Summary

House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing with Eddie and Rhonda Smith, Toyota car victims, James Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota USA, Ray LaHood, and Sean Kane, the president, Safety Research Strategies Inc. 16:00:00 THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT REASONS FOR SURGES. 16:00:01 IT COULD BE A HIGH IDLE UP THAT TAKES PLACE SOMETIMES WHEN AIR 16:00:05 CONDITIONING KICKS ON, AS AN EXAMPLE. 16:00:07 >> BUT REPROGRAMMING THE COMPUTER WOULD NOT BE A 16:00:10 MECHANICAL FIX, WOULD IT? >> NO. 16:00:12 >> AND THE OTHER REALITY OF THAT NOTICE IS THAT THESE 2002 TO 16:00:16 2006 CAMRYS WHICH WERE THE SUBJECT OF THAT TECHNICAL 16:00:20 SERVICE BULLETIN, YOU NOT ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF THE 16:00:24 BRAKE OVERRIDE RETROFIT WITH THOSE MODELS, ARE YOU? 16:00:27 >> CAMRY, I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AND SEE WHAT YEAR IT GOES BACK 16:00:31 TO. BUT WE ARE GOING BACK IN THE 16:00:32 CASE OF CAMRY. >> ALL RIGHT. 16:00:34 >> NOW ONE OF THE THINGS YOU ALSO MENTIONED IN YOUR STATEMENT 16:00:37 WAS THAT IN DECEMBER YOU ASKED EXPONENT, A WORLD CLASS 16:00:41 ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC CONSULTING FIRM, TO CONDUCT A 16:00:44 COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF YOUR ELECTRONIC 16:00:48 THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM WITH AN UNLIMITED BUDGET. 16:00:50 SO LET'S TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. 16:00:54 YOUR COUNSEL WHO IS WITH YOU TODAY IS WITH A VERY WELL-KNOWN 16:00:57 FIRM THAT DEFENDS NOT JUST TOYOTA BUT OTHER AUTO 16:01:01 MANUFACTURERS IN PRODUCT LIABILITY AND CRASH WORTHINESS 16:01:05 CASES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. YOU AGREE WITH THAT, CORRECT? 16:01:08 >> YES. >> I AM IN NO WAY IMPUGNING THEM 16:01:11 FOR THEIR ROLE, BUT I FIND IT VERY ODD THAT WHEN YOU WERE 16:01:15 PRESENTED WITH THIS CHALLENGE OF GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THIS 16:01:17 PROBLEM YOU WENT TO YOUR DEFENSE FIRM TO GO MAKE THE CONTACT TO 16:01:21 ARRANGE FOR THIS INDEPENDENT TESTING. 16:01:24 >> AGAIN, OUR LEGAL STAFF PUT TOGETHER THE REQUEST. 16:01:27 I CAN TELL YOU THAT THAT REPORT IN ITS ENTIRETY IS GOING TO BE 16:01:30 MADE PUBLIC. >> AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT, 16:01:32 SIR. >> SO IF THERE ARE ISSUES IN IT, 16:01:34 IT'S GOING TO COME OUT. >> LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT 16:01:37 THE COMPANY THAT YOU RETAINED, EXPONENT, BECAUSE THEY ARE A 16:01:42 SUCCESSOR CORPORATION TO A COMPANY CALLED FAILURE ANALYSIS 16:01:45 ASSOCIATES, WHICH HAS DONE EXTENSIVE WORK FOR NOT JUST 16:01:48 TOYOTA BUT ALL THE BIG AUTO MANUFACTURERS AND THE MOTORCYCLE 16:01:55 MANUFACTURERS ON NOT ONLY FAILURE ANALYSIS. 16:02:01 >> I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE EXPERT WITNESS BUT THEY'VE WORKED FOR 16:02:04 OTHER AUTOMOTIVES IN VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL AND OTHER 16:02:08 THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ARE GREAT FOR THE INDUSTRY. 16:02:10 >> ONE OF THE THINGS I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT I HAVE A COPY OF A 16:02:14 DEPOSITION THAT THEIR CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, ROGER 16:02:19 McCarthy, TRIED IN 1998. IN THAT DEPOSITION HE TESTIFIED 16:02:23 THAT FAILURE ANALYSIS ASSOCIATE, THEN KNOWN AS ACCENTURE, 16:02:27 RECEIVED BETWEEN $30 MILLION AND $40 MILLION A YEAR FOR THE WORK 16:02:30 THEY DID FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY. WERE YOU AWARE OF THAT? 16:02:33 >> NO. >> ISN'T IT TRUE THAT TOYOTA HAS 16:02:36 PAID THEM OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN THE PAST FOR THE WORK THAT 16:02:39 THEY'VE DONE? >> EXPONENT? 16:02:41 >> YES. >> I DO NOT KNOW. 16:02:42 >> WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PROVIDE US WITH DOCUMENTATION OF 16:02:46 WHAT TOYOTA HAS PAID TO ACCENTURE? 16:02:49 NOT JUST IN RELATION WITH THIS STUDY THAT'S BEING DONE OR IN 16:02:53 RELATIONSHIP WITH MR. GILBERT'S FOLLOW-UP ANALYSIS, BUT OVER THE 16:02:57 PERIOD OF TIME THAT THESE RECALLS THAT ARE BEING 16:03:00 CONSIDERED OR HAVE BEEN ISSUED HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. 16:03:02 CAN YOU DO THAT? > 16:03:12 >>. >> I'M SORRY. 16:03:13 COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION. >> I WOULD MAKE A FORMAL REQUEST 16:03:16 THAT WE GET AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN FROM TOYOTA 16:03:20 INTERNATIONAL, TOYOTA NORTH AMERICA, DOCUMENTING THE 16:03:24 FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEIR COMPANY AND ACCENTURE OR 16:03:28 ITS PREDECESSOR, FAILURE ANALYSIS ASSOCIATE, NOT JUST IN 16:03:33 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STUDY THAT WAS DONE AS HAS BEEN THE 16:03:35 SUBJECT -- >> THAT'S FINE. 16:03:36 WE'LL DO THAT. >> NOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT 16:03:39 YOU TALKED ABOUT WAS THE FACT THAT YOU WERE PRESENT DURING 16:03:43 SOME TESTING THAT WAS DONE AT ACCENTURE. 16:03:46 >> EXPONENT. >> EXPONENT, YES. 16:03:50 >> IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE PART OF WHEN THERE WAS FILMING 16:03:53 THAT WAS DONE TO DOCUMENT THE TESTING? 16:03:56 >> NO. I JUST WANTED TO GO SEE HOW THEY 16:03:59 TEST. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A VEHICLE 16:04:02 THAT'S GONE INTO FAIL SAFE MODE. SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT 16:04:05 IT FEELS LIKE FROM THE CONSUMER'S STANDPOINT. 16:04:09 WHAT FAIL SAFE FEELS LIKE AS YOU ARE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. 16:04:11 >> WERE YOU INVOLVED IN ANY WAY IN THE ANALYSIS IN TERMS OF 16:04:17 DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THAT PROJECT OR HOW THE RESULTS WOULD 16:04:20 BE SUBMITTED? >> NO. 16:04:22 THE ONLY PORTION I WAS INVOLVED IN WAS THAT WHEN THAT RESEARCH 16:04:27 BECOMES AVAILABLE IN ITS ENTIRETY IT WOULD BE MADE 16:04:30 PUBLIC. IT WOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO 16:04:32 CONGRESS AND NHTSA. >> AND DID TOYOTA MAKE A DIRECT 16:04:36 RELATIONSHIP FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THOSE SERVICE WITH EXPONENT 16:04:39 OR WAS THAT SOMETHING HANDLED BY BOWMAN AND BROOK? 16:04:42 >> I DON'T KNOW. >> BECAUSE WHEN YOU INDICATE IN 16:04:46 YOUR STATEMENT THAT YOU REQUESTED THEM TO DO A 16:04:49 COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS WITH AN UNLIMITED 16:04:52 BUDGET, I'M JUST WONDERING WHETHER THERE ARE DOCUMENTS THAT 16:04:56 WOULD DEFINE THE SCOPE OF THAT REQUEST AND THE TERMS UNDER 16:05:00 WHICH EXPONENT WOULD BE COMPENSATED FOR WHAT THEY WERE 16:05:04 PERFORMING. ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT? 16:05:06 >> I'M NOT AWARE OF IT. >> THEN I WOULD ALSO REQUEST 16:05:09 THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND I YIELD BACK. 16:05:11 >> THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES QUESTIONS BY 16:05:13 MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. WE'LL NOW GO TO QUESTIONS FROM 16:05:16 MEMBERS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE. >> AS FAR AS I KNOW, ACCENTURE 16:05:23 HAS NOT BEEN HIRED BY YOU TO DO ANY ENGINEERING OR TESTING, HAVE 16:05:29 THEY? >> EXPONENT. 16:05:30 >> EXPONENT. ACCENT SURLIKE AN ACCOUNTING 16:05:34 FINANCIAL FIRM, RIGHT? >> YES. 16:05:35 >> YOU GOT -- YOU ARE ASKED QUESTIONS BY MY DEMOCRAT 16:05:39 COLLEAGUE ABOUT ACCENTURE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE FOR THE 16:05:42 RECORD IT'S BEEN CLEARED. WITH REGARD TO THE FIRM THAT YOU 16:05:45 HIRED, EXPONENT, AS FAR AS I'M AWARE, EVEN THE UNITED STATES 16:05:50 GOVERNMENT TURNED TO THIS FIRM TO HELP US COME TO THE SOLUTIONS 16:05:54 AS TO WHY WE LOST THE SHUTTLE "COLUMBIA." 16:05:57 IS THAT CORRECT? >> YES. 16:05:59 >> SO THIS IS NOT A FLY BY NIGHT FIRM. 16:06:02 THIS IS SOMEONE WHO IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE UNITED STATES 16:06:05 THAT IS -- WHEN IT COMES TO PROBLEM SOLVING. 16:06:07 >> YES. >> WE WANT TO DEFINE THE BEST. 16:06:10 AND AGAIN THERE WILL BE ANOTHER REVIEW OF THE ECTS DONE BY THIS 16:06:15 INDEPENDENT STUDY GROUP. THEY MAY CHOOSE TO GO WITH THEM. 16:06:18 THEY MAY CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE. >> WITH REGARD TO SOME TESTIMONY 16:06:21 THAT YOU -- I WROTE THIS DOWN BECAUSE IT WAS BOTHERSOME TO ME. 16:06:26 YOU SAID THAT WITH REGARD TO TESTING THAT WAS DONE LAST NIGHT 16:06:29 WITH REGARD TO THE METHODOLOGY USED BY DR. GILBERT ON THE FIRST 16:06:34 PANEL, YOU SAID, QUOTE, IT'S NOT A REAL WORLD SCENARIO. 16:06:39 SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER? 16:06:42 IN OTHER WORDS, HE DID TESTIFY THAT HE USED MANIPULATION. 16:06:46 HE TOLD ME HE DID NOT CUT THREE WIRES. 16:06:49 BUT WHEN YOU SAY THAT THERE WAS A METHODOLOGY THAT'S NOT A REAL 16:06:53 WORLD SCENARIO, HELP ME UNDERSTAND. 16:06:57 >> WELL, -- YEAH, I THINK HE SAID TAPPED IN, WHICH IS HOW HE 16:07:09 GETS INTO THE -- AGAIN, THIS HAPPENED JUST 12 16:07:12 HOURS AGO. SO I DON'T WANT TO ATTACK HIM 16:07:15 WITHOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT HIS PROCESS WAS. 16:07:18 BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS HE TOOK THE PLUG OFF THE BACK OF THE 16:07:26 ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THERE ARE SIX WIRES ON THE BACK 16:07:27 OF THAT. TWO THAT GO TO THE SENSOR, TWO 16:07:30 THAT GO TO THE POWER AND TWO THAT GO TO THE GROUND. 16:07:34 HE TAPPED INTO THE TWO THAT GO TO THE SENSOR AND BASICALLY 16:07:39 THROUGH SOME DEVICE TIED THOSE TWO TOGETHER. 16:07:43 AND THEN TIED THE -- ONE OF THE POWER WIRES INTO ANOTHER ONE. 16:07:47 SO, AGAIN IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM AS IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MAY 16:07:53 NECESSARILY HAPPEN IN THE REAL WORLD. 16:07:59 EXPONENT HAS TESTED WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE GROUND. 16:08:01 WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SENSORS BREAK DOWN. 16:08:02 BUT IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY. SO I JUST WOULD LIKE TO 16:08:08 UNDERSTAND HIS METHODOLOGY AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT THE 16:08:10 TESTING PARADIGM THAT'S CAUSING THIS. 16:08:14 >> SO WHEN ABC SHOWED THIS, IN ORDER TO HAVE THESE RESULTS, 16:08:19 YOUR TESTIMONY WOULD BE THAT DR. GILBERT HAD TO INDUCE FAULT BY 16:08:26 MANIPULATION TO CREATE AND GENERATE AN ARTIFICIAL VAULTAGE 16:08:29 FOR THE RESULT HE WAS SEEKING. >> YES. 16:08:32 AND GO AROUND THE SENSOR. >> SO THAT NORMALLY ISN'T GOING 16:08:34 TO HAPPEN AS I'M DRIVING ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS DOWN THE ROAD. 16:08:38 WOULD THAT BE CORRECT? >> I BELIEVE SO. 16:08:39 I'M NOT AN ENGINEER. THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO STUDY 16:08:42 THROUGH EXPONENT BECAUSE THEY DID THE SAME STUDY. 16:08:46 >> ALL RIGHT. EARLIER I MADE THE COMMENT 16:08:48 ABOUT -- I THINK THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, WE HAVE SEEN WHAT 16:08:52 HAPPENS WHEN NBC "DATELINE" STAGED A CRASH BETWEEN TWO 16:08:56 TRUCKS TO CLAIM GENERAL MOTORS FUEL TANK DESIGN CAUSED FIRE 16:08:59 CRASH -- CRASH TEST ON TELEVISION. 16:09:01 AND WE WERE ALL PRETTY UPSET OVER IT. 16:09:03 SO NOW WHAT WE HAVE IS A REPEAT SCENARIO WITH REGARD TO ABC, 16:09:07 ALSO USING A MANIPULATION, NOT USING A REAL WORLD SCENARIO. 16:09:10 SO THAT TYPE OF -- THAT TYPE OF THING CAN BE LEFT TO THE 16:09:14 CREDIBILITY OF THE VIEWER AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. 16:09:16 NOW I'M GOING TO SHIFT. THE REASON I'M GOING TO SHIFT IS 16:09:22 LET'S GO BACK TO "COLUMBIA." WHEN THERE IS A CRASH IN 16:09:27 AMERICA, AND WE HAVE A CONCERN, WE GO TO THE PRODUCT. 16:09:32 SO EXPONENT LOOKS AT "COLUMBIA." TRIES TO GATHER AS MUCH 16:09:35 INFORMATION AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN. 16:09:39 DATAA AND WHAT'S LEFT. >> RIGHT. 16:09:40 >> WHEN THERE IS AN AIRLINE THAT CRASHES, NTSB WILL GO IN AND TRY 16:09:45 TO RE-CREATE AND REBUILD THAT AIRCRAFT. 16:09:49 WHEN I LOOK AT WHAT EXPONENT IS DOING, AND I LOOK AT THE REPORT 16:09:53 AND I LOOK AT THE THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES THEY ARE LOOKING AT, 16:09:57 WHAT BOTHERS ME IS WHY -- WHY WOULDN'T YOU, WHEN AN AUTOMOBILE 16:10:02 THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THIS SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, 16:10:08 WHY ISN'T THAT PRODUCT PULLED ASIDE AND RIPPED APART SO YOU 16:10:13 CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IS EXACTLY GOING ON. 16:10:16 THOSE ARE THE THOUSAND ONES THAT IF I WERE IN YOUR SEAT, THAT I 16:10:18 WOULD BE GOING AFTER AND APPLYING THE GREATEST MINDS OF 16:10:24 THE WORLD TO UNDERSTAND. >> IN MANY CASES, ONE OF THE 16:10:28 FIELD TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS OR ONE OF THE QUALITY SPECIALISTS, 16:10:31 THEY DO GO OUT. AND IF THERE IS A COMPONENT 16:10:34 FAILURE, THEY WOULD TAKE THAT COMPONENT OFF AND SEND IT TO THE 16:10:37 QUALITY SIDE TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. 16:10:39 BUT IN THE CASE OF THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE, IF THEY 16:10:45 DON'T GET A CODE READING OUT THAT SHOWS A FAILURE AND THEY 16:10:48 CAN'T RE-CREATE IT, IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO BE ABLE TO DO 16:10:51 THAT. NOW THEY MAY TAKE THE THROTTLE 16:10:54 BODY OFF IF IT'S CRACKED OR IF IT'S SOMEHOW DEFECTIVE. 16:10:58 THEY'LL TAKE A PEDAL OFF IF IT'S DEFECTIVE. 16:11:01 IF AN ECU IS DEFECTIVE, THEY'LL TAKE THAT OFF. 16:11:04 IN MANY CASES, THAT'S WHAT'S SO FRUSTRATING ABOUT UNINTENDED 16:11:08 ACCELERATION IS IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO DUPLICATE. 