THE LATEST: Senators at hearing on air bag recalls debate giving more funding to safety agency

11:15

Senators at a hearing about defective air bags disagree over whether the nation's highway safety watchdog deserves additional funding.

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, says he will fight hard to get more money for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Nelson said this after displaying gruesome pictures of a Miami woman injured by a piece of shrapnel that flew out of her driver's side air bag after she was in an accident.

Air bags made by Takata Corp. have been linked to at least eight deaths.

But Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said providing the agency with additional funding won't solve the problems outlined in a report from the Department of Transportation's inspector general. The report released Monday said the agency lacked proper processes for identifying potential safety problems.