The bill -- which was passed on a voice vote, meaning the next step is an as-yet-unscheduled ballot vote by full committee -- mandates brake-override systems, increases resources for federal regulators such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and facilitates more public transparency for safety-defect information. The bill, thanks to a proposed $9 per-vehicle fee (which, if we remember correctly, would start off at $3 per vehicle before tripling over the next few years), looks to double NHTSA's coffers to $280 million by 2013. Groups lobbying on behalf of auto manufacturers have argued the fees will increase costs to unacceptable levels.

Also raising ire for the auto manufacturers is the bill's "black box" provision, which would require that the safety recorders be be installed in every vehicle and that they record event data from 60 seconds before to 15 seconds after a crash. Auto lobbyists argue that the mandate would add thousands of dollars to the cost of every new vehicle.

Two major provisions have been shelved due to the intervention of Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., and may be revisited later: removing the $16.4 million cap on penalties against automakers (Dingell wants the cap to remain), and giving NHTSA the authority to order immediate recalls should any defect be considered an imminent threat to public safety (Dingell wants to implement an appeal system for automakers).