Washington,
D.C. —
TechNet, the national, bipartisan
network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today welcomed the House Energy and
Commerce Committee’s passage of legislation as a first step in developing clear
and consistent federal safety standards for autonomous vehicles. The following statement can be attributed to TechNet President
and CEO Linda Moore:

“Autonomous vehicle (AV)
technology holds enormous promise to save lives, create jobs, and provide
greater mobility and freedom to elderly Americans and persons with
disabilities. In recent years, swift
advances in AV technology have led state legislatures and regulators to respond
with many common-sense policy proposals that put safety first, but also with
many unnecessary burdens that threaten progress and are leading us towards a
50-state web of conflicting laws and regulations.

“As AV technology moves
forward with the goal of getting self-driving cars on the road, we welcome the
federal government’s engagement and the proper role it can play to develop
uniform standards in areas where it makes sense. We applaud Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and
Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky’s (D-IL) bipartisan leadership on charting the
right way to approach this issue. We
look forward to further debate as this bill moves to the House floor, and to
seeing Senate legislation in the near future.”