This week, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and the nominee for NHTSA administrator, Steve Cliff, made statements lowering expectations for progress on autonomous vehicle (AV) policies at the federal level. On Wednesday, Cantwell remarked that disagreements related to legal liability issues still needed to be addressed before federal AV legislation moves forward. In a confirmation hearing on Thursday, Cliff avoided questions about whether he would prioritize pursuing a regulatory framework that encourages private sector innovation in and deployment of AV technology.

“Human driven cars have killed tens of thousands of people a year for the past century,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Continuing down the same road isn’t slow and steady, it’s negligent and fatal. We cannot afford to pass up the safety and environmental benefits of AVs as well as their utility for non-driving communities.”

###

Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.