Nevada's Rosen Accuses U.S. Senator of Stalking Her Staff for Car Information
Jacky Rosen, Democratic Senator from Nevada, accused a Senate colleague of stalking her staff to gather car details during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing.
Committee Hearing Incident
The hearing, held on Wednesday, was focused on transportation nominees. During questioning of nominee Ryan McCormack about vehicle safety features, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio revealed he collected vehicle identification numbers (VINs) from 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.
“I did not know that, Senator,” McCormack responded.
“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,” Moreno added.
Senator Rosen’s Response
Later, Senator Rosen requested unanimous consent to investigate how Moreno obtained those VINs, describing it as an invasion of privacy.
“VIN numbers are displayed on the windshield of the car,” Moreno explained.
A car’s VIN is typically 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, and Moreno asked if she uses a car in Washington D.C.
“That is my staff's car,” Rosen clarified.
Summary
Senator Rosen challenged Moreno’s actions as intrusive, highlighting concerns about privacy and the method used to gather vehicle data.
Author’s note: The incident underscores tensions regarding privacy and transparency among U.S. senators over personal property information.