Two weeks after House Highways and Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-WI) said the subcommittee should work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to urge states to update driver training courses and tests to include material on distracted driving, two lawmakers on May 23, 2001 introduced bills to ban the use of hand-held phones in vehicles. Although the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urged Congress on May 9, 2001 to be patient until definitive data on cell phone use could be assessed, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) said the evidence warranted action, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Ackerman’s measure would bar drivers from using cell phones without earpieces or speakers to permit hands-free operation. Corzine’s bill would impose similar restrictions but would give the states more leeway to set exemptions that would not pose a threat to public safety.