WASHINGTON – The House held its first hearing on a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s auto safety laws Thursday, but Democrats face a tight timetable to win passage before Congress goes home this summer, The Detroit News reported.

Republicans said the draft written by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., goes too far and shouldn’t impose a per vehicle fee to pay for a $100 million increase in funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Waxman’s bill would mandate auto black boxes and brake override systems, and grant NHTSA the power to order an immediate stop of sales and production of vehicles that pose an “imminent danger.”

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said that idea would “short circuit” the recall process. He also questioned whether the bill was aimed at helping trial lawyers win cases.

The bill is “driving down the wrong road,” Scalise said.

The Waxman bill would double NHTSA’s enforcement budget by adding a $3 fee on all new car sales, allow consumers the right to appeal the rejection of their safety complaints and hike penalties for automakers and executives caught violating auto safety laws. A similar measure has been introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Automakers object to some proposals, saying they go too far and impose new mandates too quickly. They back requirements for extended event data recorders and brake override systems.

Several Republicans said the new tax is unnecessary and questioned what NHTSA would do with an extra $100 million.

Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the bill was aimed at restoring “the faith of the driving public.” He said drivers had been “severely rattled” by Toyota Motor Corp.’s recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide over sudden acceleration concerns.

The new event data recorders proposed for all vehicles would collect far more data than current ones that are in some vehicles — 60 seconds before a crash and 15 seconds after it. Republicans raised privacy concerns about mandating the devices without more discussion.

Toyota recently agreed to pay $16.4 million for delaying a recall of 2.3 million vehicles over sticky pedal concerns by at least four months. If the Waxman bill had been law, NHTSA could have imposed a $69 billion penalty.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, called the proposed hike in fines — including up to $250 million for individual auto executives — “overkill.”

NHTSA administrator David Strickland took no position on any of the bill’s new mandates and said the Obama administration is still reviewing the bill.

But he said the Waxman bill would “significantly increase the agency’s leverage in dealing with manufacturers,” and getting imminent hazard authority “would bring NHTSA’s authority into line with that of many other safety and health agencies.”

WASHINGTON – Safety advocates say government regulators may take a more urgent and tougher position on recalls, following Toyota’s callback of millions of vehicles, The Detroit News reported.

Automakers have often resisted recalls, acting only when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is poised to order them. At other times, they have fought them off completely or argued to scale them back.

But after Toyota’s two recalls linked to sudden acceleration — 5.4 million vehicles linked to floor mats and 2.3 million to sticky gas pedals — things may change for good for NHTSA as well as for the automakers.

NHTSA is considering issuing civil penalties in Toyota’s handling of the back-to-back recalls. It also is likely that the agency will act more quickly to enforce future “stop sales,” like the one ordered by Toyota, if automakers don’t have a fix.

“I think that NHTSA has been stung by (the Toyota recalls) and they should be. They have been behind the eight ball and haven’t used the authority given to them,” former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook told The Detroit News.

While Toyota maintains it acted promptly, NHTSA may be less willing to accept what automakers say at face value, next time.

If President Obama gets his way, the agency will get a 15 percent increase in the number of administrators, from about 60 now to 68.

President Barack Obama is expected to nominate as early as today a Senate aide as the nation’s top auto regulator — a post that will have a critical impact on vehicle safety regulations, according to The Detroit News.

David L. Strickland, 41, is expected to be announced as Obama’s pick to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, several officials said Monday.

As senior Democratic counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee since August 2001, Strickland played a major role in pressing environmental rules long fought by the U.S. auto industry. He also helped write auto safety legislation and the “Do Not Call” registry law.

The White House declined comment Monday, but did not dispute the Strickland nomination report. A spokeswoman for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., also declined to comment. Strickland did not return messages.

The White House struggled to fill the job after its first nominee, Charles “Chuck” Hurley, withdrew in the spring under pressure from environmentalists. Senate confirmation is required.

David Kelly, who was NHTSA administrator until Jan. 20 under President George W. Bush, called Strickland, a Harvard University Law School graduate, “a solid choice.”