Takata's Kevin Kennedy will have to explain why the supplier ended two investigations of problems with airbags due to costs to a Senate committee today.

Takata allowed finances to trump safety starting in 2009, according to newly released report, as the supplier cut short investigations into airbag problems due to the costs associated with the testing.

Investigators looking into the Takata airbag recall discovered that the company stopped safety audits due to an email from a top executive at the company from April 2011.

“Global safety audits had stopped for financial reasons for last 2 years,” a senior vice president wrote in an email.

The revelation is part of a staff report from Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee. They released the report in advance of Takata’s appearance before the committee today.

Takata recalled 33.8 million vehicles in the U.S. due to faulty driver- and passenger-side airbags. The devices may explode sending shrapnel into the cabin of the vehicle and have been tied to at least six deaths and more than 100 injuries.

A supervisor at a Takata plant in Mexico and an engineer exchanged emails about improper welds on airbag inflators that might possibly result in injuries to passengers.

“We cannot be faced with findings / defects of this sort and NOT do ANYTHING,” the supervisor wrote in the email, according to the report. “A part that is not welded = one life less, which shows we are not fulfilling the mission.”

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The email was among 13,000 documents obtained in preparation for the hearing on Takata and how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration responded to the problem.

The report shows that Takata has a history of putting costs over safety, a la General Motors and its ignition switches, the senators claim.

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“The more evidence we see, the more it paints a troubling picture of a manufacturer that lacked concern,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a statement.

The same report also says that NHTSA failed to move quickly when reports of a problem surfaced. The agency has been under fire for similar problems in recent months.

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Other recommendations from the report, include: boosting penalties for safety violations; more independent defect testing; stronger incentives for whistle blowers; improving recall completion rates; and providing loaner or rental vehicles to car owners affected by recalls.