Nevada's Rosen Accuses US Senator of Stalking Her Staff to Collect Car Info
Jacky Rosen, a Democratic Senator from Nevada, accused a Senate colleague of stalking her staff to obtain car information during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing.
Incident During Senate Hearing
During the hearing on Wednesday, Senator Rosen was present when Ryan McCormack, a transportation nominee, was questioned about vehicle safety features. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio revealed he had collected the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of 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 replied, "I did not know that, Senator." Moreno then criticized that while senators did not purchase safety tech for themselves, they supported mandates requiring it for others.
Rosen Questions Moreno's Methods
Later in the hearing, Rosen requested unanimous consent to investigate how Moreno obtained those VINs, calling it an invasion of senators' privacy.
"VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car," Moreno responded.
Typically, VINs are visible on the driver's side dashboard or on a sticker inside the driver's side door.
Rosen questioned if Moreno had inspected her car in Las Vegas. Moreno replied by asking if she uses a car in Washington D.C., to which Rosen answered, "That is my staff's car."
Author's Summary
This exchange highlights concerns over privacy violations within the Senate, sparked by the collection of vehicle information from colleagues' cars without consent.