A Tennessee Congressman has introduced legislation to put seat or lap belts on school buses. Steve Cohen, who is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says that the bill would create federal grants to purchase new school buses or equip those in service already. The bill had several purposes. It would install near detection gear on buses, and would direct the Secretary of Transportation to withhold 10 percent of certain highway funding for not enacting laws for background checks before hiring school bus drivers and for not enforcing and imposing specified first and second offense civil or criminal penalties for motorists found guilty of illegally passing a stopped school bus. The action comes in light of the Chattanooga school bus accident which saw six children die and several others injured. Five lawsuits have now been filed in connection with that Nov. 21 school bus crash. Two additional lawsuits have been filed on behalf of a 7 and 10-year-old against Durham School Services, the contracted bus company hired by Hamilton County Schools. The driver of the school bus, Johnthony Walker, faces six counts of vehicular homicide and reckless endangerment and the lawsuits claim that Walker was a negligent driver at the time of the incident and that the injuries to both children will be costly and possibly permanent. Three lawsuits had been filed previously bringing the total number of lawsuits to five.