Toyota Congressional Hearings Begin

Hearings opened on Capitol Hill to examine Toyota's response to unintended acceleration and braking problems that led to massive recalls, and have been linked to at least five deaths in the United States.

Rep. Henry Waxman:

[Rep. Henry Waxman, House Cmte. on Energy & Commerce]:
"Toyota failed its customers and the government neglected its responsibilities. Today we will try to find out why."

But several Republicans on the committee cautioned that Toyota should not be subject to an unfair grilling.

Rep. Joe Barton:

[Rep. Joe Barton, Ranking Member, House Cmte. on Energy & Commerce]:
"I don't believe that we should - and I am not saying you are attempting to do this, that we should go on a witch hunt."

Toyota's recent safety problems revolve around sticky accelerators, accelerators that can be pinned down by loose floor mats and a braking glitch affecting its hybrid models.

Toyota's top-ranking U.S. executive, Jim Lentz:

[Jim Lentz, Toyota U.S. Sales Chief]:
"We now understand that we must think differently when investigating complaints and communicate faster, better and more effectively with our customers and our regulators."

Company President Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota's founder, will testify Wednesday. In his written testimony he blamed rapid growth at the company, saying quote "We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization."