Democratic Leaders Call for Government Inquiry into Takata Airbags

Credit: Architect of the Capitol(WASHINGTON) — A half dozen Democratic leaders on Friday issued calls for governmental inquiries into the Takata airbag issue that has caused millions of vehicles to be recalled.

Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri; Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut; Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts; and Reps. Henry Waxman, D-California; Diana DeGette, D-Colorado; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois all spoke out on Friday, after The New York Times reported that the Japanese airbag manufacturer had tested the airbags in 2004 and may have known that they were defective.

McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate panel on Consumer Protection issued a statement Friday, saying that “if these reports are true,” Takata appears to be “a company more concerned with profits than the lives of consumers — a company that needs to be held fully accountable.” She suggests that Takata not only face financial penalties but criminal charges as well.

“I trust that safety regulators and Justice Department officials are looking closely at these accusations and considering every tool available under the law,” McCaskill’s statement read.

Earlier this year, the Missouri Senator led the Senate investigation into recalls at General Motors.

Blumenthal and Markey, both members of the Senate Commerce Committee, called for clearer guidelines from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration last month in regards to how drivers should handle vehicles with potentially-defective Takata airbags. “Reports that Takata concealed and destroyed test results revealing fatal air bag defects, along with other evidence that the company was aware of these deadly problems,” their joint statement read, “clearly require a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.”

The two Senators voiced their concern, saying that if the reports are true, “the company must be held accountable for the horrific deaths and injuries that its wrongdoing caused.” Their statement also called for a “prompt and aggressive criminal probe.”

Also on Friday, Reps. Waxman, DeGette, and Schakowsky sent a letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, requesting a hearing and an investigation into the safety risks posed by Takata’s airbags. Calling the allegations “deeply troubling,” the trio of Reps. urged Congress to “move forward rapidly and work together in bipartisan fashion on the investigation and on motor vehicle safety legislation to respond to its findings.”

Takata’s faulty airbags prompted an international recall of over 14 million vehicles. The defect has been linked to at least four deaths and 139 injuries.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio