Joining with subcommittee leaders, House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) dispatched a letter this week to committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) formally requesting a bipartisan effort to address self-driving vehicles.
The effort would revive the sort of interest seen in the SELF DRIVE Act of the last Congress, which advanced the House. It would, according to its proponents, establish a much-needed framework for the technology to operate within, something holding advancements of self-driving technology back.
“We are at a critical moment in the development of self-driving technology,” Republican leaders wrote, while touting the cooperative efforts made last Congress. “We have the opportunity to support life saving technology, create mobility benefits for many communities, and support U.S. jobs and innovation against growing foreign competition. We must continue this important work in the 116th Congress.”
According to auditor KPMG International, in its 2019 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, the United States has fallen from third to fourth place in terms of preparedness to deal with autonomous vehicles.