Richard Blumenthal

The unfortunate aspect of the fatalities that have been experienced in our vehicles are--these are older-model vehicles; they have tended to change hands, sometimes through used car dealers, independent used car dealers, and we have not…

Would you commit to supporting a bill that I have offered, S. 900, that requires used car dealers to repair any outstanding safety recalls prior to selling or leasing them?

Isn't it fair to say that one of the reasons for that continuous improvement was the presence of moisture inside the inflator?

But the problem is that it becomes unstable when it becomes moist or accumulates moisture, correct?

My view is that Takata is every bit as responsible for the 8 deaths found so far as GM is for the 117 deaths and counting.

There is a lot of evidence that ammonium nitrate is a root cause and that there may well need to be a recall of the recalls and continuing problems.

Continuous improvement?

I thought your testimony here today was that they have been rigorously tested.

I will give you information that is available to all of us, which is that your company explained that moisture could seep into the inflator and might cause the propellant to become more unstable.

Your new inflators, have they shown evidence of moisture?

Well, I think that is a very genteel and nice way of saying you want a safe propellant and so you are going with a company that does not use ammonium nitrate. Correct?

Why are you continuing to use ammonium nitrate, when it was very likely a contributing factor, if not the factor, in causing these exploding inflators?

I would like you to commit, as Executive Vice President of this company, that Takata will establish a compensation fund, similar to the one that GM established.

You need more resources, do you not?

Ultimately, we can use all the rhetoric we want in this room, but the rhetoric is no good without real action.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to express my appreciation to you for having this hearing today, which I know reflects your own interest and caring about this subject.

Those are authorities that you, Congress, have to provide to the agency.

I have proposed the Sunshine in Litigation Act with my colleague Senator Graham, and I hope to revive it again this challenge.

That number of eight may well grow. It may be only the tiny fractional tip of the iceberg of death that was caused by these exploding airbags.

The fault is really with this device, the inflator, because it contained a substance that caused this explosion.

We need to strengthen that agency, not strangle it.

Accountability is key in addressing the failures of the auto recall process.

If our airplanes and airspace were as dangerous as our cars and our roads, corporate officials would be indicted and there would be sweeping changes in the airline industry.

We can allot and blame as much as we wish for the failures of the past, and there have been deadly failures.

I think that that record of cover-up and concealment is one of the low points in corporate conduct.