16:11:12 UNLESS THEY CAN DUPLICATE IT, THEY HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING 16:11:16 EXACTLY WHAT'S TAKEN PLACE. >> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 16:11:19 >> MR. GONZALEZ FOR QUESTIONS. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. 16:11:26 CHAIRMAN. MR. LENTZ IN MY LIMITED VIEW OF 16:11:29 THINGS YOU HOSTHE CONSUMER PROTECTED? 16:11:32 HOW IS THE BEST INTEREST E PROMOTED? 16:11:34 I'VE JUST CONCLUDED THAT, ONE, IT'S THE MANUFACTURER'S OWN 16:11:38 MORAL BEHAVIOR, FIRST FD FOREMOST. 16:11:40 THEN WE GO INTO THE GOVERNMENTAL REGULATORY OVERSIGHT. 16:11:44 AND THEN WE HAVE OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. 16:11:48 I'M A GREAT BELIEVE IN THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM. 16:11:51 THE PROBLEM, THAT'S ALWAYS AFTER THE FACT, WAY AFTER THE FACT. 16:11:53 SO I'M LOOKING AT THE MANUFACTURER'S MORAL BEHAVIOR, 16:11:58 AND I'M LOOKING AT THE CAPABILITIES, PROFICIENCY AND 16:12:02 COMPETENCY OF THE REGULATORY SCHEME THAT CONGRESS HAS IN 16:12:05 PLACE. WHEN ANY OF THIS BREAKS DOWN, 16:12:08 CONGRESS WILL MOVE FORWARD. AND YOU HEARD MR. WAXMAN SAY, 16:12:11 LOOK. WE MAY NEED LEGISLATION. 16:12:12 AND THAT'S A PROCESS THAT WE'RE ENGAGING IN AT THIS TIME. 16:12:15 IT'S GOING TO GET HOT AND HEAVY AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE ALL THE 16:12:18 DIFFERENT INTEREST. LAST WEEK I WAS ON THE RADIO. 16:12:20 WHEN I SIMPLY SAID LET US NOT RUSH TO JUDGMENT. 16:12:23 THAT GOES WHETHER IT'S TOYOTA, WHETHER IT'S GM, FORD. 16:12:26 I DON'T CARE WHO IT IS. AN INDIVIDUAL OR A CORPORATION. 16:12:29 THE INTERVIEWER THEN SAID, ARE YOU APOLOGIZING FOR TOYOTA? 16:12:33 SO WE'VE GOT THAT ISSUE. NOW WE HAVE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 16:12:37 THAT MAY BE A LITTLE AGGRESSIVE IN FULFILLING THEIR DUTIES. 16:12:42 YOU HAVE LETTERS GOING OUT THAT ARE SAYING IT DOES SOMETIMES 16:12:45 APPEAR, HOWEVER, THAT THE NEGATIVE NEWS IS BEING 16:12:48 ENCOURAGED BY PLAINTIFFS TRIAL LAWYERS, UNION ACTIVISTS AND 16:12:51 THOSE INTERESTED IN CUTTING INTO TOYOTA'S MARKETSHARE. 16:12:55 THAT'S THE ENVIRONMENT. IT'S NOT HEALTHY. 16:12:56 IT'S NOT GOOD. AND ALL THESE REASONS, WHICH ARE 16:12:59 TOTALLY WRONG AND RIDICULOUS ARE BEING ATTRIBUTED TO THOSE 16:13:02 INDIVIDUALS SIMPLY TRYING TO DO THEIR JOBS AS MEMBERS OF 16:13:05 CONGRESS. SO I'M HOPING THIS PROCESS WILL 16:13:06 BE FAIR. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THERE IS A 16:13:09 RUSH TO JUDGMENT. THIS IS THE DANGER. 16:13:11 NOT JUST TO TOYOTA BUT EVERYBODY THAT WILL BE SIMILARLY SITUATED 16:13:15 SOME TIME IN THEIR LIVES, WHETHER AS AN INDIVIDUAL, A 16:13:18 COMPANY OR A CORPORATION. MONTHS FROM NOW WE MAY DISCOVER 16:13:26 THAT IT WASN'T ELECTRONIC AND ALL OF THE ACTION TAKEN WAS 16:13:29 TIMELY AND DILIGENT. BUT IT REALLY WON'T MATTER. 16:13:34 WE HAVE AN OLD SAYING. AND I SAID THIS THE OTHER DAY. 16:13:38 EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER THE ACCUSATION. 16:13:41 NO ONE WILL REMEMBER THE EXONERATION. 16:13:45 AND FOR A BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES, PEOPLE ARE MAKING 16:13:50 DECISIONS TODAY ON WHAT CAR THEY'RE GOING TO BUY. 16:13:53 BY THE TIME WE FIGURE OUT WHAT THE TRUTH MAY BE, THAT DECISION 16:13:56 HAS BEEN MADE. AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THAT I 16:13:58 BELIEVE WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY WILL AFFECT THAT DECISION. 16:14:01 THAT'S WHY WE ALL HAVE TO BE SO CAREFUL IN HOW WE DO THIS AND 16:14:04 THAT WE'RE FAIR TO ALL PARTIES, WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE THE 16:14:08 CONSUMER, THE SMITHS OR EVEN TOYOTA. 16:14:10 BUT TO BE FAIR TO EVERYONE. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU CAN TELL 16:14:14 TOYOTA OWNERS TODAY REGARDING THE SAFETY OF THEIR VEHICLES. 16:14:20 >> WHAT I CAN TELL THEM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH THE 16:14:24 DETAIL OF ALL OF MY FAMILY DRIVE PRODUCTS. 16:14:27 I WOULD NOT HAVE MY LOVED ONES DRIVING PRODUCTS, RECALLED OR 16:14:31 NOT IF I DIDN'T FEEL THEY WERE SAFE. 16:14:34 SO THAT'S NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO IS WE HAVE PROCESSES 16:14:39 IN PLACE, NEW PROCESSES IN PLACE, THAT ARE GOING TO ENSURE 16:14:43 A LOT MORE TRANSPARENCY AND RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE WE 16:14:47 MAKE FASTER DECISIONS THAT ARE THE RIGHT DECISIONS. 16:14:51 EVERYBODY HAS DEFECTS. EVYB GOING TO HAVE 16:14:55 RECALLS. BUT HOW QUICKLY WE REACT TO 16:14:58 PROTECT THAT CONSUMER, HOW MUCH THE CONSUMER SEES US STANDING 16:15:02 BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT, THAT'S WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT. 16:15:05 I CAN TELL YOU THE OTHER THING. WE HAVE A LOT OF DEALERS SITTING 16:15:09 BEHIND ME. THE WAY WE START TO BUILD TRUST 16:15:11 IN OUR BRAND IS THROUGH OUR DEALERS BECAUSE OUR DEALERS ARE 16:15:15 THE TRUE CONTACT WITH THE CUSTOMER. 16:15:17 AND THEY ARE DOING A TREMENDOUS JOB IN TAKING CARE OF THESE 16:15:22 SITUATIONS. I MEAN, ALMOST 800,000 CUSTOMERS 16:15:25 ALREADY TAKING CARE OF IN ABOUT 20 DAYS IS AN AMAZING NUMBER. 16:15:30 AND YOU'LL HEAR FROM THE DEALERS THAT THE CUSTOMERS ARE 16:15:34 UNDERSTANDING. SURE, THERE ARE ONE OR TWO 16:15:36 CUSTOMERS IN EACH DEALERSHIP THAT ARE PRETTY UPSET AT WHAT'S 16:15:39 GOING ON. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, OUR LOYAL 16:15:42 CUSTOMERS KNOW FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS THAT WE'VE STOOD BEHIND 16:15:45 OUR PRODUCT. WE'VE DONE THE RIGHT THING FOR 16:15:48 THEM. >> LET ME ASK YOU THIS BECAUSE I 16:15:50 THINK YOU TOUCHED ON IT. I HAVE 35 SECONDS, BUT QUICKLY. 16:15:54 YOU DRIVE TOYOTAS. YOUR FAMILY DRIVES TOYOTAS. 16:15:56 EVERYBODY YOU CARE ABOUT DRIVES TOYOTAS. 16:15:58 ARE YOU GOING TO QUIT DRIVING TOYOTAS? 16:16:01 >> NO SIRKS. >> AND YOU HEARD THE MEMBERS OF 16:16:03 CONGRESS ON THIS COMMITTEE DRIVE T 16:16:06 TOYOTAS. I'M NOT GOING TO ASK THEM 16:16:07 WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO QUIT DRIVING THEIR TOYOTAS. 16:16:10 MY SUSPICION IS THEY WILL NOT. SO I THINK MAYBE THAT'S THE 16:16:13 MESSAGE THAT COMES FROM THIS HEARING TODAY. 16:16:14 WE'RE GOING TO BE AGGRESSIVE, VIGILANT, DILIGENT. 16:16:17 WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. 16:16:19 THE QUESTION IS TO WHAT DEGREE CAN WE PROTECT THE AMERICAN 16:16:22 CONSUMER AND I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE UP TO 16:16:25 THAT DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE OWE THEM. 16:16:27 AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY. 16:16:29 >> THANK YOU. AND I AGREE. 16:16:30 IT STARTS WITH US. >> THANK YOU, MR. GONZALEZ MR. 16:16:39 McNIERNEY. >> THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. 16:16:42 I APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING ME TO ADDRESS THE HEARING. 