Congress Unsure On NHTSA Funding Increase
Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says funding is needed to boost staffing, some in Congress aren’t so sure on the proposal.
The Detroit News reports the proposal, part of President Barack Obama’s FY 2016 budget plan, would triple the NHTSA’s funding from $10.7 million to $31 million, helping to boost the total staff of the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation to over 100 employees. Chair of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, isn’t sure such an increase is necessary, however:
We think there are ways too that you could reform and accomplish some things (without higher funding). Clearly, we want to work with them, but it’s going to be tough in this budgetary environment with all the constraints that we’re dealing with to get significant increases in funding for any agency.
Thune adds that the NHTSA’s mission “is a awfully important one,” and wants to ensure the agency can do the job expected of it. Meanwhile, Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Bill Nelson of Florida both praised the increase in the agency’s budget, though McCaskill wants to see more done still. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut adds that Congress should heed the call for a larger staff, and provide the NHTSA with “the most robust possible resources.”
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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Usually, the refrain is "we just need a little bit more", year after year, no matter what the current budget level is for any given agency. But TRIPLING your budget?! Now that takes some cojones. Every agency in existence has a prime, unwritten goal (or maybe two goals): Increase size and power. When was the last time you heard anybody in government say "you know, we've accomplished most of what we set out to do, so we could probably stand a little reduction in size".
I think the real question is this: Just how far-reaching do we expect the NHTSA's role to be? If it's to perform design reviews on pending ignition switch changes, triple won't be enough.
"Senator Richard(stolen valor Dick)Blumenthal (D) Connecticut. Yup, I'm gonna trust a politician whose resume was written by Brian Williams. There is no function of NHTSA that is not duplicated by other government agencies,fed or state. Shut it down. Shut it ALL down. Get the government out of my automobile and my wallet.
Maybe the US should move to the ENCAP model and harmonise it's vehicle regulations with the rest of the world. This saves money as the "love" is shared financially. It seems the US is attempting to re-invent the wheel. It's already been invented in this case. Different to just be different costs.