Cliff Stearns: “last week we had a hearing in Congress into the recent recall by Ford and Firestone of over 6 million tires. These tires…”

“last week we had a hearing in Congress into the recent recall by Ford and Firestone of over 6 million tires. These tires have been attributed to hundreds of vehicle crashes and at least 88 fatalities. Florida, my home State, is fourth in the number of crashes yet has the highest number of these fatalities, at 21. Just recently, I received a letter from a constituent whose son and his fiance were killed when their Ford Explorer crashed as a result of the rear tire tread separation. This is what the constituent wrote to me. ``Their deaths could have been prevented had Ford and Firestone taken action when they knew the potential for injury.'' That is the purpose of our investigations here in Congress. When exactly did these companies know there was a problem, and why did they wait until this summer to initiate a recall? My constituents demand accountability. So, my colleagues, it is time to have additional hearings and to find out why these companies should stop the finger pointing at each other and give us the tough answers.”