The Senate has passed Senate Bill 1813 with a a vote of 74-22. The bill, according to the Senate’s website, would:
A bill to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes.
Well, that sounds innocent enough. A bit vague, if anything. What do you think they mean by other purposes?
Section 31406 of the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21) bill calls for “Mandatory Event Data Recorders” to be installed in new vehicles, starting in the year 2015.
The bill states that within 180 days of the enactment of the bill, the Secretary must revise part 563 of title 49 (Code of Federal Regulations) “to require, beginning with model year 2015, that new passenger motor vehicles sold in the United States be equipped with an event data recorder that meets the requirements under that part.”
The bill then goes on to describe the “limitations” on information retrieval. Basically, while there will be a “Big Brother” style recording device in all new vehicles, the data recorded on the device will be the property of the owner of the vehicle.
Oh, it’s MY property. Good thing the government doesn’t have a history of forcibly taking people’s property or anything.
The bill is in the House now. Here’s how the vote went down in the Senate:
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs —74 Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brown (R-MA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coons (D-DE)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)Grassley (R-IA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs —22 Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Burr (R-NC)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lee (R-UT)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)McConnell (R-KY)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Rubio (R-FL)
Toomey (R-PA)
Not Voting – 4 Crapo (R-ID)
Hatch (R-UT)Kirk (R-IL)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Both my Senators voted for it. Looks like I have a phone call or two to make.
I must say, I am certainly not thrilled about this by any means. Our government seems to be getting a little power hungry and forgetting that it should be protecting us not encroaching on our privacy. Both of mine voted for it as well.
If the recorder is my property, can I remove, disable, or destroy it, or is there a penalty for making it non-functional? Better yet, I’d love a hack that scrambles the data so that it doesn’t make any sense.
I think they make it a crime to disable it. Nice huh?
This is insane. Thanks for the heads up. I am calling my representative too.
I posted on it a month ago, but did not think so many Republicans would cross over!
I have calls to make also…..both my senators did also.
Wyoming is looking better since both their senators voted against it.
“forcibly taking people’s property” – ha! just today BHO signed a executive order that could take the assets of anyone indirectly getting in the way of a certain ME dictator’s ways (country not named as I’ve been hassled enough today, not kidding)
Thank you for posting this thread and the names and their votes. I don’t know if in 2015 I’ll be able to afford a new vehicle thanks to the economy being so obama’d. If I do buy one I will be destroying any “event data recorder” regardless of the consequences.
Redstate has more on this. Apparently the GOP was trying to tie Keystone Pipeline approval to this bill, but not they are quavering. So we have no Keystone and what will be a horrible erosion of civil liberties and freedom. What is driving this? Undoubtably lot of pork products.
[...] – Your Car, Tracked By The Feds…For Your Safety – via AllAmerican [...]
The two Demwit (sounds [and walks and quacks] like Dimwit) Senators that we Virginia conservatives have had the misfortune of having rule over us continue to consistently imbibe the Dummycrat Kook-Aid and vote for yet more statist/fascist/socialist government intrusion into/control over our lives.
Soooo looking forward to a date soon whereby these power-hungry cretins can at long last be sent back the primordial ooze from whence they first crawled onto land.
I think it is pretty clear that nanny just wants to keep her children safe. Don’t badmouth her. She has our best interests in mind. Got to go. . . Says she needs to “check my protate” for my own good again. Wow. Every week. I feel so secure
Meant prostate. Wow! that really hurt this time.
It’s a sensitive subject. The mistake is understandable. ;)
One more reason Rob Portman should be vetted for VP.
1-1 for NE Can’t believe Nelson voted for it. At least the good ol Republican Johanns was smart and voted against. The government will probably never find the box anyway if a vehicle is in an accident and if they do they probably will not be able to get any information from it.
This is all about being able to assign fault in an accident. While there’s a modest LEO angle to it, the real driving force is the insurance companies AND trial lawyers.
Looks like another victory for Democrats and their dedication to privacy.