U.S. Too Slow About Auto Safety, Bush Nominee Says

The federal government has been too slow to decide on proposals for stronger automobile safety standards, President Bush’s choice to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today.

Jerry R. Curry, a retired Army major general and former deputy assistant defense secretary, said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he would set a goal of 18 months for the agency to approve or reject new safety regulations.

“One area where I have been disappointed is in the length of time it takes to complete a rule-making action--two years on the average from start to finish,” Curry told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which took no vote on his confirmation. In some cases it has taken years longer, he said.

But Curry, who has been a consultant to the agency since March, said its career employees are doing their jobs well. He backed the Bush Administration’s opposition to pending legislation that would set time limits for rule making on some transportation-safety issues.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, charged with ensuring that vehicles meet minimum safety standards, drew bipartisan accusations of laxity during the Reagan Administration.

“It seemed to us in the past that oftentimes NHTSA has been most subservient to . . . ideological positions which seemed to say, ‘Why should safety stand in the way of profit?’ ” Sen. John C. Danforth (R-Mo.) said.

Committee Chairman Richard H. Bryan (D-Nev.) described the agency in recent years as “lethargic . . . and some would say derelict.”

Senators closely questioned Curry about whether he had any philosophical aversion to government intervention in the automobile industry to promote safety.

“I bring nothing in the ideological nature to this job,” Curry said. “To me, this job has a very narrow focus. That focus is saving lives.”

Curry promised if confirmed to push the agency to conclude by next summer its decade-long consideration of an improved side-impact standard for passenger cars. Senators cited the delay as the most flagrant example of what they called the agency’s foot-dragging.