16:16:45 THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY AND TAKE SOMETHING TOUGH 16:16:48 QUESTIONS. ADDRESSING THE SAFETY ISSUES 16:16:50 WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY IS VITALLY IMPORTANT, BUT I'D LIKE 16:16:53 TO FOCUS MY QUESTIONS ON A RELATED MATTER THAT I BELIEVE 16:16:57 REFLECTS ON TOYOTA'S DISREGARD FOR ITS LOYAL CUSTOMERS AND ITS 16:17:01 LOYAL EMPLOYEES. I'M REFERRING TO THE DECISION 16:17:04 RECENTLY TO SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS AT NUMI PLANT IN FREMONT, 16:17:09 CALIFORNIA, WHICH WILL COST US ABOUT 35,000 JOBS IN THE STATE 16:17:13 OF CALIFORNIA, AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT TOYOTA HAS DONE 16:17:16 NEARLY ENOUGH TO PREVENT THIS LOSS OF JOBS. 16:17:18 I HAVE AN OPENING STATEMENT THAT I'D LIKE TO INCLUDE IN THE 16:17:21 RECORD, MR. CHAIRMAN. >> WILL BE, WITHOUT OBJECTION. 16:17:25 >> MR. LENTZ, TOYOTA IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING MAJOR 16:17:31 PUBLIC RELATION PROBLEMS AND THE PUBLIC CONCERN ABOUT SAFETY 16:17:35 FAILURES IS GOING TO HURT YOUR BOTTOM LINE. 16:17:38 CALIFORNIA IS ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST MARKETS, AND IT'S 16:17:41 OBVIOUS THAT KEEPING NUMI OPEN WILL HELP REBUILD YOUR IMAGE. 16:17:45 WOULDN'T THAT BE BENEFICIAL TO TOYOTA? 16:17:47 >> OUR IMAGE IS BENEFICIAL, BUT SPECIFICALLY, NUMI? 16:17:53 I THINK WE HAVE TO BE CLEAR THAT TOYOTA IS NOT SHUTTING DOWN 16:17:58 NUMI. NUMI IS SHUTTING DOWN NUMI. 16:18:00 IT'S A SEPARATE CORPORATION THAT WAS 50% OWNED BY TOYOTA AND 16:18:06 OWNED BY GENERAL MOTORS. AND WHEN GENERAL MOTORS MOVED 16:18:13 INTO BANKRUPTCY AND THE NEW PARTNER BECAME MOTORS HOLDING -- 16:18:16 LIQUIDATION HOLDING, IT WAS GENERAL MOTORS ABANDONING NUMI 16:18:20 THAT SET THIS IN PLAY. THAT'S THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER. 16:18:24 WHEN THEY PULLED OUT AND THEY PULLED OUT 30% OF THEIR VOLUME, 16:18:29 THAT PLANT WAS DIFFICULT TO BECOME COMMERCIALLY VIABLE. 16:18:32 IT'S A LONG WAY FROM OUR SUPPLY LINES. 16:18:36 WE SUPPLY -- >> IT'S A LONG WAY FROM YOUR 16:18:39 CUSTOMER LINES. I UNDERSTAND THE PONTIAC VIBE 16:18:41 WAS ONLY ABOUT 20% OF PRODUCTION AT NUM NI 2008 WITH TOYOTA 16:18:46 VEHICLES MAKING UP THE REST OF THAT PRODUCTION. 16:18:49 SURELY TOYOTA COULD MODIFY ITS OPERATIONS TO ACCOUNT FOR A 20% 16:18:53 DROP IN PRODUCTION. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE 16:18:57 PUTTING NUMI OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF ANTIPATHY TOWARD WEST 16:19:00 COAST WORKERS. NOT OUT OF NECESSITY. 16:19:04 UNFORTUNATELY, TOYOTA HASN'T DEMONSTRATED THAT MADE ANY 16:19:07 MEANINGFUL EFFORT TO EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES TO KEEP NUMI OPEN. 16:19:12 I WAS ASKING YOU, DO YOU EXPECT CALIFORNIANS TO BELIEVE IN THE 16:19:17 BRIEF TIME BETWEEN GM'S ANNOUNCEMENT AND YOUR DECISION 16:19:19 TO CLOSE, WERE YOU ABLE TO DEFINITIVELY DETERMINE THAT IT 16:19:21 WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS AT NUMI? 16:19:24 >> YES, IT'S NOT FINANCIALLY VIABLE TO DO. 16:19:26 IT'S A LONG WAY FROM OUR LOGISTICS LINES. 16:19:30 THE VOLUME, 20% IS A PRETTY BIG NUMBER. 16:19:33 I MEAN, CALIFORNIA SELLS ABOUT 13% TO 14% OF THE NATION'S 16:19:38 SALES. THAT'S A PLANT THAT HAS CAPACITY 16:19:41 FOR ALMOST 400,000 VEHICLES THAT'S BUILDING AROUND 300 AT 16:19:47 THE MOST. I MEAN, YOU'VE GOT TO REMEMBER 16:19:49 THAT WHEN THIS INDUSTRY COLLAPSED AFTER LEHMAN, WE HAD A 16:19:53 40% COLLAPSE FROM THE PEAK OF THE MARKETPLACE IN 20, 2001 TO 16:19:59 WHERE WE ENDED LAST YEAR. THERE WAS TREMENDOUS 16:20:02 OVERCAPACITY ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. 16:20:05 AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU TAKE LIGHTLY CLOSING A PLANT. 16:20:07 YOU LOOK AT THE WORKERS BEHIND ME. 16:20:12 WHEN THAT MARKET COLLAPSED AND WE HAD 100,000 UNASSIGNED 16:20:16 VEHICLES SITTING IN OUR PORTS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE DEALERS TO 16:20:19 BE ABLE TO ACCEPT BECAUSE INVENTORIES WERE SO HIGH, WE 16:20:22 DIDN'T LAY THESE PEOPLE OFF. WE KEPT THESE PEOPLE WORKING 16:20:27 BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE A HUGE ASSET FOR US. 16:20:31 SO WE DON'T TAKE CLOSING A PLANT OR NUMI DOESN'T TAKE CLOSING A 16:20:35 PLANT LIGHTLY. WE BELIEVE IN OUR WORKERS. 16:20:38 THEY'VE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB IN GETTING US THROUGH ALL OF THIS. 16:20:43 SO NUMI IS, UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE GOING TO STOP ORDERING PRODUCT 16:20:46 AT THE END OF MARCH. AND WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN TO 16:20:50 TRY TO HELP THE WORKERS THROUGH TRANSITION. 16:20:53 AND HOPEFULLY, I DON'T KNOW IF ANOTHER ASSEMBLY CAN GO IN THERE 16:20:57 OR THEY CAN REDEVELOP THE PROPERTY AND CREATE JOBS THROUGH 16:21:01 THE REDEVELOPMENT AND WHATEVER ELSE GOES IN THERE. 16:21:03 >> I'M REALLY THINKING OF YOUR BENEFIT AS WELL AS OURS. 16:21:06 I MEAN, I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS PARTING THOUGHT. 16:21:09 YOU ARE HAVING A PUBLIC RELATIONS NIGHTMARE RIGHT NOW. 16:21:14 AND IT MAY BENEFIT YOU A SLIGHT AMOUNT TO CLOSE A PLANT LIKE 16:21:19 THAT, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO FACE THE PUBLIC BACKLASH ON THE WEST 16:21:22 COAST. ON THE OTHER HAND IF YOU WORK 16:21:24 WITH US TO KEEP THAT OPEN, IT'S GOING TO BE A REAL PLUS FOR YOUR 16:21:27 PUBLIC RELATIONS ISSUES. I JUST ASK YOU TO KEEP THAT IN 16:21:30 MIND AS YOU MOVE FORWARD. >> JUST UNDERSTAND AS WELL, 16:21:33 WE'RE GOING TO DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO HELP THROUGH THAT 16:21:36 TRANSITION. WE'RE NOT LEGALLY OBLIGATED, BUT 16:21:38 WE ARE GOING TO THROW MONEY INTO IT TO HELP THROUGH THIS. 16:21:42 I JUST WISH OUR PARTNER OF 25 YEARS WOULD STEP UP AND DO THE 16:21:47 SAME. >> THAT'S ALL. 16:21:49 >> THANK YOU. LET ME JUST ASK YOU A FEW 16:21:53 QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY OUR RECORD. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TESTIMONY 16:21:56 HERE AND A LOT OF QUESTIONS. SO JUST MAKE SURE I'M CORRECT 16:21:59 HERE. THE ONLY INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS 16:22:00 THAT YOU HAVE HAD, WHEN YOU SPOKE ON TODAY SHOW YOU SAID YOU 16:22:05 HAVE INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS ON YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THE SUDDEN 16:22:07 ACCELERATION HAS BEEN EXPONENT. >> YES. 16:22:10 TO MY KNOWLEDGE. >> AND YOU WERE REFERRING TO 16:22:13 THAT REPORT OF EXPONENT, RIGHT? >> NOW NTSA HAS ALWAYS DONE 16:22:18 STUDIES IN THE PAST, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW ROBUST THEY ARE. 16:22:21 >> YOU DON'T HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF ANY INDEPENDENT STUDIES THEY 16:22:25 DID? >> NO, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. 16:22:26 >> AND THERE'S BEEN NO INDEPENDENT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE 16:22:31 CONTROL SYSTEM STUDIES? >> NOT OF TOYOTA. 