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On August 9, 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. (Firestone) issued a voluntary safety recall of 14.4 million, 15-inch tires. Based on about 4300 complaints and other data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is aware of reports detailing a total of 148 deaths and more than 500 injuries allegedly related to certain Firestone tires. Most of the incidents that resulted in deaths reportedly involved sport utility vehicles (SUVs), primarily Ford Explorers. On September 1, 2000, NHTSA issued a warning to consumers recommending that users of an additional 1.4 million Firestone tires should take a number of actions to enhance their safety. Firestone had declined to extend its recall to include these additional tires. NHTSA is investigating whether the scope of Firestone's voluntary recall should be expanded to a mandatory recall affecting additional Firestone tires. Industry states that more than 92% of the recalled tires have been replaced. To provide replacement tires, several actions were taken. For example, Ford suspended new vehicle production at several of its plants for a three-week period. Bridgestone Corporation, the parent company of Firestone, which is headquartered in Tokyo, conducted emergency airlifts of tires from Japan. Working with Ford, Firestone has urged other tire manufacturers to increase production. Firestone is conducting a consumer education program on proper tire maintenance. Numerous lawsuits regarding the deaths and injuries previously mentioned have been filed; a few have been settled. Although cost estimates of the tire recall and lawsuits vary, both companies have been financially hurt by this situation. For example, UBS Warburg, an integrated investment banking firm, has conducted a study that concluded that the Firestone tire recall and subsequent litigation could end up costing from $719 million to $2.7 billion. Congressional hearings related to both government and industry responses to this safety challenge were held during the 106th Congress. The "Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, P.L. 106-414, was enacted to strengthen NHTSA's ability to detect and investigate vehicle and equipment defects. More specifically, the Act includes provisions to: increase or strengthen reporting requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment, increase civil penalties for violations of the federal motor vehicle safety regulations, provide criminal penalties under certain conditions, require a rulemaking to revise and update NHTSA's tire standards, increase the number of years that a remedy for a defect must be provided without charge to the vehicle owner, and authorize increased funding for NHTSA. In addition, the Act requires the Secretary of DOT to undertake a comprehensive review of the criteria, procedures and methods used by NHTSA in determining whether to open a defects investigation. Within one year of enactment, the Secretary is to report to the authorizing committees of jurisdiction on the findings and actions taken pursuant to the report. NHTSA has begun to conduct the regulatory actions needed to implement various provisions of the TREAD Act. . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a report on appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation and related agencies for fiscal year 2000. Impact of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century in transportation appropriations; Comparison of 1999 and 2000 enacted funding; Funding for Federal Highway Administration.

For FY1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requested total funding of approximately $43 billion, a 1% increase over the FY1998 enacted level of $39 billion. The FY1999 budget request for the DOT was similar in many respects to the FY1998 appropriation. There are many ''macro'' issues or factors that are influencing the debate over the Administration's FY1999 budget request. Some of them have been carried over from the previous fiscal year. Complicating the budget process had been the delay associated with reauthorizing many of the Department's programs. The recently concluded reauthorization of surface transportation programs will dramatically effect the FY1999 appropriations process. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 105-178, TEA21) provides for an increase in spending at a level above that contemplated in the Administration budget request. In addition, the new legislation provides a new budget environment for highway and transit programs that limits the ability of the appropriations process to alter spending for these activities. In its FY1999 request, the Administration reiterated that safety is its highest priority, followed by technology development, environmental enhancement, infrastructure needs, and innovative financing. The budget proposal included requests of: $3.1 billion for direct safety funding; $30.0 billion for infrastructure investments; $1.1 billion for transportation research and development (R&D); and $0.6 billion for Amtrak (See CRS Issue Brief 97030). On July 15, 1998, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 2307 (S.Rept. 105-249). The committee recommended total funding of approximately $47 billion for FY1999. S. 2307 was passed by the Senate on July 24, 1998. Few amendments were made, excepting one controversial proposal to bar the use of federal funds to impose ''project labor agreements'' on highway and transit fund projects. A compromise substitute was offered. The House Appropriations Committee reported its own bill (H.R. 4328, H.Rept. 105-648) which would have provided a total of $46.9 billion, an amount $4.8 billion greater than FY1998 and $3.9 billion greater than the amount requested by the Administration. The committee voiced its objections to the impact of TEA21 legislation, whose ''firewalls'' significantly limited its latitude in funding. According to the report, ''These 'firewalls' make it virtually impossible for the Appropriations Committee to make downward adjustments to those funding levels in the annual appropriations process over the next 5 years.'' By July 31, both the House and Senate had passed their respective bills; the House bill was referred to the Senate; the Senate substituted its own language; and the House requested a conference on the substitute amendment. See the ''Most Recent Developments'' section of this report for the latest legislative action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal immigration to the United States has increased sharply in recent years, and shows no signs of slowing down. The question of why immigration has grown so rapidly and the implications of this growth for the future are expected to be issues in the 105th Congress. Primarily because of legislation enacted in 1980 and 1986, the numerical restrictions of the basic family and employment-based immigration preference system became less significant. The growth in legal immigration during the past 15 years came in three groups admitted outside these numerical limits -- legalized aliens, refugees, and numerically exempt immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. For example, about 2.8 million illegal or undocumented aliens were "legalized" between 1981 and 1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal immigration to the United States has increased sharply in recent years, and shows no signs of slowing down. The question of why immigration has grown so rapidly and the implications of this growth for the future are expected to be issues in the 105th Congress. Primarily because of legislation enacted in 1980 and 1986, the numerical restrictions of the basic family and employment-based immigration preference system became less significant. The growth in legal immigration during the past 15 years came in three groups admitted outside these numerical limits -- legalized aliens, refugees, and numerically exempt immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. For example, about 2.8 million illegal or undocumented aliens were "legalized" between 1981 and 1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal immigration to the United States has increased sharply in recent years, and shows no signs of slowing down. The question of why immigration has grown so rapidly and the implications of this growth for the future are expected to be issues in the 105th Congress. Primarily because of legislation enacted in 1980 and 1986, the numerical restrictions of the basic family and employment-based immigration preference system became less significant. The growth in legal immigration during the past 15 years came in three groups admitted outside these numerical limits -- legalized aliens, refugees, and numerically exempt immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. For example, about 2.8 million illegal or undocumented aliens were "legalized" between 1981 and 1995. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]