Senator John Thune News

Citing China, Senators Bid to Accelerate U.S. Self-Driving Vehicle Industry

Two U.S. senators are working to attach legislation to allow automakers to deploy tens of thousands of self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads to a bipartisan China bill, a significant reform that could help speed the commercial use of automated vehicles. …

Self-Driving Vehicle Regulation Bill Gets Late Push in Senate

Key U.S. senators are making a last-ditch effort to win approval of a bill to speed the use of self-driving cars without human controls, but face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. Staff for Republican Senator John Thune and Democratic …

Bipartisan Autonomous Vehicle Legislation Stalls on Capitol Hill

A push on Capitol Hill to speed development of self-driving vehicles may not cross the finish line in time for this Congress — casting doubt on the future of unusually bipartisan legislation in Washington. In order to get a final …

Democratic Senators Call for Changes in Federal Autonomous Vehicle Bill

Five Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged changes to a stalled landmark bill aimed at speeding the deployment and testing of self-driving cars. “We are concerned that the bill indefinitely preempts state and local safety regulations even if federal safety …

Key Committee Senators Reach Deal on Autonomous Vehicle Bill

Two U.S. senators said late on Wednesday that they had reached a bipartisan deal on legislation aimed at easing hurdles to getting self-driving cars to drivers. U.S. Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, and Senator Gary …

Congress May Override State Rules on Self-Driving Vehicle Testing

Congress is working on national self-driving vehicle legislation that could replace state-by state rules and make it easier for automakers to test and deploy the technology, senior U.S. House and Senate lawmakers told Reuters on Tuesday. The chairman of the …

Senate Panel Makes U-Turn on Rentals of Recalled Vehicles

A Senate panel killed a proposal to permit companies to continue renting vehicles that have been recalled, a measure criticized by consumer groups, automakers and even some rental-car companies. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee instead voted Wednesday to require …