility to protect the health and safety of the traveling public, the movement of goods, and our environment.
00:26Unfortunately, since January, we've seen a significant drop in oversight and enforcement actions across these agencies, potentially letting bad actors get away with violating safety and consumer protection laws.
00:37So I hope our nominees will share today their thoughts about those numbers and what specific plans we need to have in place.
00:44First, Mr. Bars, the Federal Motor Carrier Administration is responsible for enforcing truck safety laws and vetting more carriers operating on roads and highways.
00:54Our trucking industry is essential to the movement of goods across the country, with 70 percent of the total value of commodities shipped in the United States traveling by truck, so big responsibility.
01:06Over 5,000 people are tragically killed in large truck crashes each year.
01:14The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has closed 78 percent fewer cases this year compared to last year, so we'll want to ask about that.
01:26Since PHMSA can shut down bad trucking companies, this lack of action could mean unsafe trucking companies may be continuing to operate, or fraudulent actors, or people scamming consumers or businesses.
01:42So I hope you agree that a plan to address this decline is a serious issue.
01:49Mr. Roberti, the Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, is the Federal's watchdog responsible for ensuring that explosive and toxic materials are transported safely across the country, whether by pipeline, by truck, or train.
02:04According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, accidents involving hazardous materials have severe consequences over the last 20 years.
02:10Pipeline incidents have resulted in 257 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries and over 11 billion in damages.
02:18Earlier this month, two train derailed in northern Mississippi during the same weekend, both resulting in hazardous material spills.
02:27One derailment caused a large fire that forced the evacuation of more than 100 residents, and the other required 50 fire trucks from 12 different departments to respond.
02:39PHMSA has opened the fewest pipeline enforcement cases during the first six months of this administration than any other administration over the past two decades.
02:48So we want to understand what's going on here. We want to make sure that we have strong pipeline safety laws on the books and they're being enforced.
02:56I wrote to the Deputy Administrator May, sounding an alarm about this trend, and I hope to get further information about this.
03:04Finally, Mr. Morrison, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, is responsible for enforcing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Standards
03:14to ensure Americans in the cars that they buy and drive are safe.
03:19Its investigations are responsible for initiating nearly 2,000 vehicle recalls affecting over 300 million people in the last 20 years.
03:28So we want you to continue to play an aggressive oversight role.
03:32This includes recalling things such as the Dakota airbag malfunctions, which killed 28 people when they exploded.
03:39However, NHTSA has opened 25% fewer investigations into vehicle safety this year.
03:46Don't know why, but let's find out.
03:48And this is especially concerning since Consumer Report found investigations have already hit an all-time low.
03:56So we need to understand what this trend is about and reverse it to make sure we're focusing on safety.
04:01So, Mr. Chairman, look forward to asking these nominees the need to make sure we have hard-working inspectors, investigators, and agencies that are doing their job,
04:13not taking shortcuts on safety, and I certainly welcome our former colleague, Senator Scott, for being here.
04:20We do miss him on the committee, but maybe someday, maybe someday he'll be back.
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