WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) tonight issued the following joint statement on reaching agreement on a bipartisan legislative text that sets a framework for the advancement of self-driving vehicle technology. The agreement will allow the Commerce Committee to proceed with consideration of the legislation at a markup on October 4.

“We have reached agreement on a bipartisan path forward for Senate self-driving vehicle legislation. We anticipate introducing and releasing the full text of our legislative proposal tomorrow. While this Senate self-driving vehicle legislation still has room for further changes, it is a product of bipartisan cooperation we both stand behind. Ultimately, we expect adoption of self-driving vehicle technologies will save lives, improve mobility for people with disabilities, and create new jobs. We look forward to sharing the details of our proposal tomorrow, and working with our colleagues to advance the bill.”