WASHINGTON — Senate Commerce Committee Democrats said they are considering options for ethics and privacy probes into Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, for recording and looking up Democrats’ personal vehicle identification numbers to find data for a vehicle safety debate.

“Democrats on the committee are looking at all of their options to get to the bottom of how Senator Bernie Moreno got the VINs and what he did with that information,” a spokesperson for Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said in a statement.

Rosen’s efforts are “fully supported” by ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., a spokesperson said.

Moreno said at a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday that he found the VINs of Senate Democrats’ personal vehicles in order to find data on which senators have optional safety technology features in their cars. He made the comment in a discussion on new vehicle affordability. He said affordability would plummet if the federal government mandated new automated safety technologies like impairment detection devices.

Moreno, owner of a car dealership in Ohio, said his research on VINs showed Democrats don’t have optional safety features in their own cars.

Rosen asked for unanimous consent for Moreno to submit details to the committee about how he obtained the personal VINs, whose VINs he has collected, what he intends to do with them and whether senators’ privacy was violated. Moreno didn’t say where the VIN data was gathered.

“It appears to be a clear overreach and violation of our privacy,” Rosen said during the hearing. “I’m asking unanimous consent to find out what he’s trying to find out about my automobile.”

Moreno responded that the VINs are displayed on the car’s windshield.

“So you went into my garage in Las Vegas,” Rosen said.

“Nope,” Moreno replied. “Do you have a car that you drive here or do you walk?”

Rosen said it is her staff’s car. “So you don’t care about your staff’s safety?” Moreno said.

“I object to you stalking my car and my staff to find the VIN numbers to present to this committee,” Rosen said. “You watched me, to go to see who drives me, writing down their VIN number, so you could find out what they have.”

“Yep,” Moreno said. “Just to expose the hypocrisy.”

Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, didn’t grant Rosen’s unanimous consent request.

Moreno’s spokesperson said in a statement that he “utilized information that is available to the general public to expose Democrats’ hypocrisy, and their willingness to hold Americans to a higher standard than themselves.”

When asked additional questions about the public availability of VIN data and how it was collected, the spokesperson sent an April article in DC Report on the importance of VIN privacy. The article says the VIN “holds a wealth of data about your car’s history, including ownership records, past accidents, and service records,” and is stored in public databases.

It isn’t clear whether Democrats have any recourse. The matter isn’t expected to be taken up by the Republican-controlled Ethics Committee.

A Democratic staff member added that Democrats are concerned whether the VINs were recorded at senators’ private residences.

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