Washington, D.C. —
TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior
executives, today issued the following statement on the House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection’s hearing on
autonomous vehicle technologies. The
following statement can be attributed to TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore:
“TechNet commends the
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer
Protection for examining how we can ensure the safe development and deployment
of autonomous vehicle technologies. Self-driving vehicles have the potential to deliver enormous societal
benefits — from making our roads safer and enabling mobility for seniors, the
disabled, and other Americans, to improving the efficiency of vehicles, which
will help alleviate traffic, reduce emissions, and limit costs.
That is why we should
be encouraging the development and deployment of autonomous vehicle
technologies, rather than erecting roadblocks to their growth.
TechNet supports the
implementation of a uniform legal framework that promotes the development and
deployment of autonomous vehicle technologies.
We hope that the
issues raised at the hearing will lead to a productive discussion on policy
measures that will bring us closer to fully realizing the benefits of these
technologies.”
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital
Commerce and Consumer Protection’s “Self-Driving
Cars: Road to Deployment” hearing was held on Tuesday, February 14, at
10:15 a.m. The hearing included
testimony from Mike Ableson, Vice President of Global Strategy, General Motors;
Joesph Okpaku, Vice President of Public Policy, Lyft; Dr. Nidhi Kalra,
Co-Director and Senior Information Scientist, RAND Center for Decision Making
Under Uncertainty; Gill Pratt, Executive Technical Advisor and CEO, Toyota
Research Institute; and Mr. Anders Karrberg, Vice President of Government Affairs,
Volvo Car Group.