Skip to main content
Image
Photo of Committee panel

Pallone, Schakowsky: “Consumers Need Solutions, Not More Questions”

February 23, 2016

Committee Leaders Respond to Insufficient Results After Testing Deadly Takata Air Bags

Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued the following statement in response to the investigation into defective Takata airbag inflators.

While an independent engineering firm may have identified the root cause of certain Takata airbag ruptures, this partial root cause determination does nothing for consumers. Consumers still don’t know when their airbags will be replaced, and those who have had them replaced do not know if the replacements are safe. The lawmakers called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), automakers, and Takata to expeditiously recall potentially unsafe vehicles:


“While continued testing is necessary, drivers need peace of mind that their cars are safe. Consumers need solutions, not more questions.

“We call on NHTSA, the automakers, and Takata to speed up the process of getting these unsafe airbags out of cars. Today’s announcement suggests that all ammonium nitrate airbags should be replaced, which would make an already unreasonably long backlog even worse. Drivers shouldn’t be forced to wait endlessly for a fix.”