Automated Vehicles
Floor Speech
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Mr. THUNE. Madam President, from the beginning, the story of the U.S. auto industry has been one of ingenuity, of taking risks, and of pushing forward.
At the dawn of the 20th century, most Americans could hardly comprehend the idea of the automobile. Yet, 20 years later, they had become nearly ubiquitous in American life, thanks to the insistence of entrepreneurs like Henry Ford on making the automobile affordable for the majority of Americans.
The democratization of the automobile, rather than the invention of the automobile itself, is, in my opinion, one of most remarkable and uniquely American success stories.
Automobiles allowed Americans to capitalize on the economic dynamism of the roaring twenties and helped Americans move and adapt during the Great Depression.
They contributed greatly to the American industrial base and the know-how needed to fight and win the Second World War and help propel the United States to its current status as a preeminent global economic and military power.
Visionary investments like the Interstate Highway System made cars a staple in American economic and cultural life. And cars certainly made it a lot easier to get to and from rural America. In a place like rural South Dakota, with limited public transportation, the automobile, often a pickup or an SUV, is typically the only way to get around.
Today, the automobile industry stands on the brink of a new technological revolution, which promises to dramatically transform mobility once again.
Over the past three decades, the internet has transformed our economy and our way of life, and the next generation of the internet, 5G, which is currently being deployed across the Nation, will enable a host of new innovations, including a revolution in vehicle technology: automated vehicles or what we call AVs.
AVs will change the way that we move in numerous ways, making the transportation system safer, more efficient, and more accessible.
Individuals whose mobility is currently limited, for example, Americans with disabilities, could gain new independence with the deployment of automated vehicles, allowing them to work or visit friends and family safely and easily.
Hon. Maria Cantwell, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, Washington, DC. Hon. Roger Wicker, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker: The National Federation of the Blind, the nation's transformative civil rights organization of the blind, supports and endorses the amendment to the Endless Frontier Act filed with the committee by Senator Thune on May 10, 2021. Specifically, we support the portions of the amendment that will create an exemption classification for manufacturers who provide transportation access for people with disabilities and prohibit discriminatory licensing practices for highly automated vehicles.
Subsection (d)(2)(C) of the amendment would create an exemption category under the federal motor vehicle safety standards located in Section 30113 of title 49 United States Code that would ``provide transportation access for individuals with disabilities, including non-visual access for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.'' This addition to the law will provide the incentive needed for automobile manufacturers to ensure that the unique requirements for Americans with disabilities to be able to operate automated vehicles are considered in the early stages of development.
Subsection (e)(3) of the amendment would mandate that a state ``may not issue a motor vehicle operator's license for the operation or use of a highly automated vehicle in a manner that discriminates on the basis of disability.'' This will ensure that current requirements necessary to obtain a driver's license, like a vision test, will not be required in order to operate or use a highly automated vehicle. We are pleased to see this subsection included in the amendment because highly automated vehicles will pilot themselves (SAE Level 4 and Level 5), making a vision requirement arbitrary and discriminatory.
Highly automated vehicles have the potential to revolutionize the transportation landscape, especially for individuals with disabilities. However, those same individuals with disabilities who stand to gain the most from the creation and proliferation of highly automated vehicles could be left out of this new frontier if specific actions are not taken. Senator Thune's amendment to the Endless Frontier Act is an important step to ensure that America's journey toward automotive automation is fully inclusive of those who will benefit most. Sincerely, Mark A. Riccobono, President.
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Mr. THUNE. Madam President, imagine a farmer in rural South Dakota who can no longer drive to get to town for appointments, prescriptions, or groceries--enter the automated vehicle.
This technology has potential to keep people in their homes and communities longer.
Moreover, AVs have potential to greatly increase roadway safety. Currently, there are an average of more than 35,000 traffic fatalities on our Nation's roadways each year, including pedestrian, motorcycle, and bicycle fatalities. Automated vehicles could dramatically-- dramatically--reduce that number. Distracted driving, driving while impaired--automated vehicles could eliminate those dangers.
For automated vehicle technology to advance, it is imperative that the regulatory framework catch up with private-sector innovation. That is why I have pushed for the enactment of AV legislation over the years and why I had hoped--I had hoped--that we would be voting to add my automated vehicles amendment to the legislation before the Senate today.
I have spent nearly 5 years--5 years--working in a bipartisan manner on a legislative framework to govern the testing and deployment of automated vehicles. The amendment I offered to the bill before us today is an amendment that I had hoped to be able to offer with bipartisan support. It would have paved the way for expanded testing and deployment of automated vehicles in the United States under the oversight of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
And let me emphasize that oversight point. My amendment would ensure that automated vehicles would not--not--touch pavement without the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's certification that they are at least as safe as a conventional vehicle. The data gathered from the vehicles deployed as a result of this amendment would be crucial to the development of future motor vehicle safety standards for AVs.
