Nevada's Rosen Accuses Senator of Stalking Her Staff Over Car Data
Jacky Rosen, a Democratic senator from Nevada, accused one of her Senate colleagues of stalking her staff after he made comments about collecting vehicle data. The exchange took place during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing for transportation nominees on Wednesday.
Moreno's Remarks During the Hearing
While questioning nominee Ryan McCormack about vehicle safety features, U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, claimed he had gathered vehicle identification numbers (VINs) 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?" Moreno asked.
McCormack responded that he had not known that information. Moreno then added,
"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 Raises Privacy Concerns
Several minutes later, Rosen sought unanimous consent to understand how Moreno obtained those VINs, describing it as an invasion of privacy for senators.
"VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car," Moreno replied.
Typically, VINs are visible either on the driver’s side dashboard or on a sticker inside the driver’s side door. Rosen questioned whether Moreno had personally checked her car in Las Vegas. Moreno countered by asking if she drove while in Washington, D.C.
"That is my staff’s car," Rosen responded.
Author’s Summary
At a Senate hearing, Senator Jacky Rosen accused Senator Bernie Moreno of overstepping privacy boundaries after he admitted obtaining VIN numbers from colleagues’ cars to criticize vehicle safety policy decisions.