Incidents of sudden acceleration that led to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles have sparked a debate over whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency in charge of auto safety, needs enhanced powers and resources.

Lawmakers and advocates have criticized NHTSA's response to the acceleration defects in Toyotas. Since 2003, NHTSA has opened investigations into sudden acceleration in response to driver complaints but closed the cases without taking remedial action. Eventually, Toyota recalled floor mats from certain models, blaming the mats for sticking accelerator pedals, but as problems persisted, the company issued a larger recall.

The Toyota controversy has thrust auto safety onto Congress's agenda. On March 11, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a hearing to critique NHTSA and discuss ways to improve its performance in the future. Panel members signaled that they will consider new legislation modifying or increasing NHTSA's authority, but they did not discuss specifics.

Though it already has the authority to do so, NHTSA has not ordered a recall in more than 30 years. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland told the committee that recalls are negotiated with automakers, who conduct them voluntarily, all but eliminating the need for NHTSA to use its mandatory recall authority.

Manufacturers also conduct recalls without any input from NHTSA. Of the 492 recalls announced in 2009, 340 were conducted entirely at manufacturers' discretion, Dave McCurdy of the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers testified. "The remaining 152 recalls were 'influenced' by NHTSA," he said.

NHTSA should be able to levy greater fines on delinquent automakers, witnesses said. The current statutorily imposed limit on civil penalties is $16.4 million. "This amount might be considered by a large, multi-billion dollar manufacturer as just the 'cost of doing business,'" Amy Gadhia of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, told the committee. "We recommend removing this cap on civil penalties to act as a deterrent for future violations of the law."

NHTSA has not come close to exercising the penalty authority it has now. A $1 million fine of General Motors in 2004 was the largest in NHTSA's history. "The agency did not impose any penalties from 2004 to 2008," according to the testimony of Joan Claybrook, who served as NHTSA administrator under President Clinton.

Nor has NHTSA adequately tapped its rulemaking capabilities. According to the Unified Agenda, a listing of agencies’ pending and recently completed regulations, the agency has issued only four major auto safety regulations in the past five years: a rule requiring greater roof strength, a rule modifying side impact standards, a rule requiring electronic stability control, and a rule requiring warning lights for under-inflated tires.

During the hearing, panel members credited NHTSA and its regulations with improving auto safety. In 2009, traffic fatalities reached their lowest level since 1954, according to NHTSA. Still, almost 34,000 people died in traffic accidents in 2009.

Claybrook and Gadhia both listed new standards NHTSA could adopt to improve auto safety. A rule mandating brake override systems, the kind that could prevent sudden accelerations such as those in Toyotas, should be on NHTSA's rulemaking agenda, they said. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told lawmakers in a previous hearing that NHTSA will consider developing such a standard.

In addition to new authorities and stronger regulations, NHTSA needs corresponding increases in resources, witnesses said. President Obama's FY 2011 budget plan requests $133 million for NHTSA's vehicle safety program, a cut of more than $7 million from current levels.

Of the $133 million, $23 million would be dedicated to rulemaking, and $18 million would be directed to enforcement. According to the committee, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) would receive $10 million from the enforcement pot. The office maintains 57 employees responsible for reviewing 30,000 complaints per year.

During the hearing, Strickland defended his agency's record and the FY 2011 budget request. He emphasized that the request will allow the agency to hire 66 new employees. A fraction of those employees will be assigned to ODI, but Strickland has yet to determine exactly how many.

Witnesses also criticized NHTSA's Early Warning Reporting system, a database for manufacturer reports on production and safety information. The agency does not disclose the majority of information in the database.

Claybrook and Gadhia recommended the database be made public. "As the Toyota cases make clear, even excellent letters or defect investigation petitions from consumers that cause the agency to take a look at an issue can be dismissed by NHTSA, but without the early warning information the public cannot weigh in and be effective advocates in response," Claybrook said.