Pallone Opening Remarks at Auto Safety Markup

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following opening remarks at a Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee markup of 12 auto safety bills:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start where we can all agree: 40,000 people a year dying on our roads is unacceptable.

That is why this upcoming surface transportation reauthorization matters so much. It is an opportunity to save lives and put safety first.

We must make progress on reducing roadway deaths. Progress requires action, not the inaction we have seen from the Trump Administration over the last year. Many of the critical safety provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law remain unimplemented. They must be completed to protect lives. 

The cost of inaction and delay is not only lost lives. Car crashes cost the United States more than $390 billion annually. That price is paid by consumers. Safety is the most affordable option we have. That is why my “Safety is Not for Sale Act” advances both safety and affordability by letting consumers choose the safety features they need to protect themselves and their families without requiring them to pay for expensive luxury packages.

I am pleased to see other bills from Democratic members included on this markup. Deaths among pedestrians and cyclists are near all-time highs. Representative Clarke’s bill, the “Magnus White and Safe Streets for Everyone Act,” honors Magnus White, a 17-year-old U.S. National Cycling Champion who was tragically killed on a designated bike path while training to represent the United States. This bill ensures that essential crash avoidance technology protects every person on our streets regardless of who they are, what they wear, or their mode of transportation.

Representative Mullin’s bill, the “Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act,” addresses the scourge of driver distraction and the impact of touchscreens on car crashes.

Representative Schrier’s “Know Before You Drive Act” ensures car buyers know the actual capabilities of their cars’ automation rather than misleading marketing claims.

Representative Kelly’s “SAFE Exit Act” will end the terrifying and unnecessary deaths caused by consumers being trapped in their cars during emergencies when power is lost.

Finally, Representative Dingell’s “Safe Access for Survivor’s Act” helps ensure that survivors are not tracked by their abusers through the increasing amount of data that vehicles collect.

Through these bills, and surface transportation reauthorization, we have an opportunity to make choices that make our roads safer for the American people. Safety is not a partisan issue. We must all protect our constituents, and I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis with Chairman Guthrie and members of the Committee on a strong automobile safety title for the surface transportation reauthorization.  

Thank you and I yield back. 

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