Unfortunately, bipartisan agreement on my amendment collapsed when special interests expressed their opposition, despite major efforts to accommodate their concerns. And I am deeply disappointed that, once again, Democrats yielded to pressure from special interests against the best interests of our economy and the American people.
Advancing AV technology is not just a vehicle safety issue. It is also an issue of U.S. leadership and global competitiveness. Investing in the production of AV technology here in the United States would not only strengthen the resilience of the auto industry but also the Nation's industrial base and our national security.
The auto industry touches nearly every American State. For example, Horton in Britton, SD, manufactures engine cooling systems, providing steady, good paying jobs for that community and strengthening the local economy. The same story repeats itself countless times in communities all across the Nation.
Providing millions of jobs and investing billions annually, the American auto industry is a critical component of the nation's economy. Right now, U.S. companies lead the world in AV technology, but other nations, like China, are seizing upon regulatory inaction and striving to take the lead. If we don't move forward with automated vehicle technology, we will soon see some other nation leading the AV revolution.
The legislative package before us today is designed to bolster the global competitiveness of the United States.
It is pretty difficult to understand why this reasonable and, I might add, no cost AV amendment that would lead to untold benefits for our Nation's transportation system, does not fit in. How can a bill making strong investments in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing exclude a legislative framework for AVs?
Are we really going to back down from leading the world in automated innovation and technology and cede the future of this industry to nations like China? Will we really ignore the enormous--enormous-- safety benefits of these vehicles just to suit Democrats' political convenience?
More than a century ago, when the automobile was invented, there were plenty of skeptics, but America's automobile pioneers did not let that stop them. They seized the moment and pressed forward and ushered in a transportation revolution. We can do that again today or we can cede this moment to nations like China and let the American automobile industry fall permanently behind. That is the choice in front of us. I hope we will choose to seize this moment and pass the legislation we need to usher in another American transportation revolution.
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Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt).
(Mr. KING assumed the Chair.)
(Mr. VAN HOLLEN assumed the Chair.)
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Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackbrun), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Braun), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).
The result was announced--yeas 55, nays 40, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 215 Leg.] YEAS--55 Baldwin Bennet Blumenthal Booker Brown Cantwell Cardin Carper Casey Collins Coons Cortez Masto Daines Duckworth Durbin Feinstein Gillibrand Hassan Heinrich Hickenlooper Hirono Hyde-Smith Kaine Kelly King Klobuchar Leahy Lujan Manchin Markey Menendez Merkley Murphy Murray Ossoff Padilla Paul Peters Reed Rosen Sanders Schatz Schumer Shaheen Smith Stabenow Tester Van Hollen Warner Warnock Warren Whitehouse Wicker Wyden Young NAYS--40 Barrasso Boozman Capito Cassidy Cornyn Cotton Cramer Crapo Cruz Ernst Fischer Graham Grassley Hagerty Hawley Hoeven Inhofe Johnson Kennedy Lankford Lee Lummis Marshall McConnell Moran Murkowski Portman Risch Romney Rounds Rubio Sasse Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Shelby Sullivan Thune Tillis Toomey Tuberville NOT VOTING--5 Blackburn Blunt Braun Burr Sinema
The motion was agreed to. Vote on Amendment No. 1562
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Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Braun), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).
The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 4, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 216 Leg.] YEAS--91 Baldwin Barrasso Bennet Blumenthal Booker Boozman Brown Cantwell Capito Cardin Carper Casey Cassidy Collins Coons Cornyn Cortez Masto Cramer Crapo Cruz Daines Duckworth Durbin Ernst Feinstein Fischer Gillibrand Graham Grassley Hagerty Hassan Heinrich Hickenlooper Hirono Hoeven Hyde-Smith Inhofe Johnson Kaine Kelly Kennedy King Klobuchar Lankford Leahy Lee Lujan Lummis Manchin Markey Marshall McConnell Menendez Merkley Moran Murkowski Murphy Murray Ossoff Padilla Paul Peters Portman Reed Risch Romney Rosen Rounds Sasse Schatz Schumer Scott (FL) Scott (SC) Shaheen Shelby Smith Stabenow Sullivan Tester Thune Tillis Toomey Tuberville Van Hollen Warner Warnock Warren Whitehouse Wicker Wyden Young NAYS--4 Cotton Hawley Rubio Sanders NOT VOTING--5 Blackburn Blunt Braun Burr Sinema
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