[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] Congressional hearings into the recall of millions of Firestone tires get under way on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers will question Firestone and Ford executives about what they knew and when they knew it, and why the tires were not recalled sooner. The tires, found mostly on Ford Explorers, are being blamed on 88 highway deaths. Louisiana Representative Billy Tauzin called the House hearing scheduled later today. Right now, he joins us though, from Capitol Hill with a preview. Good morning, congressman.
[Rep. Billy Tauzin , Louisiana:] Good morning, Carol Lin.
[Lin:] What are your key questions as you go into your hearing today?
[Tauzin:] Well, obviously, what Firestone and Ford knew of this circumstance years ago and what they might have or could have done to alert the American consumers and to recall these tires before we lost nearly 90 people on the highways. And, secondly, what can we do in the future to avoid these kind of situations? Particularly, what can we do to test tires more efficiently to find out whether they're going to fail?
[Lin:] Well, the first of your questions, then what do you read into this memo between two Ford executives discussing the possibility that Firestone was, in fact, aware of problems with tires in Saudi Arabia and certainly concerned that government regulators here in the United States might find out?
[Tauzin:] Well, we have a lot of information that Firestone knew a lot about this problem going way back in the early '90s. But, here in 1999, is a memo, indeed by these Ford executives, acknowledging that Firestone legal teams are saying: Please don't make us recall these tires in Saudi Arabia, because we don't want the DOT to find out about this. That's the first evidence of intentional hiding of the facts from the federal authorities in Washington, chiefly responsible for auto safety on the highway.
[Lin:] Well, do you if they were aware of it, are you also aware that they did anything to specifically cover it up, other than express their concern?
[Tauzin:] Well, all we know is that they they forced Firestone they forced Ford, rather, in Saudi Arabia, to voluntarily replace these tires rather than do a legal recall. That was obviously an attempt to make sure that DOT, the Department of Transportation, and NHTSA here in Washington, wouldn't know about the problem. That's a clear indication that they didn't want to do a recall here in America and they probably knew enough that they should have done a recall. How many people's lives were lost in the meantime is one of the questions that are going to come up today.
[Lin:] Well, congressman, what Firestone told us a few minutes ago on EARLY EDITION is that the tire separation there, the tread separation was due to extreme weather conditions in the Middle East, as well as some things that the consumers themselves were doing wrong, like underinflating the tires.
[Tauzin:] Firestone has constantly blamed somebody else for these tire failures throughout this process. I've never seen a company in bigger denial in all my life. The fact is we've got some have bad tires out there. There wouldn't be a recall going on today. And they can't keep denying that. They have to face up to that. The question is, did they know about it back in the early '90s? and could they have recalled these tires sooner? And the answers we're going to get today will lead us either to a conclusion that this recall came too late and Firestone has some accountability there, or it will lead us in some other direction.
[Lin:] All right, well we'll see what those executives have to say when they appear before your committee at 1:00 Eastern today. Thank you very much, congressman, for joining us.