Congress shields automaker safety data from public view in new research program

What it does

This bill establishes the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS) program, a federal research initiative where automakers and other vehicle manufacturers voluntarily submit safety data to independent researchers. The data remains under each company's control and is kept confidential from the public and other companies, but researchers can analyze it to develop safety technologies and countermeasures. The bill exempts this program from normal federal paperwork rules and public-disclosure requirements.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to create a legal safe harbor for automakers to share safety research data with federal researchers while keeping that data permanently confidential from the public. While framed as a research initiative, the primary mechanism is a confidentiality shield.

What the text implies

• The bill exempts PARTS data from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) via Section 552 confidentiality language, meaning safety findings will never be publicly disclosed even after research is complete.
• Companies retain full ownership and control of their data; researchers cannot share findings between participants without explicit permission, potentially fragmenting safety research and limiting cross-company learning.
• The Paperwork Reduction Act exemption removes a standard procedural check on federal data collection, reducing administrative oversight of the program.
• Safety data submitted to PARTS does not satisfy or reduce any other NHTSA reporting requirements, meaning companies still report separately to regulators—but the PARTS data remains hidden from public view.

Who it affects

Citizens may benefit from improved vehicle safety research and technology development, but the bill creates a confidentiality shield that prevents public disclosure of safety data—meaning consumers cannot see what safety problems companies have identified or how they are being addressed. This trades transparency for research access.

Who stands to gain

• automotive manufacturers
• vehicle safety technology companies
• research institutions contracted to administer PARTS

Named in the bill

Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS), external organizations (nonprofits and universities), PARTS program participants (automakers)

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Apr 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,005,758 in lobbying spend. A filing names 133 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Gary Peters, the sponsor, reported $-186,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies — $1,005,758 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.