16:22:34 THERE MAY BE INDUSTRYWIDE. I DON'T KNOW. 16:22:36 >> BUT FOR YOUR -- >> YES, TO MY KNOWLEDGE. 16:22:38 >> AFTER THIS SITUATION. AND WITH DR. GILBERT HERE, HE'S 16:22:44 COMING UP WITH THIS AND APPARENTLY YOUR EXPONENT'S 16:22:47 ENGINEER HAS BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE IT. 16:22:49 IS IT FAIR TO SAY THEN WHEN THEY DUPLICATED IT THEY GOT THE SAME 16:22:53 RESULT AS DR. GILBERT THAT THE FAIL SAFE SYSTEM DID NOT RECEIVE 16:22:58 THE SIGNAL TO ENACT? SO IN OTHER WORDS, THE FAILSAFE 16:23:01 SYSTEM, WHETHER IT'S AN OVERRIDE BY ELECTRIC, HOWEVER WAS 16:23:05 HAPPENING, THE DIAGNOSTIC CODES DID NOT KICK IN TO PUT IN THE 16:23:08 FAIL SAFE SYSTEM TO GET THAT BREAKING GOING? 16:23:10 >> I BELIEVE WHAT HE'S DONE IS GONE AROUND -- DESIGNED A WAY TO 16:23:13 GO AROUND THE OVERRIDE SYSTEM. >> SURE. 16:23:15 >> SO WHETHER IT CAN HAPPEN OR NOT -- 16:23:17 >> WE DON'T KNOW THE SOURCE OF IT, BUT IT'S A BOOK END, AS THEY 16:23:21 SAID, TO START THE RESEARCH. >> YES. 16:23:23 AND THAT COULD BE OF VALUE TO TOYOTA? 16:23:25 >> SURELY. >> YOU MENTIONED THE S.W.A.T. 16:23:28 TEAM YOU'LL HAVE AT THE END OF MARCH. 16:23:30 >> YES. >> AND IN 24 HOURS THEY'LL HAVE 16:23:35 INFORMATION BEYOND SITE. MR. DINGELL ASKED AND A COUPLE 16:23:38 OF QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ABOUT THIS EVENT DATA RECORDER. 16:23:41 >> YES. >> THE EVENT DATA RECORDER TELLS 16:23:43 YOU WHAT HAPPENS FIVE SECONDS BEFORE AN ACCIDENT AND ONE 16:23:47 SECOND AFTER. SPECIFIC REQUESTS HAVE BEEN MADE 16:23:51 ON THE AUBURN, NEW YORK, CRASH WHICH WAS A 2010 CAMRY. 16:23:58 THAT ERB HAS BEEN SEIZED. DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS? 16:24:02 WHY ISN'T THAT INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE TO NTSA OR ANYONE 16:24:09 ELSE? >> IF I CAN GET INFORMATION ON 16:24:11 THAT CRASH. >> HOW ABOUT THE SOUTHLAKE TEXAS 16:24:14 ONE. 208 TOYOTA AVALON. 16:24:17 HAPPENED ON DECEMBER 26th. SAME THING. 16:24:20 IT SAYS CONDUCT A SITE VISIT ON 1/12 WHERE THEY PULLED THE BLACK 16:24:24 BOX OUT IF YOU WILL. WHERE IS THE RESULTS ON THAT? 16:24:27 >> AND THEY PULLED THE PEDAL OFF. 16:24:29 I DON'T KNOW. NHTSA WAS ALSO DOWN THERE WITH 16:24:32 OUR ENGINEERS BUT I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE RESULT 16:24:35 WAS. >> OR HOW ABOUT MR. JEFF PINSKY 16:24:38 FROM MINNESOTA. HE'S HAD A 2007 LEXUS ES 350 AND 16:24:43 HAD PROBLEMS WITH IT AND REQUESTED REPEATEDLY TO GIVE HIM 16:24:46 THE INFORMATION OFF THE BLACK BOX. 16:24:48 HE'S ALWAYS BEEN DENIED. IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS 16:24:51 S.W.A.T. TEAM AND WE'RE GOING TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND BRING 16:24:54 FORTH THIS INFORMATION WHY NOT ON THESE FATAL CRASHES, 16:24:57 ESPECIALLY THESE ONES I MENTIONED, WHY NOT DISCLOSE WHAT 16:25:00 HAPPENED ON THAT BLACK BOX? >> I THINK RIGHT NOW THE ISSUE 16:25:03 IS THERE'S ONE TOOL IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES, AND I 16:25:06 BELIEVE IT'S STILL IN THE PROTOTYPE STAGES. 16:25:09 SO THE FINAL PRODUCTION TOOLS WE WON'T START SEEING HERE UNTIL 16:25:14 APRIL. SO -- 16:25:15 >> BUT STANDARDS FOR A BLACK BOX WERE DEVELOPED IN 2006 BY NHTSA 16:25:19 THAT EVERYBODY HAS TO HAVE STARTING 2012 AND 2013, CORRECT? 16:25:23 >> YES. >> IF WE HAVE STANDARDS IN 2006 16:25:25 YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE. 16:25:28 >> THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. >> SO THE INFORMATION OFF THIS 16:25:31 BLACK BOX THEN, IF I WANTED TO GET THE INFORMATION IF THERE'S 16:25:33 NO MECHANISM IN THE UNITED STATES, IT HAS TO GO TO JAPAN TO 16:25:36 GET THE INFORMATION? >> CORRECT. 16:25:37 CORRECT. IT IS A UNIQUE MECHANISM FOR OUR 16:25:40 BLACK BOX. >> AND THIS DEFECT COMMITTEE, 16:25:44 U.S. MAY HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE ON IT BUT DECISIONS ARE STILL 16:25:46 GOING TO BE MADE IN JAPAN? >> WELL, THERE WILL BE -- THE 16:25:51 PROCESS OF MAKING A DEFECT DECISION IS THERE'S A GENERAL 16:25:54 MANAGER OF THE QUALITY GROUP THAT HAS A COMMITTEE WITH A 16:25:56 NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ENGINEERS AND EVERYONE ELSE. 16:26:00 THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN JAPAN WITH JAPANESE. 16:26:03 THAT COMMITTEE NOW IS GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT WILL BE SEATED 16:26:09 ON THAT FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE REGIONS AROUND THE WORLD. 16:26:12 >> SURE. >> UNITED STATES FOR CERTAIN, I 16:26:14 DON'T KNOW. I'M ASSUMING EUROPE WILL 16:26:16 PROBABLY BE THERE AS WELL. SO THEY WILL BE PART OF -- THEY 16:26:19 WILL BE TIED INTO ALL THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE INTO THE 16:26:23 DECISION PROCESS AND WE WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO APPEAL THAT 16:26:28 IF WE DON'T BELIEVE IN IT. >> YOU HAVE INPUT BUT DECISION 16:26:31 WILL STILL BE MADE IN JAPAN. >> THE INPUT WILL BE MADE BUT 16:26:34 WE'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO APPEAL THAT DECISION WE DO NOT HAVE 16:26:38 TODAY. >> ON THE BLACK BOX, WHETHER WR 16:26:40 IS THAT DATA STORED? >> PARDON? 16:26:42 >> IF I GET A BLACK BOX OUT OF THE SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, ACCIDENT, 16:26:46 WHERE WOULD THAT DATA BE SCORED? WOULD THAT HAVE TO GO TO JAPAN 16:26:49 TO GET DOWNLOADED? >> IF WE HAVE THE SCAN TOOL, 16:26:52 ONCE THESE TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE -- 16:26:54 >> RIGHT. BUT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU DON'T 16:26:56 HAVE THE SCAN TOOLS. >> I DON'T KNOW IF JAPAN HAS 16:26:59 TOOLS OR NOT. IF WE'RE IN PROTOTYPE STAGE, I'M 16:27:02 ASSUMING IT'S A GLOBAL PROTOTYPE STAGE. 16:27:04 I DON'T KNOW THAT FOR CERTAIN. BUT I DO KNOW IN APRIL WE'RE 16:27:08 SLATED TO RECEIVE ABOUT 100 OF THESE. 16:27:11 >> ALL RIGHT. THAT WILL BE IN APRIL. 16:27:12 OKAY. IF YOU RECEIVE -- YOU SAID YOU 16:27:14 RECEIVE PERSONALLY 20 TO 25 COMPLAINTS A WEEK. 16:27:17 ANY ON UNINTENDED ACCELERATIONS. >> I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU IN THE 16:27:21 LAST THREE YEARS, I HAVE SEEN THEM ON SURGES. 16:27:25 BUT I DON'T RECALL ANYONE THAT WAS ON AN UNINTENDED INCIDENT. 16:27:32 >> COULD YOU PROVIDE US AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THOSE SURGES 16:27:35 THAT YOU PERSONALLY HANDLED? >> SURE. 16:27:37 >> OKAY. >> SURE. 16:27:39 >> MR. BURGESS, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? 16:27:43 >> I THINK IT'S ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED BUT WOULD LIKE FOR YOU 16:27:46 OR TOYOTA TO PROVIDE THE COMMITTEE YOUR ANALYSIS OR 16:27:51 EXPONENT'S ANALYSIS OF WHEN THEY DO THE GILBERT TESTING, THE 16:27:56 RETESTING ON THE GILBERT THING. I JUST ECHO ABOUT THE BLACK BOX. 16:27:59 SOUTHLAKE IS RIGHT OUTSIDE OF MY DISTRICT. 16:28:02 VERY TRAGIC ACCIDENT RIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS WHERE A CAR WENT 16:28:04 THROUGH AN INTERSECTION AND ENDED UP UPSIDE DOWN IN A POND 16:28:07 AND ALL THE OCCUPANTS DIED. SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR 16:28:10 NOT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A MEDICAL EMERGENCY INVOLVED IN 16:28:13 THAT. BUT I THING BLACK BOX, IN 16:28:14 ADDITION TO THE OTHER PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, THE BRAKE PADS AND 16:28:17 THAT SORT OF THING WILL BE VERY INSTRUCTIVE FOR YOUR GROUP AND, 16:28:20 OF COURSE, INSTRUCTIVE FOR US AS WELL. 16:28:25 SO AS THIS INFORMATION ON THESE LOOK BACKS, IF YOU GO OUT AND 16:28:28 GET THE CAR FROM TENNESSEE, AND YOUR ENGINEERS COME UP WITH A 16:28:33 DECISION ON THIS, I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE VERY USEFUL THAT 16:28:37 THIS COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE 16:28:42 AFTER YOU GET THAT. AND, HEAVEN HELP US IF THERE'S 16:28:50 AN UNCOMMANDED ACCELERATION. BUT GET THAT CAR. 16:28:53 SOMEBODY HAS TO LOOK AT THAT CAR AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. 16:28:56 APPRECIATE IT. >> WE'RE ABOUT TO WRAP UP. 16:28:58 I SEE MR. ENGEL IS HERE. D 16:29:05 DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OF THIS WITNESS? 16:29:06 >> THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. I THINK A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS 16:29:09 HAVE ALREADY BEEN ASKED. BUT WHEN I WAS ASKED BY THE 16:29:12 MEDIA YESTERDAY WHAT QUESTION WAS I GOING TO ASK, I SAID THAT 16:29:17 I WOULD ASK WHAT DID YOU KNOW AND WHEN DID YOU KNOW IT AND 16:29:20 WHAT DO YOU STILL KNOW THAT WE DON'T KNOW? 16:29:25 AND I LISTENED TO THE HEARING. ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I HOPE YOU 16:29:34 CAN APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE VERY SKEPTICAL BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY 16:29:42 SEEMS IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT THERE WAS 16:29:45 AN ATTEMPT TO KIND OF SWEEP EVERYTHING UNDER THE RUG. 16:29:51 AND I'M STILL NOT SURE THAT THE QUESTION HAS BEEN REASONABLY 16:29:57 ANSWERED IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT THESE SIX 16:30:00 VEHICLES THAT YOU TESTED. BUT WHY WOULD NOT YOUR FIRST 16:30:06 INCLINATION BE TO TEST THE VEHICLES THAT ACCELERATED. 16:30:10 WHEN I HEARD MRS. SMITH EARLIER ON, THE FIRST PANEL, AND SHE 16:30:14 TALKED ABOUT HOW IT JUST WENT 100 MILES AN HOUR AND SHE 16:30:20 COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT, WOULDN'T IT HAVE JUST BEEN 16:30:23 LOGICAL TO TAKE THAT CAR AND OTHERS LIKE THAT AND JUST RIP IT 16:30:28 APART? I KNOW MR. BARTON ASKED YOU 16:30:30 EARLIER. BUT I'M NOT SURE I'M SATISFIED 16:30:32 WITH YOUR ANSWER. >> AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW THE 16:30:35 SPECIFICS, BUT IT SOUNDED AS IF SHE SAID THERE WAS A TECHNICAL 16:30:38 PERSON THAT WAS DOWN THERE AND DID LOOK AT THE CAR. 16:30:40 SO I CAN'T TELL YOU, IF THEY DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING, THAT'S 16:30:45 PROBABLY WHY THEY DIDN'T TEAR IT APART. 16:30:47 IF THEY WOULD HAVE SEEN A COMPONENT FAILURE, I'M SURE THAT 16:30:50 THAT COMPONENT FAILURE WOULD HAVE COME OFF THAT CAR AND WE 16:30:53 WOULD HAVE RECEIVED IT. AND AGAIN IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED. 16:30:56 I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS ON HER ACCIDENT. 16:30:59 BUT IT WASN'T ONLY HER CAR. THERE WERE OTHERS THAT GAVE 16:31:05 SIMILAR STORIES AND FOR HOW LONG WAS TOYOTA SAYING IT'S MATS, 16:31:10 FLOOR MATS OR RUGS OR STICKY PEDALS WHEN IT JUST WOULD SEEM 16:31:15 CLEAR BY HER STORY. I'M SURE THERE ARE OTHERS LIKE 16:31:19 HER THAT IT WASN'T THAT AT ALL. >> WELL, IT MAY NOT BE. 16:31:23 THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT CAUSES. 16:31:27 THEY ARE VERY BROAD, VERY RARE. AND IN SOME CASES, THEY ARE JUST 16:31:31 VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO DUPLICATE. 16:31:32 SO, I MEAN, THAT'S THE FRUSTRATING PART ABOUT 16:31:35 RESEARCHING WHAT HAPPENS ON SOME OF THESE INSTANCES. 16:31:39 ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING ON WITH THE 16:31:43 THROTTLE. IF THERE AREN'T ERROR CODES AND 16:31:45 IT CAN'T BE DUPLICATED, THAT WAS ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH THE 16:31:48 STICKY PEDAL IN THE BEGINNING. BY THE TIME THE CONSUMER GOT IT 16:31:52 TO THE DEALERSHIP, ALL THE MOISTURE HAD DRIED FROM THE 16:31:55 PEDAL AND THE PEDAL WOULDN'T STICK. 16:31:57 YOU'VE GOT A CONSUMER SAYING, I KNOW THIS THING HAS BEEN 16:32:00 STICKING. BUT BY THE TIME THEY GET IT TO 16:32:03 THE STORE, THAT CAN'T BE REPLICATED. 16:32:05 THAT TOOK AWHILE TO UNDERSTAND. >> BUT IN EVERY CASE -- WOULD 16:32:09 THAT HAPPEN IN EVERY CASE? >> SURELY ONCE THERE WERE MANY 16:32:12 DIFFERENT INSTANCES IT SEEMED TO BE A PATTERN THAT YOU DIDN'T 16:32:15 HAVE TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO SAY, HEY, WAIT A MINUTE. 16:32:19 MAYBE SOMETHING IS WRONG. THERE'S, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY THE 16:32:23 ACCELERATION BUT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT STEERING AND BRAKES AND 16:32:28 OTHER THINGS. YOU KNOW, IT JUST SEEMS THAT IF 16:32:30 YOU LOOK AT EVERYTHING, IT CERTAINLY SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE 16:32:35 WAS AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP IT UNDER THE RUG AND KEEP IT UNDER THE 16:32:39 TABLE AND LET'S NOT TELL ANYBODY ANYTHING AND MAYBE IT WILL GO 16:32:43 AWAY. AND, OF COURSE, WITH ALL THE 16:32:45 TESTIMONY, NHTSA IS TO BLAME AS WELL. 16:32:48 I JUST DON'T THINK THAT TOYOTA HANDLED IT PROPERLY. 16:32:50 LET ME JUST -- GO AHEAD. >> IN THE CASE OF BRAKES IF YOU 16:32:53 WERE TALKING ABOUT PRIUS BRAKE, WE JUMPED ON THAT VERY QUICKLY 16:32:56 AND HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THAT. IN THE CASE OF COROLLA STEERING, 16:33:00 IT'S BEING INVESTIGATED RIGHT NOW. 16:33:01 SO, YES, WE HAVE COMPLAINTS ON IT. 16:33:04 NHTSA HAS COMPLAINTS. WE'RE DIGGING INTO THAT RIGHT 16:33:06 NOW TO FIND OUT WHAT IS THE ISSUE AND LET'S MAKE SURE THE 16:33:10 CUSTOMERS ARE HAPPY WITH THEIR PRODUCTS AND SAFE WITH THEIR 16:33:13 PRODUCTS. >> SO LET ME ASK YOU AS THE LAST 16:33:16 QUESTION, WHEN I WAS ASKED YESTERDAY, WHAT WOULD I ASK YOU 16:33:18 AND I SAID WHAT DID YOU KNOW AND WHEN YOU KNEW IT. 16:33:22 WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT WE DON'T KNOW YET. 16:33:25 WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT WE DON'T KNOW YET? 16:33:27 WHAT'S GOING TO COME OUT IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS? 16:33:30 I KNOW MR. TOYODA IS TESTIFYING IN ANOTHER COMMITTEE TOMORROW. 16:33:33 WHAT BOMBSHELLS ARE GOING TO COME OUT THAT WE DON'T YET KNOW. 16:33:37 >> GOD I HOPE THERE AREN'T ANY MORE. 16:33:40 LET'S GET BACK TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF 2009, AND I DIDN'T THINK 16:33:43 I'D EVER SAY THAT. YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE TO 16:33:49 FIX THE PROCESS SO THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. 