Nevada's Rosen Accuses US Senator of Stalking Staff over Car Information
Jacky Rosen, Democratic Senator from Nevada, accused a Senate colleague of stalking her staff in connection with collecting car information during a committee hearing.
Senate Commerce Committee Hearing Incident
During a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on transportation nominees, Ryan McCormack was questioned about vehicle safety features. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio claimed to have obtained the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of cars belonging to his Democratic colleagues.
"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?" — Bernie Moreno
McCormack replied, "I did not know that, Senator."
"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." — Bernie Moreno
Rosen Challenges Moreno's Actions
Later in the hearing, Rosen requested unanimous consent to investigate how Moreno obtained those VINs, describing it as an invasion of senators’ privacy.
"VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car," Moreno responded.
VINs are typically visible on the driver's side dashboard or on a sticker inside the driver’s door.
Rosen questioned whether Moreno had inspected her car in Las Vegas. Moreno retorted by asking if she uses a car in Washington, D.C.
Rosen explained, "That is my staff's car."
Author’s Summary
This incident highlights privacy concerns raised by Senator Rosen over the collection of vehicle information by a Senate colleague during a public hearing.