Nevada's Rosen Accuses US Senator of Stalking Staff Over Car Info
Jacky Rosen, a Democratic senator from Nevada, accused a Senate colleague of stalking her staff to collect car details during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing.
Incident During Transportation Nominee Hearing
At the hearing on Wednesday, while questioning nominee Ryan McCormack about vehicle safety features, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio mentioned collecting vehicle identification numbers (VIN) from his Democratic colleagues' cars.
“Would it surprise you that I got the VIN numbers of every one of my Democrat colleagues' vehicles and found that none of them bought any of the additional safety technologies on their cars?” — Senator Bernie Moreno
McCormack replied, “I did not know that, Senator.” Moreno continued, “So, when you are actually shopping for a car with your own money, you don't buy the technology, but we're sitting here saying that this should be mandated for everybody else's cars.”
Rosen Challenges Moreno's Actions
Shortly after, Rosen sought unanimous consent to investigate how Moreno obtained those VINs, describing it as an invasion of privacy.
“VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car,” Moreno said in response.
A typical VIN is found either on the driver's side dashboard or on a sticker inside the driver's side door. Rosen questioned if Moreno had inspected her car in Las Vegas. Moreno then asked if she traveled by car in Washington, D.C.
Rosen replied, “That is my staff's car.”
Context of the Dispute
- The issue arose during a discussion about mandating vehicle safety technologies.
- Moreno's collection of VINs was intended to check which technologies colleagues had purchased personally.
- Rosen viewed Moreno's conduct as an overreach affecting senators' privacy rights.
“VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car.” — Senator Bernie Moreno
This exchange highlights tensions over privacy and legislative focus on vehicle safety measures.
Author's Summary
The dispute reveals privacy concerns when a senator collects sensitive information from colleagues' vehicles amid debates on mandatory car safety features.
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