16:33:52 I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEHIND THE CURTAIN. 16:33:55 NO ONE KNOWS IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY AS MANUFACTURERS WHAT 16:34:00 DEFECTS YOU COULD HAVE DOWN THE ROAD. 16:34:02 WHAT CHALLENGES YOU HAVE. SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE 16:34:06 BUILT-IN QUALITY AND BUILD-IN SAFETY SO WE DON'T HAVE THESE 16:34:09 ISSUES. AND THAT'S WHY OUR PROCESSES ARE 16:34:14 CHANGING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET BACK TO WHERE WE ONCE WERE. 16:34:16 THIS WAS A COMPANY FOR 50 YEARS IN THE U.S. THAT, WHENEVER YOU 16:34:19 SAID TOYOTA OR YOU SAID CAMERA IT WAS QUALITY, DEPENDABILITY. 16:34:25 AND WE'VE STUBBED OUR TOE. AND WE'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO 16:34:27 WHERE THAT ONCE WAS AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. 16:34:29 >> I WOULD HOPE SO. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN FOR 16:34:33 HOLDING THE HEARING. >> MR. GING RY, QUESTION? 16:34:36 >> VERY, VERY QUICKLY. I COULD ASK YOU A COUPLE OF 16:34:40 YES/NO QUESTIONS. HAVE YOU ENJOYED BEING HERE 16:34:44 TODAY? AND DO YOU WANT TO TAKE ANY MORE 16:34:46 QUESTIONS? I GUESS THE ANSWERS WOULD BE YES 16:34:51 AND NO. SERIOUSLY IDID WANT TO CAN YOU. 16:34:53 DO YOU THINK THIS IS A SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE PROBLEM? 16:34:55 >> IN THE CASE OF THE ETC? >> YES. 16:34:59 >> AGAIN, BASED ON OUR ANALYSIS OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN, BASED ON 16:35:04 GOING TO ACCIDENT SITES AND CHECKING THESE CARS OUT, I DON'T 16:35:07 THINK IT'S EITHER RIGHT NOW. BUT EXPONENT HAS NOT TESTED THE 16:35:11 SOFTWARE YET. SO THAT'S YET TO COME. 16:35:13 SO IF THERE IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE, IF THERE IS AN ISSUE ABOUT HOW 16:35:18 INDEPENDENTLY THESE TWO PROCESSORS ARE WORKING BECAUSE 16:35:20 THAT'S THE KEY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS THING WORKS. 16:35:23 WE'LL KNOW THAT. >> BUT IT COULD BE EITHER, AND 16:35:26 YOU'RE GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT? 16:35:28 >> WE HAVE TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT. 16:35:30 >> ABSOLUTELY. AND IT MAY BE THAT THE BOTTOM OF 16:35:32 IT IS THEY FIND NOTHING. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER INDEPENDENT 16:35:35 GROUP THAT GOES IN AND RESEARCHES AGAIN. 16:35:39 >> MR. LENTZ, THANK YOU. MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU. 16:35:43 I YIELD BACK. >> THAT CONCLUDES ALL QUESTIONS 16:35:44 OF THIS PANEL. MR. LENTZ, THANK YOU. 16:35:47 WE INVITE YOU TO STAY FOR THE NEXT PANEL, SECRETARY LaHOOD. 16:35:51 WE HAVE FIVE VOTES COMING UP. I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET THE 16:35:53 SECRETARY'S TESTIMONY IN AND THEN WE CAN GO VOTE. 16:35:56 WE'LL HAVE A RECESS. THANK YOU. 16:35:58 >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> I'M GOING TO ASK THE MEDIA TO 16:36:33 MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. SECRETARY LaHOOD IS HERE. 16:36:36 WE'D LIKE TO HEAR HIS TESTIMONY AND GET IT DONE BEFORE WE HAVE 16:36:38 TO GO VOTE. >> MR. LENTZ, I SEE YOU'RE 16:37:11 MOVING OUT. I KNOW YOU ARE GETTING CRUSHED 16:37:14 THERE. BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THINGS 16:37:15 ALONG. I'D LIKE TO CALL OUR THIRD 16:37:25 WITNESS FOR TODAY. THE HONORABLE RAYMOND H. LaHOOD, 16:37:30 SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 16:37:33 MR. LaHOOD, WELCOME. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. 16:37:35 IT'S THE POLICY OF THIS SUBCOMMITTEE TO TAKE ALL 16:37:37 TESTIMONY UNDER OATH. PLEASE BE ADVISED YOU HAVE A 16:37:39 RIGHT UNDER THE RULES OF THE HOUSE TO BE ADVISED BY COUNSEL 16:37:42 DURING YOUR TESTIMONY. DO YOU WISH TO BE REPRESENTED BY 16:37:46 COUNSEL? THANK YOU. 16:37:47 PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. DO YOU SWEAR THE TESTIMONY YOU 16:37:51 ARE ABOUT TO GIVE TO BE THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND 16:37:54 NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH IN THE MATTER PENDING BEFORE THIS 16:37:57 COMMITTEE? >> I DO. 16:37:58 >> THANK YOU, MR. SECRETARY. WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR 16:38:01 OPENING STATEMENT. AND AFTER THAT WE'RE PROBABLY 16:38:02 GOING TO HAVE TO RUN AND DO SOME VOTES. 16:38:07 >> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE 16:38:10 YOU TODAY TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANT ISSUE OF TOYOTA'S 16:38:14 RECENT SAFETY RECALLS. EVER SINCE I WAS SWORN IN AS THE 16:38:18 SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION 13 MONTHS AGO, I'VE SAID THAT 16:38:21 SAFETY IS THE DEPARTMENT'S NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. 16:38:23 I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT COMMITMENT 16:38:27 TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN. WHEN THE TERRIBLE CRASH OF THE 16:38:31 WASHINGTON METRO SYSTEM CLAIMED NINE LIVES AND INJURED DOZENS OF 16:38:36 OTHERS LAST SUMMER, WE QUICKLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION TO GIVE 16:38:38 US FEDERAL SAFETY OVERSIGHT OF TRANSIT SYSTEMS SOMETIMES WE 16:38:42 DON'T HAVE. WHEN COLGAN AIR FLIGHT 3407 16:38:45 CRASHED IN BUFFALO, WE LEARNED RIGHT AWAY WHAT MANY OF THE 16:38:48 PROBLEMS WERE AND WE DID NOT WAIT A YEAR FOR THE NTSB TO 16:38:53 CONCLUDE ITS INVESTIGATION BEFORE WE ACTED. 16:38:54 WE BEGAN WORKING WITH THE AVIATION INDUSTRY IMMEDIATELY TO 16:38:58 ENHANCE AIRLINE SAFETY AND PILOT TRAINING HOLDING 12 SAFETY 16:39:02 SUMMITS AROUND THE COUNTRY. THIS SPRING, THE FAA WILL ISSUE 16:39:06 A NEW RULE TO COMBAT PILOT FATIGUE AND IT HAS ALREADY BEEN 16:39:11 TO -- BEGUN TO OVERHAUL PILOT CERTIFICATE -- PILOT 16:39:17 CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS. ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF MY TIME 16:39:20 AS TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY HAS BEEN OUR WORK ON DISTRACTED 16:39:24 DRIVING. FOR ALL OF YOU WITH CELL PHONES 16:39:25 AND BLACKBERRYS AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES, I'M ON A 16:39:29 RAMPAGE ABOUT PEOPLE TALKING AND TEXTING WHILE DRIVING A BUS, A 16:39:33 CAR, A TRAIN OR A PLANE. IT'S A MENACE TO SOCIETY. 16:39:37 WE RECENTLY EXERCISED OUR AUTHORITY TO BAN TRUCK DRIVERS 16:39:40 FROM TEXTING. THE REASON I SAY ALL OF THIS, MY 16:39:44 NUMBER ONE PRIORITY HAS BEEN AND WILL BE AS LONG AS I'M IN THIS 16:39:49 POST, SAFETY. NOW FOR TOYOTA. 16:39:50 THE TOYOTA RECALL SITUATION IS VERY SERIOUS. 16:39:54 WE'RE TREATING IT SERIOUSLY. THE THREE RECALLS INVOLVING 16:39:56 TOYOTA ARE AMONG THE LARGEST IN AUTOMOBILE HISTORY AFFECTING 16:40:00 MORE THAN 6 MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY. 16:40:03 I'D LIKE TO SAY A WORD DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS. 16:40:06 YOU NOTICE THAT YOUR GAS PEDAL OR YOUR BRAKE IS NOT RESPONDING 16:40:09 AS IT NORMALLY WOULD, CONTACT YOUR TOYOTA DEALER RIGHT AWAY. 16:40:13 THE RECENT RECALLS INVOLVE THREE ISSUES. 16:40:15 FIRST, ACCELERATOR PEDAL, ENTRAPMENT BY FLOOR MATS WHICH 16:40:19 CAN LEAD TO UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION AT VERY HIGH 16:40:22 SPEEDS. IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE YOUR 16:40:24 FLOOR MATS OUT OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF YOUR VEHICLE UNTIL YOUR 16:40:27 CAR HAS BEEN REPAIRED FOR THIS PROBLEM BY A TOYOTA DEALER. 16:40:31 SECOND, ACCELERATOR PEDALS STICKING OR RETURNING SLOWLY 16:40:34 AFTER BEING DEPRESSED. IF THE PEDAL IS HARDER TO 16:40:38 DEPRESS OR SLOWER TO RETURN AFTER RELEASING IT, THIS COULD 16:40:41 BE THE PRECURSOR TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS A STICKY PEDAL. 16:40:44 IF YOUR PEDAL HAS THREE -- IF YOUR MEDDLE HAS THESE SYMPTOMS, 16:40:50 CONTACT YOUR TOYOTA DEALER IMMEDIATELY. 16:40:51 IF YOUR GAS PEDAL BECOMES STUCK FOR ANY REASON, STEADILY APPLY 16:40:55 THE BRAKE, PUT THE GHAR NEUTRAL, BRING IT TO A STOP IN A SAFE 16:41:00 PLACE AND CALL YOUR DEALER. WITH THE TOYOTA PRIUS FOR MODEL 16:41:03 YEAR 2010 AND THE LEXUS HS-250 IF YOU EXPERIENCE A CHANGE IN 16:41:08 YOUR CAR'S BRAKING PERFORMANCE, CONTACT YOUR TOYOTA DEALER. 16:41:11 NOW I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSFER 16:41:17 SAFETY ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN ONE OF THE -- HAS THE MOST 16:41:20 EFFECTIVE DEFECT INVESTIGATION PROGRAMS IN THE WORLD KNOWN AS 16:41:25 NHTSA, ITS JOB IS TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS AND TO LOOK FOR 16:41:28 DEFECTS. IT RECEIVES MORE THAN 30,000 16:41:31 COMPLAINTS FROM CONSUMERS EVERY YEAR AND REVIEWS EVERY ONE OF 16:41:34 THEM QUICKLY AND CAREFULLY. OVER JUST THE PAST THREE YEARS, 16:41:42 NHTSA'S COMPLIANCE INVESTIGATION HAVE RESULTED IN 524 RECALLS 16:41:46 INVOLVING 23.5 MILLION CARS. OF THE 100 INVESTIGATION NHTSA 16:41:53 OPEN IN AN AVERAGE YEAR, THERE ARE CURRENTLY 44 OPEN DEFECT 16:41:57 INVESTIGATIONS, FIVE OF WHICH INVOLVE TOYOTA. 16:41:59 EVERY STEP OF THE WAY NHTSA OFFICIALS HAVE PUSHED TOYOTA TO 16:42:03 TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION SO THAT CONSUMERS COULD BE SAFE. 16:42:07 UNHAPPY WITH TOYOTA RESPONSIVENESS TO OUR SAFETY 16:42:09 CONCERNS, THE ACTING ADMINISTRATOR OF NHTSA, RON 16:42:14 MEDFORD AND TWO ASSOCIATES FLEW TO JAPAN IN DECEMBER OF '09 TO 16:42:17 CLARIFY FOR TOYOTA MANAGEMENT WHAT THE COMPANY'S LEGAL 16:42:21 OBLIGATIONS TOR FIND AND REMEDY SAFETY DEFECTS IN VEHICLES SOLD 16:42:25 HERE. IN JANUARY, OUR NEW 16:42:28 ADMINISTRATOR, DAVID STRICKLAND AND RON MEDFORD, NOW OUR DEPUTY 16:42:32 ADMINISTRATOR, TOLD THE PRESIDENT OF TOYOTA NORTH 16:42:34 AMERICA IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT WE EXPECT PROMPT ACTION. 16:42:42 I'VE ALSO TALKED PERSONALLY TO THE PRESIDENT OF TOYOTA WITH 16:42:47 POTENTIAL FATAL DEFECTS ON THE ROAD, NHTSA HAS PRESSED HARD TO 16:42:53 EXPEDITE THESE SAFETY FIXES. IF NHTSA HAD OPENED A FORMAL 16:42:57 INVESTIGATION AND TOYOTA HAD RESISTED A RECALL, THIS WOULD 16:43:00 HAVE CONSUMED AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME AND RESOURCES IN EFECT 16:43:03 EXTENDING THE PERIOD IN WHICH OWNERS OF AFFECTED VEHICLES WERE 16:43:06 AT RISK. BY ENGAGING TOYOTA DIRECTLY AND 16:43:11 PERSUADING THE COMPANY TO TAKE ACTION, THE AGENCY AVOIDED A 16:43:15 LENGTHY INVESTIGATION THAT WOULD HAVE DELAYED FIXES FOR A YEAR OR 16:43:18 MORE. LAST WEEK, I ANNOUNCED WE ARE 16:43:20 INVESTIGATING WHETHER TOYOTA ACTED QUICKLY ENOUGH IN 16:43:23 REPORTING THESE SAFETY DEFECTS TO NHTSA AS WELL AS WHETHER THEY 16:43:26 TOOK ALL APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROTECT CONSUMERS. 16:43:28 WE HAVE ASKED TOYOTA TO TURN OVER A WIDE RANGE OF DOCUMENTS 16:43:31 WHICH WILL SHOW US WHEN AND HOW THEY LEARNED ABOUT THESE SAFETY 16:43:36 PROBLEMS. NHTSA WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE 16:43:39 TOYOTA IS DOING ALL IT HAS PROMISED TO MAKE ITS VEHICLES 16:43:42 SAFE. WE'LL CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE 16:43:43 ALL POSSIBLE CAUSES OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. 16:43:46 WHILE THE RECALLS ARE IMPORTANT STEPS IN THAT DIRECTION, WE 16:43:50 DON'T MAINTAIN THAT THEY ANSWER EVERY QUESTION ABOUT THAT ISSUE. 16:43:54 SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE HAS 16:43:58 A DANGEROUS EFFECT ON THESE VEHICLES, ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT 16:44:01 AWARE OF ANY INCIDENTS PROVEN TO BE THE CAUSE BY SUCH 16:44:05 INTERFERENCE. NHTSA IS DOING A THOROUGH REVIEW 16:44:09 OF THAT SUBJECT TO ENSURE SAFETY. 16:44:11 IF NHTSA FINDS A PROBLEM, WE WILL MAKE SURE IT'S RESOLVED. 16:44:15 RECENTLY, I SPOKE WITH -- BY PHONE WITH MR. TOYODA. 16:44:18 HE ASSURED ME TOYOTA TAKES U.S. SAFETY CONCERNS VERY SERIOUSLY 16:44:22 AND THAT SAFETY IS THE COMPANY'S TOP PRIORITY. 16:44:24 I INTEND TO HOLD HIM TO THAT. FINALLY, I WANT TO REMIND 16:44:27 EVERYONE THERE IS A REASON WE INVESTIGATE SAFETY DEFECTS, AND 16:44:32 THERE'S A REASON WE PUSH AUTOMAKERS TO DO THE RIGHT 16:44:34 THING. I LISTENED TO THE 911 TAPE OF 16:44:37 THE SAILOR FAMILY'S HARROWING LAST MOMENTS. 16:44:40 MARK SAYLOR, A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROLMAN, DIED LAST 16:44:44 YEAR ALONG WITH HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER AND HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW 16:44:46 WHEN THE ACCELERATOR GOT STUCK IN THE LEXUS THEY WERE DRIVING 16:44:51 IN CRASHED AT MORE THAN 120 MILES AN HOUR. 16:44:53 THAT SAY HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AND ONE THAT I HOPE NO OTHER FAMILY 16:44:57 HAS TO ENDURE. NOW, MR. CHAIRMAN, I KNOW YOU 16:45:00 ALL HAVE TO GO VOTE. I'M CERTAINLY WILLING TO STAY 16:45:02 AND ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT ANY MEMBER HAS. 16:45:05 I WANT THE COMMITTEE TO KNOW, I WAS SWORN IN ON JANUARY 23rd, 16:45:10 '09. I'LL TAKE A BACK SEAT TO NOBODY 16:45:11 ON SAFETY. I'VE DONE A LOT. 16:45:13 WE'VE DONE A LOT. SO I'LL TRY AND ANSWER EVERY 16:45:15 QUESTION AS SPECIFICALLY AS I CAN DURING MY TIME AS THE 16:45:21 SECRETARY. AND FOR THOSE THAT I DON'T KNOW 16:45:23 THE ANSWER TO PRIOR TO MY TENURE I'LL BE HAPPY TO GET ALL THE 16:45:27 INFORMATION POSSIBLE FOR THE RECORD. 16:45:28 THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU, MR. SECRETARY. 16:45:30 AND YOU'RE RIGHT. WE DO HAVE VOTES. 16:45:32 WE HAVE FIVE VOTES. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN RECESS 16:45:34 UNTIL 5:30. 5:30. 16:45:38 AND APPRECIATE IF YOU'D STAY. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING 16:45:41 QUESTIONS THEN. IF YOU WANT TO WALK TO THE FLOOR 16:45:43 WITH US, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO DO SO.