WASHINGTON (Sept. 4, 2000) — As the song says, without bad luck, Ford Motor Co. wouldn´t have any luck at all.
Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., the congressman who will chair the first Capitol Hill hearings on Firestone tires and Ford light trucks, owns a 1992 Explorer equipped with recalled tires.
But a spokesman for Mr. Tauzin said last week that the lawmaker planned the hearings before he realized he was personally affected.
Spokesman Ken Johnson said Mr. Tauzin uses the sport-utility only when he visits a Maryland farm he owns and usually keeps it parked in a congressional garage. Only after hearings were set did he think to check his own tires Monday, Aug. 28.
Mr. Tauzin chairs the consumer protection subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee. Its hearings are to begin Wednesday, Sept. 6.
To emphasize that his boss is not looking for special treatment, Mr. Johnson noted that Mr. Tauzin was No. 255 on a waiting list for replacement tires at a suburban Washington Ford dealer. And, Mr. Johnson added, "He loves that Explorer a lot."