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inadequacies of the requirements and tolerances which are now present in the existing standards.

Section 5 of the bill authorizes and directs the Secretary to develop a uniform grading system for motor vehicle tires. In our opinion, this is a most salutary provision in that there are no adequate industrywide standards for grading tires.

The Commission reiterates its support of the objectives and purpose of S. 2669 and unequivocally supports its enactment. By direction of the Commission.

PAUL RAND DIXON, Chairman. N.B.-Pursuant to regulations, this report was submitted to the Bureau of the Budget on January 20, 1966, and on January 28, 1966, the Bureau of the Budget advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report and that enactment of legislation along the lines of S. 2669 would be consistent with the administration's objectives.

JOSEPH W. SHEA, Secretary.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., January 28, 1966.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This replies to your letter of October 19, 1965, requesting our views on S. 2669, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, and for other purposes.

The bill would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish, review, and revise tire safety standards, develop a uniform tire grading system, and conduct testing and inspection of tires, as he deems necessary. The bill also provides for seizure of tires and prosecution actions under circumstances as stated therein.

This Department favors the objective of the proposed legislation as it is in furtherance of motor vehicle safety.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the presentation of this report and that enactment of legislation along the lines of S. 2669 would be consistent with the administration's objectives.

Sincerely yours,

B-135374

ORVILLE L. FREEMAN.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,
Washington, D.C., November 1, 1965.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce,

U.S. Senate.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of October 19, 1965, invites our comment on S. 2669, entitled "A bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, and for other purposes."

The bill relates to matters of which the General Accounting Office has no special knowledge. While we are in sympathy with the general purpose of the bill, we otherwise have no comment to offer.

Sincerely yours,

FRANK H. WEITZEL,

Acting Comptroller General of the United States.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, Washington, D.C., January 28, 1966.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your request to the Secretary of Defense for the views of the Department of Defense on S. 2669, 89th Congress, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped by interstate commerce, and for other purposes. The Department of the Army has been assigned responsibility for expressing the views of the Department of Defense on this bill.

This bill will establish the "Tire Safety Act of 1966" to provide minimum tire safety standards in order that motor vehicle accidents resulting from tire failure can be kept to a minimum.

The Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of Defense favors the bill.

The immediate establishment of interim tire safety standards will be a great gain in motor vehicle safety standards. The improvement of these standards, together with the development of a uniform grading system to permit the consumer to make an informed choice when purchasing tires, should give substantial results in the reduction of motor vehicle accidents.

For the foregoing reasons, the Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of Defense recommends that the bill be favorably considered.

The fiscal effects of this legislation are not known to the Department of Defense.

This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report to the committee and further that enactment of legislation along the lines of S. 2669 would be consistent with the administration's objectives. Sincerely,

STANLEY R. RESOR,
Secretary of the Army.

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
Washington, D.C., January 28, 1966.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of October 20, 1965, requested the comments of the General Services Administration on S. 2669, 8. Rept. 1089 0, 89-2- 3

89th Congress, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, and for other purposes. The bill would require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and publish in the Federal Register, regulations prescribing minimum safety standards and a grading system for motor vehicle tires. It also would prohibit transactions in interstate commerce or importation involving any tire failing to comply with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

GSA has the responsibility, pursuant to Public Law 88-515 and sections 206(a)(4) and 211(a)(5) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 391, 68 Stat. 1126, as amended (40 U.S.C. 487 (a) (4), 491(a)(5)), for prescribing standards for vehicles, including tires, purchased by the Government. Pursuant to its authority under the Property Act, GSA has developed Federal Specification No. ZZ-T-381 for tires. We have incorporated this specification into proposed Federal Standard No. 515/15, published pursuant to Public Law 88-515 in the Federal Register on January 26, 1965 (30 F.R. 801).

We believe that compliance with our specification should significantly reduce hazards attributable to tire failure, so far as Government vehicles are concerned.

We feel that the establishment of safety and performance standards and of a grading and labeling system for motor vehicle tires sold to the general public would substantially reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents caused by tire failure, and in addition, would to a considerable extent protect the consumer from the possibility of misleading advertising. GSA would therefore recommend enactment of S. 2669.

If S. 2669 were enacted, GSA would be happy to share its experience in the field of tire safety and performance with the Department of Commerce, to assist in the development of regulations pursuant to the legislation, and to coordinate them with existing GSA regulations. The financial effects of the enactment of the legislative measure cannot be estimated.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that, from the standpoint of the administration's program, there is no objection to the submission of this report to your committee and that enactment of legislation along the lines of S. 2669 would be consistent with the administration's objectives.

Sincerely yours,

LAWSON B. KNOTT, Jr., Administrator.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, D.C., October 27, 1965.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MAGNUSON: Reference is made to your request for a report on S. 2669, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, and for other purposes.

The bill does not appear to relate to any matter within the jurisdiction of this Department or to affect any matter upon which the Department would be in a position to give helpful information or advice. Accordingly, we have no comment to offer with respect to the merit of the bill.

We welcome the opportunity to submit recommendations on any measure where possibly the activities of the Department may be involved, or where its experience may be of value.

Sincerely yours,

GEORGE E. ROBINSON, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,

Washington, D.C., March 4, 1966.

Chairman, Committee on Commerce,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice on S. 2669, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, and for other purposes.

Section 3 of the bill provides that the Secretary of Commerce shall promulgate motor vehicle tire safety standards substantially as prescribed in regulation V-1 by the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission. Section 4 requires the Secretary to review and revise these standards after 2 years and at that time to prescribe maximum permissible loads for motor vehicle tires. The Secretary is further required in section 5 to develop and make recommendations to the Congress in 1971 on implementing a uniform grading system for motor vehicle tires.

Section 6 of the bill prohibits (1) the manufacture for sale or introduction in interstate commerce of tires which do not conform to the standards established by the Secretary, (2) the sale or introduction in interstate commerce of new motor vehicles equipped with tires which do not conform to these standards, and (3) refusing a reasonable inspection of tires and new motor vehicles. An injunction may be had to prevent violations of this section. Also, tires which are manufactured or introduced in interstate commerce in violation of the standards would be subject to seizure.

The objective of this legislation-to keep to a minimum the number of motor vehicle accidents caused by tire failure is certainly laudable. However, whether this measure is appropriate or whether the objective can be attained by other means involves considerations as to which the Department of Justice defers to the Department of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, and others more familiar with the tire industry and the problems to which the legislation is directed.

However, the following observations may be of assistance to the committee.

Unless the term "retreaded" embraces "regrooved" and "recapped" tires it may be desirable to amend the bill clearly to bring such tires within its coverage. Similarly, it would seem to be desirable that the legislation cover inner tubes.

The committee may also wish to consider whether the definition of "motor vehicle" is too narrow and should be expanded to cover all vehicles which use the highways including trucks, buses, etc.— irrespective of whether they carry passengers or property, except only those vehicles as to which tire safety would be regulated under other statutes.

In providing for seizure where there is a violation of section 6(a), section 7 gives rise to a question of whether tires on new motor vehicles are subject to seizure. This ambiguity would be eliminated by amending "6(a)" in line 4 of page 5 to read "6".

We note, too, that enforcement is limited to seizures and injunction actions. The committee may wish to consider incorporating further civil or criminal penalties in the bill.

Finally, we note that tires which do not conform to the Secretary's standards could be seized from a consumer to whom they have been sold. This may work a hardship on such consumers, who cannot be expected to know whether tires purchased by them meet the required specifications and standards. On the other hand, such seizures would help to keep unsafe tires off the highways.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the administration's program.

Sincerely,

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RAMSEY CLARK, Deputy Attorney General.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 28, 1966.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This report on S. 2669, a bill to establish safety standards for motor vehicle tires sold or shipped in interstate commerce, is submitted in response to your request of October 19, 1965.

This bill would require that imported as well as domestically manufactured tires comply with standards to be prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce. On the understanding that the same standards would apply to domestically produced and imported tires, this requirement would be consistent with the international obligation of the United States. Accordingly the Department of State would have no objection to the enactment of this bill.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the administration's program there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely yours,

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR II,
Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations

(For the Secretary of State).

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