U.S. Representative Billy Long has released the following statement Wednesday following Takata Corporation’s nationwide airbag recall.

     “I am very glad to see Takata finally expand its recall nationwide.  I pressed Hiroshi Shimizu, senior vice president for Global Quality Assurance at Takata Corporation, to do so during an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing in December.  The answers given during his testimony came with great uncertainty.  We know now, more than five months later, that 34 million airbags could be defective, creating a scenario much like a shotgun pointed at a driver or passenger from behind the wheel or dashboard.  It is a shame this recall did not begin much sooner, as six fatalities and at least 100 injuries could have been prevented.  Now, we can move forward with making sure American motorists have life-saving airbags rather than life-threatening bursts of shrapnel.”

     During the December 2014 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing, Long asked Shimzu how many more would have to die before the company issued a nationwide recall and likened the airbags to shotguns set behind steering wheels and dashboards.  Shimzu assured Long the airbags in newly manufactured vehicles were safe and also told Long airbags in vehicles already in-use were safe.

     Prior to the nationwide recall Wednesday, Takata had issued regional recalls for the southern United States citing heat and high humidity’s effect on ammonium nitrate, used to thrust airbags in an accident, to cause an explosion. Roughly one in every seven American vehicles may harbor the defected airbags.

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WATCH: December 3, 2014, hearing; Long questions Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata Corporation senior vice president for Global Quality Assurance, and Rick Schostek, Honda North America executive vice president.